Katharine Hepburn

A true iconoclast known for her intelligence, determination and fierce demeanor Katharine Hepburn demonstrated remarkable staying power in a screen career that spanned more than six decades, winning three of her four Best Actress Oscars after the age of 60. An overnight sensation upon winning her first Academy Award for "Morning Glory" (1933), the headstrong actress soon chafed under the constraints of the male-dominated studio system. Brash and outspoken - she was one of the first American female celebrities to wear trousers - her prickly public image and a series of poor project choices earned her a reputation as "box office poison" until "The Philadelphia Story" (1940) allowed her to take control over her career as few actresses had before. From then on, Hepburn carefully cultivated roles that were largely reflections of her own unique persona. She perfected the battle-of-the-sexes comedy formula with the love of her life, Spencer Tracy, in such films as "Woman of the Year" (1942) and "Adam's Rib" (1949), then entered a second phase of her career with the prim "spinster" roles first seen in "The African Queen" (1951). For many, these iconic performances would eventually outshine her earlier triumphs. Hepburn's final film with Tracy in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967) won her another Oscar, as did her pairing with Peter O'Toole in "The Lion in Winter" (1968) and Henry Fonda in "On Golden Pond" (1981). An unrepentantly private person, Hepburn maintained a reclusive, yet deeply satisfying life up until her passing at the age of 96.