Vintage Photos of Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn was the ultimate embodiment of Hollywood glamour. Hepburn immediately rose to fame when she began her career as a stage actress which quickly launched her into the world of Hollywood. Her beauty, elegance, and style were breathtaking, and from her first film, A Bill of Divorcement, she was a star. Some of her most notable film credits include her performances in Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Despite her fame, Hepburn consistently led a private life far away from the public eye and news publications—she rarely agreed to interviews or photography that were unrelated to her films. Hepburn went on to have a 60-year career as an actress, including winning four Academy Awards and an Emmy Award. During her lifetime, critics noted Hepburn's remarkable on-screen presence and attributed her unprecedented first Oscar win—Hepburn won an award for her portrayal of Eva Lovelace in the 1933 movie Morning Glory, which was her third-ever film appearance. More enduringly perhaps, Hepburn was remembered for her spirited character. 

"I'm a personality as well as an actress. Show me an actress who isn't a personality, and you'll show me a woman who isn't a star," Hepburn famously said.

Hepburn married once, but only for a brief period of her life. The actress was wed to Ludlow Ogden Smith, a wealthy businessman and member of Philadelphia high society, from 1928 to 1934. The pair met while Hepburn was still in school at Bryn Mawr College, and although their marriage was shortlived, Hepburn remained friends with her ex-husband until his passing in 1979. 

While her films and remarkable outlook on life remain primary associations with the actress, Hepburn was also famous for her wardrobe choices. Hepburn vehemently refused to wear skirts in her day-to-day life, instead choosing to wear pants—an unacceptable move for any respectable woman in the '30s. ''I realized long ago that skirts are hopeless," Hepburn once said. "Anytime I hear a man say he prefers a woman in a skirt, I say: 'Try one. Try a skirt.'" Decades later, Hepburn was recognized for her iconic, courageous style choices with a lifetime award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), a prestigious award right up there with Hepburn's Academy Awards and Emmy Award.

At almost 100 years old, Hepburn passed away in 2003, but to this day, the actress is remembered for her many feats. 

To honor Katharine Hepburn's remarkable legacy, L'OFFICIEL remembers her life through a collection of vintage photos from her early career.