Katharine Hepburn Katharine Hepburn 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 she received a record of four Academy Awards for Best Actress. 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
Kate Burton (actress) for a short stint until Estabrook reassumed the role. During the summer of 2010, Burton portrayed actress Katharine Cornell in A.R. Gurney's "The Grand Manner" at Lincoln Center in New York. In April, 2017, she began playing Liz Essendine in the Broadway revival of "Present Laughter," the play in which she made her debut. Burton's first screen appearance was in the 1969 film "Anne of the Thousand Days," starring her father, with whom she later appeared as Alice opposite his White Knight in the 1983 Great Performances broadcast of "Alice in Wonderland," and in the 1984 CBS miniseries "Ellis Island".