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Katharine Hepburn
"Not often is a book about a film star more gripping than anything the star has played on the screen, but Barbara Leaming's biography has that distinction...Katharine Hepburn is Ms. Leaming's penetrating look beyond Ms. Hepburn's acting career and into the forces that shaped such an emblematic figure...Prodigious research has yielded a family history that is both reve...more
Paperback, 550 pages
Published
August 1st 2004
by Limelight Editions
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decent choice for anyone interested in hepburn's background. it was a little dry and a lot unbalanced. we spend eons on katharine's ancestors and parents, and some of the information was really important for understanding kh's life- but some wasn't. i was fascinated by all the work kh's mom & aunt did for woman's rights, and really enjoyed reading that part, which is why the book gets 3 stars-- but then leaming goes on to write katharine's own life in terms of the men she was with, as if she was...more
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I had always admired Hepburn as a woman who took control of her career in Hollywood where so many woman seemed to be steam-rolled into studio dictated lives. However, the thesis of this biography is a dark side of the Hepburn family and supposedly the effect of that on Kate. I would have to read other biographers to see if there is agreement on this. Leaming's picture of Kate certainly contrasts with Lauren Bacall's picture of her in Bacall's biography of 1978.
I thought this was a wonderful, thorough book about the life and career of one of my favorite actresses, Katharine Hepburn. The author takes the reader on a journey through Kate's life, describing her home life, parents, siblings, and relationship with Spencer Tracy in a way I had not experienced before.
The first book I ever picked up about Katharine Hepburn, one of my favourite actress, and I love how interesting her family tree and history is, and what she has endured as a modern woman and one of the best actresses ever.
A more appropriate title would have been "The Hepburns" as this biography is roughly 50% about Katharine Hepburn, the rest being about her family. That wouldn't have been so off-putting if Leaming would have included more/any info about each of Hepburn's films (origin of material, negotiations of contracts, process of filming, public reception, etc...much of this info is included, but maybe a couple paragraphs at most for most of her films). I feel Leaming's account will appeal more to...more
This is a wonderfully written, well-researched biography, but the author interjects her own speculation into the story as fact far too often.
What an odd family -- so many suicides and nervous conditions. Hepburn was beautiful but her life wasn't. Spencer Tracy wasn't such a nice guy either. Interesting story
Excellent narration.
Excellent narration.
boring-just a series of movies & affairs
A really interesting, informative and well-researched biography of Katharine Hepburn. A good read.
Interesting facts about Katherine Hepburn's family history, her acting career, and her romantic relationships. I always admired her independent personality & enjoyed the book very much.
Once again Barbara Leaming explores the persona behind a great actress and shares all that knowledge with us. Really good and a way to see another look on KH's life.
I think I loved this one so much because I love Kate. I thought the author did a pretty good job.
I loved this book. Hepburn is the ultimate blue blood East coast icon of all time.
A lot of information (as of page 77) of life in the late 1800's. Interesting!
It read like fiction, fascinating!
Deborah Tucker
marked it as to-read
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