The following article contains references to suicide.
Let’s explore some of the lesser-known experiences that helped make this icon the woman she was.
As the story goes, Katharine ran to the attic bedroom where Tom had been staying.
She knocked on the door, but there was no answer.
She knocked again and called his name, but was only met with silence.
When the teenager opened the door, her life was irrevocably changed.
She discovered that her older brother had died by suicide.
It’s undeniable that this experience traumatized Katharine.
Years later, she revealed, “After Tom was gone, I believe my personality changed.
I went from being totally open to life to being closed to life.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available.
This study gives empirical evidence to a long-held belief that suicide runs in families.
One of these was her dream of becoming a doctor.
After leaving medicine behind, the future star found her footing in Bryn Mawr’s theater department.
After graduation, she became involved in the New York theater scene.
In 1933, she starred in a play titled “The Lake.”
While audiences praised the 26-year-old’s performance, the play was an overall failure.
Ticket sales were declining and reviews in the papers let out a resounding “meh.”
Despite its name, “The Lake” had made no great ripple on Broadway.
In 1928, she married businessman Ludlow Ogden Smith.
In an unconventional switcheroo, the young man changed his name to Ogden Ludlow to yo his new bride.
No one was surprised that this union didn’t last.
She flung off the title of wife for good when she divorced Ludlow in 1934.
I would have done anything for him.”
The romantic comedy follows the story of two journalists whose unexpected romance throws a wrench in their career-driven lives.
It was a raucous success, with Hepburn and Tracy’s real-life connection bleeding into their performances.
Audiences went rabid for what they could tell was genuine attraction.
The studios jumped on this, producing more Hepburn-Tracy team-ups.
In total, the actors starred in nine films together.
Behind the scenes, a love affair quickly turned into a long and devoted partnership.
Sadly, though, she was never able to marry Tracy.
Despite their once-in-a-lifetime connection, Tracy was a devout Catholic and refused to divorce his wife.
Tracy felt that this diagnosis was God’s way of punishing him for his sins, according toBiography.
Possible romances have been suggested in the many biographies that have come out since Hepburn’s death.
According to Mann, Hepburn said, “Phyllis and I are one.”
However, in the mid-1930s, Hepburn starred in a string of underperforming films.
What followed was a winding, complicated love affair.
However, this hint of a marriage proposal would never come to fruition.
Ford was already married and had been for many years, and the couple shared two children.
Despite this, the affair continued, becoming an open secret around Hollywood.
In this epic historical romance directed by Ford, we see Hepburn step into her full regalness.
The flick was a hit and did wonders to shake off the “Hepburn stigma.”
Behind the scenes, though, Ford was tiring of his screen queen.
Refusing to leave his wife, their romance fizzled out.
Rather, the version of Hepburn that most Americans were familiar with was a facade.
It wasn’t until her later years that Hepburn would open up about how painful she found this performance.
And who could blame her?
In an interview she gave in her final years, Hepburn called her public-facing persona the “Creature.”
She reportedly said, “I created the Creature but didn’t completely understand her.
Sometimes she took off on her own.
She didn’t remember that I created her.
This public disassociation from her celebrity identity shows just how mentally challenging Hepburn must have found her demanding career.
Hepburn then heard a loud crash and ran to the kitchen, finding Tracy on the floor.
The 67-year-old actor died from a heart attack.
In Hepburn’s early adult life, women were not permitted to wear pants in public spaces.
Even years later, wearing pants was considered taboo.
Never one to cow to conventions, Hepburn kept her pants on and entered through the staff entrance instead.
According to theThe New York Times,director George Cukor favored Hepburn for the role of Scarlett O’Hara.
British star Vivien Leigh would get the role instead and would go down in history as the raven-haired heroine.
Luckily, Katharine Hepburn was one actress whose flame didn’t only burn bright but lasted for many decades.
It wasn’t until she reached the age of 96 that Hepburn peacefully passed away ather Connecticut estate.
She is quoted as saying, “I could have accomplished three times what I’ve accomplished.
I haven’t realised my full potential.
It’s disgusting” (viaThe Guardian).
This may be the ultimate tragedy of her life.
