Always a role model for female independence, self-determination, and integrity, actress Katharine Hepburn is thought by many to be one of the most monumental and enduring of all of Hollywood's stars. At the end of the twentieth century, Hepburn holds the record for Oscar wins (four) and nominations (twelve).

Hepburn spent her early years in Hartford, Connecticut, where her parents were liberal intellectuals who did not raise their children along traditional sex roles, but encouraged them to excel at all their endeavors and expand their boundaries. Her father was a successful physician and her mother an active suffragette, which gave Hepburn an expanded view of woman's role from an early age.

Audrey Hepburn

Hepburn was drawn to acting early and participated in local productions before going to Bryn Mawr and appearing in college theatricals. She graduated in 1928 and made her Broadway debut in The...