46 - Connecticut, Katharine Hepburn
This week's woman is more than a woman in many people's legacies. She is more impactful than I ever registered or gave credence to. And it is unfortunate, because reading about Katharine Hepburn shows an image that I can relate to. She paved the way for me to be me.
Connecticut is the first state after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. They are the 37th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on September 14, 1920.
Ms. Hepburn represented the image of cinema throughout the 20th Century. Beginning acting after graduating Bryn Mawr College, she jumped into an acting career on Broadway and then to film. She declared her worth and fought for contracts she deserved. She started in film in 1931 with major hits, jump starting her career, winning the first of four Academy Awards.
In the growing height of her career, she was shut down for a few years due to her “haughty behavior off-screen” and refusal to fold into the typical Hollywood type. She wore her notable style of slacks and no makeup. She didn’t participate in interviews. The response to this dismissive attitude pushed her out of Hollywood until her Broadway production of “The Philadelphia Story” in 1938, which was a smash hit, and returned her to the light of Hollywood. Immediately buying the movie rights for the play, she was able to produce the film version in 1940 and had complete control of the production. She was back, achieving her third Academy Award.
Following this comeback, she was paired with Spencer Tracy whom she began a life long romance. They made nine films together, including his last film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” him passing away a few weeks after completion. She continued to act through her life to her last film in 1994. She is a legacy winning more Academy Awards than any woman.
Why this woman?
Katharine was a name through all of film I could associate with. I have always heard her name, and honestly for most of my life struggled to separate Katharine and Audrey in my mind though they were not relatd. Katharine was the foundation of film, the woman of history.
Likely because of my confusion between Audrey and Katharine, I assumed she was an image of beauty. Learning now that she was the tomboy of the screen is so interesting. She was who she felt in her soul. She wore the clothes that personified her image. She was the woman she wanted to be. She fought for pay and rights in Hollywood as her counterpart men would do by nature. She knew her worth and the skill she had.
Her notoriety was partnered with the acclaim as the symbol of the “modern women”. She is credited with changing gender attitudes. Film historian Jeanine Basinger stated, “What she brought us was a new kind of heroine—modern and independent. She was beautiful, but she did not rely on that.”
The list of films, awards, recognitions, accolades, ... everything, is so long and detailed. The research pages are long and passionate. Where once people saw her as revolutionary, I read her feats and see how my world as a woman like her stand strong. I also don’t wear dresses or am extraordinarily feminine. But I am a woman. Strong, vocal, unapologetic but proud to use my gender to be the best I can be. She paved acceptance for me.
Connecticut is the first state after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. They are the 37th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on September 14, 1920.
Ms. Hepburn represented the image of cinema throughout the 20th Century. Beginning acting after graduating Bryn Mawr College, she jumped into an acting career on Broadway and then to film. She declared her worth and fought for contracts she deserved. She started in film in 1931 with major hits, jump starting her career, winning the first of four Academy Awards.
In the growing height of her career, she was shut down for a few years due to her “haughty behavior off-screen” and refusal to fold into the typical Hollywood type. She wore her notable style of slacks and no makeup. She didn’t participate in interviews. The response to this dismissive attitude pushed her out of Hollywood until her Broadway production of “The Philadelphia Story” in 1938, which was a smash hit, and returned her to the light of Hollywood. Immediately buying the movie rights for the play, she was able to produce the film version in 1940 and had complete control of the production. She was back, achieving her third Academy Award.
Following this comeback, she was paired with Spencer Tracy whom she began a life long romance. They made nine films together, including his last film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” him passing away a few weeks after completion. She continued to act through her life to her last film in 1994. She is a legacy winning more Academy Awards than any woman.
Why this woman?
Katharine was a name through all of film I could associate with. I have always heard her name, and honestly for most of my life struggled to separate Katharine and Audrey in my mind though they were not relatd. Katharine was the foundation of film, the woman of history.
Likely because of my confusion between Audrey and Katharine, I assumed she was an image of beauty. Learning now that she was the tomboy of the screen is so interesting. She was who she felt in her soul. She wore the clothes that personified her image. She was the woman she wanted to be. She fought for pay and rights in Hollywood as her counterpart men would do by nature. She knew her worth and the skill she had.
Her notoriety was partnered with the acclaim as the symbol of the “modern women”. She is credited with changing gender attitudes. Film historian Jeanine Basinger stated, “What she brought us was a new kind of heroine—modern and independent. She was beautiful, but she did not rely on that.”
The list of films, awards, recognitions, accolades, ... everything, is so long and detailed. The research pages are long and passionate. Where once people saw her as revolutionary, I read her feats and see how my world as a woman like her stand strong. I also don’t wear dresses or am extraordinarily feminine. But I am a woman. Strong, vocal, unapologetic but proud to use my gender to be the best I can be. She paved acceptance for me.
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