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Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress. Known for her fierce 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 of Classic Hollywood Cinema. Raised in Connecticut by wealthy, progressive parents, Hepburn began to act while studying at Bryn Mawr College. After four years in the theatre, favorable reviews of her work on Broadway brought her to the attention of Hollywood. 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 which led her to be labeled "box office poison" in 1938. 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. In the 1940s she was contracted to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where her career focused on an alliance with Spencer Tracy. The screen-partnership spanned 25 years, and produced nine movies. Hepburn challenged herself in the latter half of her life, as she regularly appeared in Shakespearean stage productions and tackled a range of literary roles. She found a niche playing middle-aged spinsters, such as 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). In the 1970s she began appearing in television films, which became the focus of her career in later life. She remained active into old age, making her final screen appearance in 1994 at the age of 87. After a period of inactivity and ill health, Hepburn died in 2003 at the age of 96. Hepburn famously shunned the Hollywood publicity machine, and refused to conform to society's expectations of women. She was outspoken, assertive, athletic, and wore trousers before it was fashionable for women to do so. She married once, as a young woman, but thereafter lived independently. A 26-year affair with her co-star Spencer Tracy was hidden from the public. With her unconventional lifestyle and the independent characters she brought to the screen, Hepburn epitomized the "modern woman" in 20th century America and is remembered as an important cultural figure. == Early life and education == Hepburn was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on May 12, 1907, the second of six children. Her parents were Thomas Norval Hepburn (1879–1962), a urologist at Hartford Hospital, and Katharine Martha Houghton (1878–1951), a feminist campaigner. Both parents fought for social change in America: Thomas Hepburn helped establish the New England Social Hygiene Association, which educated the public about venereal disease,〔Britton (2003) p. 41.〕 while the elder Katharine headed the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association and later campaigned for birth control with Margaret Sanger.〔Berg (2004), p. 40.〕 As a child, Hepburn joined her mother on several "Votes For Women" demonstrations.〔Chandler (2011) p. 37.〕 The Hepburn children were raised to exercise freedom of speech and encouraged to think and debate on any topic they wished.〔Higham (2004) p. 2.〕 Her parents were criticized by the community for their progressive views, which stimulated Hepburn to fight against barriers she encountered.〔 Stated by Hepburn in this interview.〕〔Higham (2004) p. 4; Chandler (2011) p. 39; Prideaux (1996) p. 74.〕 Hepburn said she realized from a young age that she was the product of "two very remarkable parents",〔Hepburn (1991) p. 21.〕 and credited her "enormously lucky" upbringing with providing the foundation for her success.〔Berg (2004) p. 47.〕 She remained close to her family throughout her life.〔Hepburn (1991) p. 30; Kanin (1971) p. 82.〕 The young Hepburn was a tomboy who liked to call herself Jimmy, and cut her hair short like a boy's.〔Chandler (2011) p. 30.〕 Thomas Hepburn was eager for his children to use their minds and bodies to the limit, and taught them to swim, run, dive, ride, wrestle, and play golf and tennis.〔Hepburn (1991) p. 43; Higham (2004) p. 2.〕 Golf became a passion of Katharine's; she took daily lessons and became very adept, reaching the semi-final of the Connecticut Young Women's Golf Championship.〔 She loved swimming in Long Island Sound, and took ice-cold baths every morning in the belief that "the bitterer the medicine, the better it was for you."〔Higham (2004) p. 3.〕 Hepburn was a fan of movies from a young age, and went to see one every Saturday night.〔Chandler (2011) p. 34.〕 She would put on plays and perform for her neighbors with friends and siblings for 50 cents a ticket to raise money for the Navajo people.〔Higham (2004) p. 4.〕 On April 3, 1921, while visiting friends in Greenwich Village, Hepburn discovered the body of her adored older brother, Tom,〔Hepburn (1991) p. 44.〕 dead from an apparent suicide. He had tied a sheet around a beam and hanged himself.〔Hepburn (1991) p. 46.〕 The Hepburn family denied it was suicide and maintained that Tom's death must have been an experiment that had gone wrong.〔Chandler (2011) p. 6.〕 The incident made the teenage Hepburn nervous, moody, and suspicious of people.〔Higham (2004) p. 5.〕 She shied away from other children, dropped out of Oxford School, and began receiving private tutoring.〔Hepburn (1991) p. 49.〕 For many years she used Tom's birthday (November 8) as her own. It was not until her 1991 autobiography, ''Me: Stories of My Life,'' that Hepburn revealed her true birth date.〔Chandler (2011) p. 7.〕 In 1924 Hepburn gained a place at Bryn Mawr College. She attended the institution primarily to satisfy her mother, who had studied there, and recalled disliking the experience.〔Kanin (1971) p. 285.〕 It was the first time she had been in school for several years, and she was self-conscious and uncomfortable with her classmates.〔Hepburn (1991) p. 69.〕 She struggled with the scholastic demands of university, and once was suspended for smoking in her room.〔Dickens (1990) p. 4.〕 Hepburn was drawn to acting, but roles in college plays were conditional on good grades. Once her marks had improved, she began performing regularly.〔 She performed the lead role in a production of ''The Woman in the Moon'' in her senior year, and the positive response it received cemented Hepburn's plans to pursue a theatrical career.〔Higham (2004) p. 7.〕 She graduated with a degree in history and philosophy in June 1928.〔Horton and Simmons (2007) p. 119.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Katharine Hepburn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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