Katharine Hepburn

by Barbara Leaming

Hollywood has produced many stars, but no one compares to Katharine Hepburn. She is the last of the great a celebrated actress, a brilliant personality, an original.

Barbara Leaming has discovered thousands of never-before-seen documents that finally illuminate the mystery of this enigmatic, fascinating woman. Based on letters by Hepburn, her friends, and her family, as well as interviews with Hepburn herself, Leaming's book is a family story that brings alive three generations of fearless women, personal and political crusaders who shaped the history of women in our century.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Film, History

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Barbara Leaming is the author of “Kick Kennedy: The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of the Favorite Kennedy Daughter” (Thomas Dunne Books, April 12, 2016). She has written three New York Times bestsellers, including her recent book “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis”. Leaming’s book “Churchill Defiant” received The Emery Reves Award from the International Churchill Centre. Her groundbreaking biography of America's 35th President, “Jack Kennedy: The Education of a Statesman” was the first to detail the lifelong influence of British history and culture and especially of Winston Churchill on JFK. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, the Times of London and other periodicals. She lives in Connecticut.

www.facebook.com/barbara.leaming1

Reviews

[Kricket · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent choice for anyone interested in hepburn's background. it was a little dry and a lot unbalanced. we spend eons on katharine's ancestors and parents, and some of the information was really important for understanding kh's life- but some wasn't. i was fascinated by all the work kh's mom & aunt did for woman's rights, and really enjoyed reading that part, which is why the book gets 3 stars-- but then leaming goes on to write katharine's own life in terms of the men she was with, as if she was defined by john ford & spencer tracy.

holy crap did i get tired of hearing about spencer tracy. what an ass.

so we spend eons more on her life in terms of ford & tracy, and then they both die, so leaming rockets through kh's years after that in approximately two pages, saying that katharine kept busy in her old age with many wonderful projects, none of which are described. the book should have been called "Katharine Hepburn's Family & The Men In Her Life"-- it really doesn't have a whole lot to do with her.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a wonderful, thorough book about the life and career of one of my favorite actresses, Katharine Hepburn. The author takes the reader on a journey through Kate's life, describing her home life, parents, siblings, and relationship with Spencer Tracy in a way I had not experienced before.

[Helaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had always admired Hepburn as a woman who took control of her career in Hollywood where so many woman seemed to be steam-rolled into studio dictated lives. However, the thesis of this biography is a dark side of the Hepburn family and supposedly the effect of that on Kate. I would have to read other biographers to see if there is agreement on this. Leaming's picture of Kate certainly contrasts with Lauren Bacall's picture of her in Bacall's biography of 1978.

[Janet Ott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was 200 pages in and Kate was only 8. I'm now in her years at Bryn Mawr. She just swam naked in the fountain. Gotta love Kate! Hard to believe that in her first two years she was basically a wallflower. But then, she had discovered her brother's body after he hung himself only a year before going. That would throw anyone. And her family went completely silent about it afterward, forcing Kate to suppress her feelings about it. No wonder she can find her depth of feeling so well on film.

[Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea Katherine Hepburn had overcome so much -- including multiple suicides in her family. This book was a revelation and made Katherine Hepburn one of my heroes!

[James Lew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I ever picked up about Katharine Hepburn, one of my favourite actress, and I love how interesting her family tree and history is, and what she has endured as a modern woman and one of the best actresses ever.

[Michelle Adcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I loved this one so much because I love Kate. I thought the author did a pretty good job.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting facts about Katherine Hepburn's family history, her acting career, and her romantic relationships. I always admired her independent personality & enjoyed the book very much.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Hepburn is the ultimate blue blood East coast icon of all time.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting, informative and well-researched biography of Katharine Hepburn. A good read.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd family -- so many suicides and nervous conditions. Hepburn was beautiful but her life wasn't. Spencer Tracy wasn't such a nice guy either. Interesting story
Excellent narration.

[Nathan Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was unexpectedly excellent, given that I left a paperback copy sitting on my shelf for years without opening it. It comes under a lot of negative scrutiny because its subject isn't even born for the first 150 pages, but the way that Leaming draws the experiences of Hepburn's mother and grandmother into her later relationships with Spencer Tracy and John Ford shows a lot of insight into how certain kinds of generational traumas manifest. (BTW, as a big Ford fan who really only knows about the movies and not the man, I never realized what a complicated love life he had, and my heart broke for him as well as for Hepburn in learning what happened; was also stunned by the theory that Bringing Up Baby is partly inspired by their relationship.) Frankly I was just as fully gripped in the stories about the suffrage movement and the abuses Kate the elder endured as i was in the later Hollywood stories, but those are remarkably engrossing too. And it's just a very well-written and even-keeled book, even though I think a more modern version would probably have more to say about the rumors surrounding Hepburn's (and Tracy's) sexuality beyond just waving it away in a single paragraph, but there's still so much information here to digest, and it's built into a sweeping story that remains compulsively interesting for its lengthy expanse.

[Cindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book - long read. Lots of sad history.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a good many books about Katharine Hepburn, including her 2 autobiographies. But I was always left with a yearning to understand her more, and the books left so many unexplained personality changes, her character I saw as split in 2, the ultra independent force vs the codependent, lap rug to the men in her life. Barbara Leaming has finally put all the pieces together that make up the pie of this fantastic actress. Starting with both sets of grandparents and families, thru the death of her brother Tom when she was 14, adding the strength and idiosyncrasies of her mother and aunt, the overpowering will and cold father, thru her many male companions, boyfriends, husbands to other women, to even her own brothers, a clear and defined picture of this woman emerges, human, faulty, needy, strong and vibrant, healthy, obstinate, feminine,and yet wanting to be a boy so desperately as well. One imagines what Katharine Hepburn would be like in this day and age of same sex marriages and sex operations, and more therapists recognizing the mixed gender patterns of this woman. Her own demons were to fight for rights for women, normally reserved for men, to dress like a man, and surround herself with them. That doesn't make her a lesbian, but during the years involved only the men had the freedom to express themselves and carry themselves fully as free humans. So she emulated them. On the other hand, her strong and smart mother was the President of the Ladies Suffrage group of the state of CT, no small chore. BUT, Mrs. Hepburn had to be home by 4pm to serve the daily tea with husband and children. Her role as a woman in those days could be stretched only so far, as far as her husband was concerned. All through her life Kate saw her father, cold and emotionless, dictate the ways of the home, and her mother, drop her strength and independence and become a dutiful wife and woman. Kate never got her father's approval for her life, her abilities, nor did he ever express love and admiration for her work. Instead, she always kowtowed to him in most matters, hiding within herself the blame she felt for her brothers death, and wanting desperately to make it up for him by being both her brother and herself simultaneously. One main reason this book is so important, is that Kate's family, starting with her grandparents thru her own parents, concealed, and covered up the truths of the deaths that made such an impact on this family, leaving the living to live with no answers, no questions answered, and absolute silence, rarely mentioning the dead's name again. Whoosh! Under the rug, and forget. Yet each death created a heavy impact upon the living, and would have given Freud a lifetime to figure out! Barbara Heaming researched the family members relentlessly, unearthing secrets and hidden feelings, and generational dynamics unknown prior, and this information was requested by the remaining Hepburn children, in their 80s+ at that time. The newest generations will not be burdened with these secrets, nor dwell heavily upon them, as most of the secrets were of the times, society disfavoring suicide as a family defect. Well, the Hepburns had 5, all male, for the past 3 generations.
Upon reading this litany of sorrow and pain, I can understand Kate better, and quite honestly, feel sorry for her, as her character(s) were formed in her childhood, along with her needs, suppression of feelings, and her need for male domination and expression of love. If only she had sought out a psychiatrist to understand what drove her so intently into life, her loves, and her work. She might have found herself before it was too late.
I recommend this book highly, not just because of the juicy gossip, but the enjoyment and energy that Kate and her family of eccentrics display thru this book.
One last point, after reading the many reviews, I do have to say that the title of this book is misleading. I read the jacket ahead of time so that I knew it was about explaining KH by diving into the family history, and was anxious to read this. But maybe the title should have been more designed to indicate that this was a Hepburn/Houghton family history, leading into the psychology of KH, woman and actress.

[Scott E · Rating 2 out of 5]

A more appropriate title would have been "The Hepburns" as this biography is roughly 50% about Katharine Hepburn, the rest being about her family. That wouldn't have been so off-putting if Leaming would have included more/any info about each of Hepburn's films (origin of material, negotiations of contracts, process of filming, public reception, etc...much of this info is included, but maybe a couple paragraphs at most for most of her films). I feel Leaming's account will appeal more to readers who are looking for a "sensationalized" telling of Hepburn and those in her life. Rich and deep detail is not a strong point of this book.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, engrossing and incredibly thorough biography of not just Katherine Hepburn, but the entire Hepburn clan. Get ready to read a hundred pages or so before Katherine is even born. Real eye-opening stuff about her relationship with Spencer Tracy. Despite some harsh criticism of this book by some movie fans, this is an affectionate portrait of an American original.

[Letitia · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair, I don't really enjoy biographies much, unless they are about world changers in a violent or politically charged environment. I found this to be more of a textbook than an exploration of a person. I read it as a companion to Hepburn's autobiography, and I found Hepburn's voice and account much easier to follow. However, it was interesting to have the differing perspectives on what happened. Hepburn was definitely more tactful with her relationships than this biographer.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up having to skip the first third of the book to finally get to Kate's biography. I got the impression that the author found her parents far more fascinating than the actress from the amount of pages spent on outlining every single detail of her parents' and grandparents' lives.

[Heather Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an amazing biography on an amazing woman.While Ms. Leaming does not sugar-coat facts, she does not villify either. Want to learn about Ms. Hepburn? I strongly suggest reading this book and,of course, Me, written by the actress herself.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read. I don't really consider it a book about Katharine Hepburn, it focused mainly on her family (first half of the book) and the latter half of the book focused on the men she had affairs with.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully written, well-researched biography, but the author interjects her own speculation into the story as fact far too often.

[Deborah Roussety · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting..........

[Marcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

horribly written. Badly researched. She printed it again, and never bothered to correct her over the top mistakes.

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got through 200 pages and could read no more. Not nearly as interesting as I thought it would be. I was reading this for book club and it underwhelmed me.

[Lucy Sanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hepburn is one of my favorite actors of all times. This was a cozy book to snuggle into and feel as if I actually knew her.

[Colleen Schoenecker · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most interesting biographies I've read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I wasn't stuck in the house, I may have never read this. Its been on my shelf for many many years. The author has written dozens of celebrity bios. This was a well written book. I enjoyed the first half, which focused on Kate's mother and grandmother much more than the second half about Kate herself. The Hepburn foremothers were strong women, and accomplished for their time and place. Grandma made sure that her daughters were educated (a very rare thing at that time), the daughters went on to become suffragettes and birthcontrol advocators (which often carried an unpleasant whiff of eugenics). Her great uncle owned the Corning Glass works. He was a controlling, overbearing, nasty man. Kate's mother worked closely with Margaret Sanger, birth control leader. How'd they get to know one another? Margaret Sanger's relative was a maid in Mean Great Uncle's house. What strange connections life brings? Anyway, once the book shifted to adult Kate and her acting career, I lost a lot of interest. I always thought of Katherine Hepburn as a particularly smart and strong woman - not anymore. She comes across in this bio as weak and subservient to just about every male in her life. Spencer Tracy is a complete asshole. Let's just say that his role Boys' Town - not typecasting. Even with her career and financial success, it sure seemed to me that Kate never got to do what she really wanted, and must have been very unhappy.

[Cat Rayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nearly 200 pages of learning about Kate’s grandparents and parents before Katherine (Kathy) enters the picture. The background was interesting and certainly set the foundation for the mercurial life of the intended subject.

Learning that her mother was a strong and pivotal presence in the suffrage movement, it was no surprise that the Hepburn family was very progressive minded. They were, however, not ones to share emotional intimacy and drove the intellectual and athletic pursuits over it. This resulted in dysfunction that was capitalized when tragedy struck.

Reading on, finally into Kate’s life, even with her brash attitude, “take no prisoners” bravado and challenging the norms in dress (she preferred trousers), she surprised me with her exceptional need for attention from unattainable men. Her first husband loved her well, but she bossed him and her relationships during and after her marriage were unstable. Jack Ford may have been the best, but his guilt prevented him from divorcing his wife. Howard Huges is portrayed as a man used to getting what he wants, and Kate did make him work for her, but he was never going to be faithful. Her relationship with Spencer Tracy, always heard to be the great love story, was presented here as the co-dependent torturous pairing it really was.

The insight into Katherine Hepburn was great, well researched and as aforesaid included much of her lineage as well. That a fiery independent woman like Katherine Hepburn could be reduced to submission to a broken man like Spencer Tracy is a core theme from her life story.

A good biographical story and many, many tidbits of learning will find the reader along with an emotional pull that would have never been acceptable to the Hepburn family.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leaming presents more than just Katherine Hepburns life but what drove her life. With stories Hepburn probably found instrumental to her own development as a person and an actress we get an intimate look at her most influential friends and family. The good and the bad, the joys and the heartbreak. A great read into a different era and the life of a fiercely loyal and beautiful actress. I would have loved to have met her.

[Kathy De. · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is my most favorite actress and has been for years than I can count. This huge volume goes back on family history, shedding light on her future relationships, such as her decades long relationship with Spencer Tracy. Surprising insight into the mechanics of their relationship despite his marriage to Louise Tracey. Bottom line immoral,wrong hurtful, ignorand condoned. Emerged with less respect for both.