Katharine Hepburn

 Katharine Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003)

Known for her headstrong independence and spirited personality, Hepburn was a leading lady in Hollywood for more than 60 years. She appeared in a range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, and received four Academy Awards for Best Actress, a record for any performer. In 1999, Hepburn was named by the American Film Institute as the greatest female star in Hollywood history. Her early years in the film industry were marked with success, including an Academy Award for her third picture, Morning Glory (1933), but this was followed by a series of commercial failures. In 1938 she was labeled "box office poison". Hepburn masterminded her own comeback, buying out her contract with RKO Radio Pictures and acquiring the film rights to The Philadelphia Story, which she sold on the condition that she be the star. She later found a niche in The African Queen (1951), a persona the public embraced.

Three more Oscars came for her work in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981). She was also known for her relationship with Spencer Tracy, whom she worked with in several films, the last being Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967, just before his death). Katharine Hepburn lived to the age of 96 years old, and is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, CT.