Katharine Hepburn HER TRIUMPH Over Tragedy

A DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD TAUGHT THE ICONIC ACTRESS TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF HER LIFE

- LOUISE A. BARILE

In The Warrior’s Husband, the play that would provide her lucky break, Katharine Hepburn arrived on stage carrying a dead stag over her shoulders. As Antiope, the commander of the Amazonian army, she captivated audiences with her daring, beauty and athleticism. The role led to an invitation to come to Hollywood and take a screen test.

From outward appearances, Katharine, like the mythological character she played, always seemed capable, self-assured and in control of her own destiny, but she insisted that it didn't happen overnight. "I was always in a state of terror," said the actress, who over six decades was nominated for a dozen Oscars and won four times.

"I think I'm a success, but I had every advantage; I should have been," she said several years before her 2003 death.

In The Warrior's Husband, the play that would provide her lucky break, Katharine Hepburn arrived Even a child born into privilege, as Katharine was, has trials to overcome, and the silver screen legend was no exception. She lost her adored older brother, Tom, early. Katharine also bore witness to her parents' heated, sometimes violent, interactions. "There was the story of Dr. and Mrs. Hepburn iceskating. He got mad, came over and gave her a shove. She flipped backwards on the ice and hit her head.

It sounded like a coconut breaking on ice," Katharine's nephew, artist Mundy Hepburn, tells Closer.