Katharine Hepburn was an American actress known for her fierce wit and independence. She starred in some of Hollywood’s greatest classics, including Bringing Up Baby (1938), The African Queen (1951), and The Lion in Winter (1968). Katharine was also known for her androgynous fashion and assertive attitude.
Hepburn's early career was mixed — while she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her third film, Morning Glory (1933), she also encountered a series of setbacks that led to her being considered “box office poison”.
She rekindled her career when she bought the rights to a play that she was starring in, The Philadelphia Story. The movie (1940), which she also starred in, earned her another Academy Award nomination for best actress. The film's commercial success reinvigorated her career and she went on to dominate the box office for decades.
Hepburn thwarted norms of the day by choosing to wear trousers in an era when women could still be arrested if they were caught in public “masquerading as men” by wearing androgynous clothing. During that time, Hepburn had taken many lovers, including Nancy Hamilton and Frances Rich. Hepburn was known to be more focused on partnership than passion, and that didn’t sit well with men she dated, meaning she never really needed to lie about who she did and did not “have a fling” with, according to biographer William J. Mann. Even through her decades-long relationship with Spencer Tracy, Hepburn only lived with other women — as Tracy stayed with his wife — though they always enjoyed each other’s companionship and would often meet up for dinner.
Another LGBT icon and noted “fixer” for closeted celebrities in old Hollywood, Scotty Bowers, swore that the Hepburn/Tracy relationship was just a cover, claiming that the renowned actress was lesbian, and that her long-term boyfriend Tracy was bi.[1]
Hepburn was always a very private person and did not talk about her personal life. She existed simply as herself, not caring about labels or how others interpreted her relationships and actions.
Hepburn passed away in June of 2003. In her eulogy, Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “Katharine Hepburn was the patron saint of the independent American female.”[2]
Her legacy lives on in every strong, confident individual who questions the outdated rules and expectations of previous generations, and she inspires a future where anyone can wear whatever makes them feel like the best versions of themselves. While we can’t confirm how Katharine would identify in today’s culture and society, she helped shatter gender roles and disrupt clothing norms for over 60 years by being her truest self. In our hearts, she is always welcome under our bi umbrella.