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(Britton's) thought-provoking, insightful look at Hepburn on screen raises problems about class, female sexuality, film genre, camp, spinsterhood, and women's oppression within the context of conventional cinema. -- Choice
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year One of Publishers Weekly's 100 Best Books of the Year Katharine Hepburn was her own creation--an ambitious, vulnerable woman who charmed the public with the image of an East Coast aristocrat, wearing pants and freely speaking her mind. But that show didn't come easily to her, or without tremendous effort and concealment. None of her success did. With this biography, William J. Mann challenges much of what we think we know about the Great Kate, and shows how a woman originally considered too controversial for Hollywood stardom learned the fine art of image making and transformed herself into an icon as all-American as the Statue of Liberty. With new material drawn from Hepburn's private papers, William J. Mann's Kate is "not just the best on Hepburn--it's a book that sets new standards in movie biography" (David Thomson, The New York Observer).
Filled with rare Hepburn family photographs, letters, and favorite recipes, this beyond-the-screen look at Hepburn's life offers fascinating stories and anecdotes that reveal the person behind the persona.
"With Charles Higham, Katharine Hepburn first authorized a writer to interview her closest friends and colleagues about her career, life, and behind-the-scenes romantic involvements from Leland Hayward to Spencer Tracy. And she herself tells the deeply moving story of her twenty-five-year love affair with Tracy. Here is a vivid portrait of the most elegant, independent, and tempestuous star to grace the screen."--BOOK JACKET.
Katharine Hepburn: grande dame of American actresses, fierce individualist, and living legend. Nominated for 12 Academy Awards and winner of four, Hepburn achieved stardom against formidable odds. The woman behind the legend emerges in this sympathetic yet clear-eyed portrait of her exceptional life and loves. Filled with accounts of her relationships with Spencer Tracy, Howard Hughes, and many others, here is the fascinating story of a determined and invincible woman. From her ferociously guarded private life to Broadway's lights and Hollywood's Golden Age, A Remarkable Woman reveals a star whose courage and magnetism knew no bounds. Throughout her life Hepburn spoke her mind, mixing a native Yankee forthrightness with the social conscience she learned from her parents and her own brand of stubbornness. This book is a fascinating look not only at the invincible Katherine Hepburn but at a whole era—the golden age of Hollywood set against the struggles for women’s equality and the glittering lights of Broadway.
• The private Hepburn in her own words: Katharine Hepburn draws on a series of interviews Chandler conducted with the actress during the 1970s and 1980s. Chandler also interviewed director George Cukor; Hepburn co-stars Cary Grant and James Stewart; and Laurence Olivier, Ginger Rogers, and other screen luminaries. . • A Hollywood icon unveiled: Notoriously guarded, Katharine Hepburn talks candidly with Chandler about her marriage, her long affair with Spencer Tracy, co-stars and movies, and the seminal event in her life—the suicide of her brother, whom she adored, when they were both in their teens. With her unprecedented access to Hepburn, Chandler has written a biography completely different from all others, including Hepburn’s own guarded book about herself. .
Katharine Hepburn was far more than an iconic movie star who won four Academy Awards for best actress (the most ever) and made classic films - The African Queen, The Philadelphia Story, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - that still rank among the greatest of all time. She also exerted a singular influence on American popular culture, challenging rigid assumptions about how women should behave - and almost single-handedly gave them permission to wear pants. The list of adjectives used to describe Hepburn - bold, stubborn, witty, beautiful - only begin to hint at the complex woman who entranced audiences around the world (she could also be controlling, selfish, and self-righteous). So here is the full, epic story of "the patron saint of the independent American female," as one critic described her - from her breakthrough in Hollywood in the early 1930s to On Golden Pond in the 1980s to her dramatic affairs with Howard Hughes and Spencer Tracy and beyond. With her distinctive, patrician voice and tsunami-force personality, Hepburn always lived life strictly on her own terms. And oh, what a life it was.
"Published in conjunction with the exhibition 'Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen, ' held at Kent State University Museum, OH (October 2, 2010-September 4, 2011) and the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, NY (October 18, 2012-January 20, 2013)."