Katharine Hepburn.

Received academy awards for her first as well as her final three nominations, with 34 years between her first and second win.

Walked around the studio in her underwear in the early 1930s when the costume department stole her slacks; she refused to dress until they were returned.

Expressed great fondness for actors Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Melanie Griffith, and Julia Roberts, and disdain for Meryl Streep, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Woody Allen.

When Cate Blanchett won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Aviator 2004, Hepburn became the first previous Oscar winner to be portrayed in an Oscar-winning film role.

Graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1928 with a degree in history and philosophy.

Became very fond of Christopher Reeve when he made his Broadway debut opposite her in the 1978 production of A Matter of Gravity. She teased him that she wanted him to take care of her in retirement.

One of Hollywood’s early tall leading ladies, standing over 5′ 7 in an era when most actresses were a little over 5′ 0.

Thought Melanie Griffith was a good actress but would fade away, and saw Julia Roberts as the next big thing. Her favorite actress was Vanessa Redgrave.

Her final screen appearance was in One Christmas 1994, with the final line: I can sit back in my old age and not regret a single moment… a life with no regrets.

In 1969, she tied with Barbra Streisand for Best Actress, with Streisand for Funny Girl and Hepburn for The Lion in Winter.

Thought highly of Jeremy Irons and John Lithgow, but disliked Meryl Streep, claiming she could recognize Streep’s constant search for tactics during a performance. She also thought Glenn Close talented but said her feet were too big.

Survived the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 at her summer home in Fenwick, Old Saybrook. She was reportedly considering a marriage proposal from Howard Hughes. Her home was washed away along with her Oscar for Morning Glory, which was later found intact.

Was nearly decapitated by an aeroplane propeller while rushing about an airport avoiding the press.

Did not attend Spencer Tracy’s funeral out of respect for his family. Instead, she watched his Oscar-winning performance in Captains Courageous 1937 at the home of writer/director Richard Brooks.

Although she never committed to her marriage with Ludlow Ogden Smith and admitted treating him poorly, they remained friends for life.

Was a natural redhead.

In 2010, Jason Bateman recalled that Hepburn wore white Reebok high-top sneakers on and off the set of This Can’t Be Love 1994; if a scene called for fancier shoes, she wore black socks over the sneakers.

Her favorite actress was Bette Davis.

Falling into a canal in Summertime 1955 left her with a permanent eye infection due to contaminated water.

Her first name is spelled Katharine, not Katherine, and she often corrected those who misspelled it.

Godmother of Sam Robards, son of Lauren Bacall and Jason Robards.

She and Walter Brennan are the only actors to win three Oscars on three consecutive nominations.

In her book Me: Stories of My Life, she admitted to posing for nude photos in her 20s, which were later lost.

Had deep Colonial American roots in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia, and was mostly of English ancestry with distant Scottish roots.

Spencer Tracy wanted her to play his wife in Father of the Bride 1950, but the studio felt they were too romantic a team to play a domesticated couple, so Joan Bennett got the part.

Admitted to using her brother’s birthdate as her own for years.

She did not appear in any film in 1939; instead, she was on stage playing Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story, which led to her comeback film.

After marrying Ludlow Ogden Smith in 1928, she forced him to change his name to S. Ogden Ludlow because she objected to being called Katharine Smith, as there was already a well-known radio singer named Kate Smith.

Her former maid Emma Faust Tillman held the title of World’s Oldest Person for four days in 2007.

Aunt of actress Katharine Houghton, who portrayed her character’s daughter in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner 1967.

In 2004, Sotheby’s auctioned over 700 of her personal belongings, including a bronze bust of Spencer Tracy that she created, which sold for $316,000.

Was fired early in the filming of Travels with My Aunt 1972 for demanding too many script changes, replaced by Maggie Smith.

Her maternal grandfather, paternal uncle Charlie, and older brother Tom all committed suicide; these tragedies were never discussed in the family.

Each of her parents’ six children were given Mrs. Hepburn’s maiden name Houghton as their middle name.

As of 2021, she holds the record for the longest gap between first and second Best Actress Oscar wins 34 years and the largest gap between first and last acting Oscars 48 years.

Three of her films are on AFI’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies list: The African Queen, On Golden Pond, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Is one of 14 Best Actress Oscar winners who did not accept the award in person; she never accepted any of her four wins.

She is not related to Audrey Hepburn.