Hepburn, Katharine, 1907-2003, American actress, b. Hartford, Conn. She made periodic stage appearances from 1928 on and debuted in the first of her 43 films in 1932; in her early roles she was usually cast as rather brittle, one-dimensional characters. With the classic romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story (1940), she softened her image and began playing more interesting women who were also more evenly matched to their romantic partners. Hepburn also established her lifelong image as a high-spirited, intelligent, witty, idiosyncratic, and sophisticated woman, a persona mirrored in her private life. In Woman of the Year (1942) she found her ideal leading man (and life partner) in Spencer Tracy, whose solidity balanced her sophistication in a total of nine comedies spanning 25 years. Their other films include State of the Union (1948), Adam's Rib (1949), and Pat and Mike (1952).

Hepburn won four Academy Awards, for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981). Among her other outstanding films are Little Women (1933), Alice Adams (1935), Stage Door (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), The African Queen (1951), The Rainmaker (1956), Long Day's Journey into Night (1962), and The Trojan Women (1970). For television she did Love among the Ruins (1975), in which she costarred with Laurence Olivier, and several other productions. Later stage appearences include Coco (1969) and The West Side Waltz (1981).

(born May 12, 1907, Hartford, Conn., U.S.—died June 29, 2003, Old Saybrook, Conn.) U.S. actress. She made her Broadway debut in 1928 and became a star with her first film, A Bill of Divorcement (1932). Her following grew with Morning Glory (1933, Academy Award), Little Women (1933), and Bringing Up Baby (1938), to which she brought a spirited individuality and strength of character. She starred in the Broadway hit The Philadelphia Story (1939; film, 1940). Among her other notable films were The African Queen (1951), Summertime (1955), and Suddenly Last Summer (1959). She made eight films with her longtime lover Spencer Tracy, including Woman of the Year (1942), Pat and Mike (1952), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967, Academy Award), and won two more Oscars for The Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981).

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Hepburn may refer to:

People with the surname Hepburn (the most famous in recent times being actresses Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn):

• Hepburn (surname)

Linguistics

• Hepburn romanization, a system for the Romanization of Japanese

Places

Australia

• Shire of Hepburn, a Local Government Area in Victoria
• Hepburn Springs, Victoria, a resort town in VictoriaCanada
• Hepburn, Saskatchewan, a small farming and college townUnited States
• Hepburn, Iowa, a city in Page County
• Hepburn, Ohio, an unincorporated community in Hardin County
• Hepburn Township, Pennsylvania, in Lycoming County

Miscellaneous

• Hepburn (band), a British pop rock band

See also

• Hepburn Act of 1906, giving the US Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set railroad rates
• Hepburn Avenue, Perth, a road in Perth, Western Australia
• Hepburn Avenue, Sydney, a small road in Sydney, New South Wales
• Hepburn Block, an office building in Toronto, Ontario