Katharine Hepburn

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Leaming's subjects are screen giants: Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis and, now, Katharine Hepburn, the only Hollywood star to win four Oscars for best actress. Her biography is a full, insightful portrait, not only of the actress herself but also of her family and its heritage. The competition here is tough: Hepburn herself has written two idiosyncratic memoirs (The Making of the African Queen and Me: Stories of Myself) and has been the subject of endless articles and at least one other full-length biography (Anne Edwards' A Remarkable Woman, 1986). But Leaming has dug deeply and reconstructed a fascinating era from primary sources. The Hepburn family story resembles a modern Greek tragedy, full of complex characters who were inspired yet doomed. The often harrowing relationships between the actress's grandparents and parents reverberated through her own childhood as well as the devastating effects of five hushed-up suicides within the family. Katharine as a child discovered her brother Tom's body hanging in the attic. Hepburn men were fierce and domineering, the women intellectual and courageous. Katharine's mother was a nationally known birth control crusader when the very idea was considered dangerously radical. Katharine's acting career and her eccentric love life are gently but perceptively dissected here. The honor roll is platinum: the movies include: The Philadelphia Story (1940), Woman of the Year (1942), Adam's Rib (1949), The African Queen (1951), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1982); the men: John Ford, Leland Hayward, John Huston, Howard Hughes and, of course, Spencer Tracy. Hepburn's mythic 26-year affair with Tracy, seen under Leaming's undaunted lens, is more sorrowful than romantic. His endless drinking, indecision and attempts to belittle his devoted companion-she received second billing in all their nine films together-make unappetizing fare even though they failed to alienate Hepburn. She ``seemed oblivious to anyone or anything besides Spencer'' as he preempted her career for a time and isolated her from friends and family. Significantly, only one of her Academy Awards was for a film made with Tracy, awarded after his death, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Leaming has sensitively and selectively captured her subject in good times and bad. Her superb biography measures up to the stature of its inimitable heroine. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (Apr.)

Library Journal

One might rightly wonder what there is left to say about actress Hepburn, since she has already been extensively written about and interviewed and has written her autobiography, Me: Stories of My Life (Knopf, 1991). But biographer Leaming (If This Is Happiness, LJ 9/1/89) has managed to add a whole new perspective to what is already known. Leaming starts this biography not with Hepburn's birth and early life but with her mother Kathy (known later as Kate). Kathy's mother, Carrie, was forced to take charge of her three girls after the suicide of her husband, Fred. Carrie's courage, strength, and fervid desire for her daughters to be educated led Kathy to become a leader in the early women's movement. These role models together helped shape the woman we know as Katharine Hepburn. Leaming hypothesizes, however, that Hepburn was also driven by the shadow of suicide, which took her brother Tom as well. This is less a gossipy, glitzy celebrity bio and more an exploration of the New England social mores that shaped this living legend. Highly recommended.-Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Lib. Sys., Cal.

Booknews

Draws on private letters and interviews with Hepburn to tell the story of the celebrated actress' career and personal life. Includes many b&w personal photos, film stills, and photos from various movie sets. Leaming is author of a biography on Orson Welles, and she taught theater and film at Hunter College for many years. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

From The Critics

To create an accurate, comprehensive, and revealing life story of Katharine Hepburn, biographer Barbara Leaming drew upon years of painstaking research that included her private correspondence and letters of her family and associates who knew her best. Her childhood was marked by the discovery of her brother Tom's suicide by hanging when she was 13 years old. But she was able to emerge from a troubled family background (her maternal grandfather also died a suicide in 1892), because of support from the strong women of her family, especially her mother who helped lead the women's suffrage movement of the time. This outstanding biography delves deeply into Hepburn's acting career from Broadway to Hollywood, her long affair with Spencer Tracy, and her relationships with John Ford, H. Phelps Putnam, and others. Katherine Hepburn is enthusiastically recommended reading for Hepburn fans and students of theatrical history and cinematic studies.

From Barnes & Noble

Based on letters & interviews with the star, her family, & friends, this book, as vivid & compelling as any novel, illuminates the real Kate Hepburn. Examines her tragic family history, her longtime affair with Spencer Tracy, more. B&W photos.