Claim: Katharine Hepburn was a performer.

Katharine Houghton Hepburn -LRB- May 12 , 1907 -- June 29 , 2003 -RRB- 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 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 -LRB- 1933 -RRB- , but this was followed by a series of commercial failures that 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 -LRB- 1951 -RRB- , a persona the public embraced . Three more Oscars came for her work in Guess Who 's Coming to Dinner -LRB- 1967 -RRB- , The Lion in Winter -LRB- 1968 -RRB- , and On Golden Pond -LRB- 1981 -RRB- . 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 the 20th-century United States and is remembered as an important cultural figure .