Legendary Actress Katharine Hepburn Dies

Sunday, June 29, 2003

(9:35 PM ET) (01:35 GMT)

By Jamie Allen

Cable News Network

Hepburn and Tracy, who went on to film nine movies together, were the yin and yang of middle-century moviemaking. From different backgrounds, they complemented each other and brought out the other's strengths. To this day, they are one of the most popular screen teams of all time, a benchmark to which other movie couples are inevitably compared.

CNN
Screen and stage legend Katharine Hepburn has died, according to the executor of her estate and Old Saybrook, Connecticut, authorities. She was 96.

Hepburn's film career spanned seven decades, and she was perhaps the most decorated actor, male or female, in the industry. She won more Academy Awards for lead roles (four) than anyone -- and her 12 nominations in the best actress category stood as a record until this year when actress Meryl Streep surpassed her nomination total with 13.

"The African Queen" Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart 1951

Image Credit: United Artists

Old Saybrook authorities and the executor of Hepburn's estate, Cynthia McFadden, told The Associated Press that Hepburn died Sunday at 2:50 p.m. She was at her home. Hepburn's health had declined in recent years.

A statement from her family was expected later Sunday.

In her work, Hepburn transformed herself from the key actress of a generation into thespian royalty, an uncontested icon of live theater and cinematic art. In private life, her 25-year love affair with actor Spencer Tracy is the stuff of Hollywood legend, and so are her bouts with Hollywood itself.

But her performances in some of the century's top films are what stand out as enduring evidence of her power and gifts. The American Film Institute ranked Hepburn the top female star in its "50 Greatest Movie Legends," one of a handful of AFI picks that ruffled few feathers.

"I'm a personality as well as an actress," Hepburn once said. "Show me an actress who isn't a personality, and you'll show me a woman who isn't a star."

* An unconventional star

* 'Box office poison'

* Dream team on- and off-screen

* An Oscar record breaker

(Source: CNN.com)
2003 © Cable News Network LP, LLLP.

Dan