Author: RKO Radio Pictures (work for hire)

Everyone appreciates strength in another person, perhaps even more so in women who show determination to be who they want to be, say what they want to say, and act how they want to act.

Speaking of acting, there’s one American persona who defied all the hardships life threw at her and became one of the best known characters not just in Hollywood, but in history.

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun – Katharine Hepburn.

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born May 12, 1907 to an admittedly rich family. However, the world she was brought up in didn’t exactly favor women or their interests. Visibly intelligent from an early age, Hepburn quickly became known for her fierce independence and spirited personality. Despite being forced to attend a school she didn’t care for, Hepburn pursued acting and eventually made it into showbiz. In fact, she made it so big that she ended up being named the greatest female star in Hollywood history (by the American Film Institute).

In her youth, Hepburn was a tomboy, a trait partially owed to her father who was reportedly very keen on raising children who used their minds and bodies to the limit. Perhaps not surprisingly Hepburn later developed a habit of taking ice-cold baths every day, of which she said: “the bitterer the medicine, the better it was for you.”

The death of her brother Tom, whose body she personally found after he’d committed suicide, impacted her greatly.

Her acting career stretched for more than half a decade. Some of the most notable motion pictures she appeared in are: Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), The African Queen (1951), and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). She made her final screen appearance at the age of 87 (in 1994). After a period of ill health, Hepburn died in 2003 at the age of 96.