Who is Katharine Hepburn you might ask? She is an American actor who has had a world wine of a career. She was known as a fiercely independent woman who spoke her mind. Headstrong and self-sufficient, Hepburn refused to conform to society’s expectations of women and she did what she thought was right no matter what. She provoked society by wearing pants instead of dresses. We will take a dive into her career later on, but first let me tell you about her personal life.
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut and died on June 29, 2003 at the age of ninety-six. Katherine Hepburn was the second of six children to Thomas Norval Hepburn and Katherine Martha Houghton. Both of her parents fought for social change in the United States which sparked her curiosity and determination to “fight against barriers she faced” She was married to “Ludlow Ogden Smith (1928 - 1934)” (Wikipedia 2017). She was a tomboy growing up and she was very close to her brother Thomas. The death of her brother made it hard for her to stay in school, so she dropped out and got private tutoring. She finally went back to school and attended Bryn Mawr College and her acting career took off.
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“She graduated with a degree in history and philosophy in June 1928.” (Wikipedia 2017). Her start in Hollywood was in “RKO’s Bill of Divorcement in (1932), the first of a string of hits, including Morning Glory (1933), for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress, and Little Women (1933).” (Peterson 2013) Hepburn has received four Academy Awards for Best Actress (1982, 1969, 1968, 1934), Kennedy Center Honors (1990), Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award (1979), BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (1983) (Wikipedia). It took Hepburn 34 years to win another Academy
Shirley Temple was born on April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, California at 9:00 p.m - a time significant to her because it told her she would always have a bit of catching up to do if she wanted to be on time for dinner (Black 5). As the youngest child and only girl in her family of five, she was her mother’s pride and joy. She had two supportive parents, Gertrude and George, and two older brothers, Jack and George Junior. Gertrude Temple was a stay-at-home mom while George went to work as a bank teller, which played in Shirley’s favor when she needed someone to manage her money later in life (Blashfield 55). Gertrude Temple has been called the first stage mother (Blashfield 22) for good reason. Shirley Temple was acting before she could read, so her mother helped her memorize her lines. Temple’s mother served as her private costume designer, and never failed to make the young star’s performance her best yet, by encouraging her to “Sparkle, Shirley Sparkle!” (David 2).
Robert F Kennedy had gone to Marilyn's home that day, they had gotten into an argument and sometime after that he left with a partner of Ginancana named Johnny Roselli. He visited her around 10pm, purposely leaving the front door unlocked, letting five hit men enter her house. One crept up behind her and slipped a chloroform-soaked washcloth over her face and gave her an enema of barbiturates and took her to her bathroom. Departing the house when they hear Marilyn's housekeeper come into the house” said Darwin Potter, biographer and travel writer. Police contact and a man named Peter Lawford arrived and stole Marilyn Monroe's little red diary, which she kept all her sexual affair details in, which all made the scene after a while.
Shirley Temple Black was easily the most popular and famous child star of all time. She got her start in the movies at the age of three and soon progressed to super stardom. Shirley could do it all: act, sing and dance and all at the age of five! Fans loved her as she was bright, bouncy and cheerful in her films and they ultimately bought millions of dollars worth of products that had her likeness on them. Dolls, phonograph records, mugs, hats, dresses, whatever it was, if it had her picture on there they bought it. Shirley was box-office champion for the consecutive years 1935 to 1938, beating out such great grown-up stars as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, and many more. By 1939, her popularity declined. Although she starred in some
Mr. Kelly earned special academy award "…in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and especially for his achievements in the art of choreography on film." He was the only one to receive this award, as it was made specifically for him and his achievements. Mr. Kelly also won the AFI Life Achievement Award. Other people who have won this also were, Morgan Freeman, Steven Spielberg, and Meryl Streep.
June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California Norma Jeane Mortenson was born. She never knew her father and her mother is Gladys Baker, Gladys has psychiatric problems and was placed into a mental institution. One of Monroe's earliest memories of her mother is Gladys trying to smother her with a pillow in her crib (“Marilyn Monroe.”). As she grew up, she spent most of her time in eleven foster homes and one orphanage. (“18 Things...Monroe.”). Until she was seven she was in foster homes until her mother got her back but soon after her mother was declared insane and had to go to a psychiatric hospital (Bradshaw, Lauren). While Monroe was in foster homes she was sexually
Marilyn Monroe is an icon that is idolized by many and had a great impact on pop culture. She didn’t have the best childhood and had a lot of up and downs in her life. Marilyn Monroe was born in California in 1926. She was named Norma Jeane Mortenson after a popular actress at the time. Her mother Gladys Baker was mentally ill, so she had to put Monroe in foster care. She lived in a foster home until she was seven years old. She had two other siblings from her mother’s first marriage. She never met them because her mom’s first husband took them to live with him in Kentucky.
Lucille Ball, on of the best comedians in America who was born on August 6, 1911 Jamestown, New York. She started dating the guy called Johnny DeVita who was a 23-year-old local hood. But her mom, dede, wasn't happy with the relationship with her boyfriend but she couldn’t separate them, therefore she figured an idea to let 14-year-old Lucille to for the show business to separate them. Although her family did not have lots of money, her mom DeDe still arranged for Lucille to go to the John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts in NYC where she also met Bette Davis also as a fellow student. She returned to NYC in 1928 and tried to find a job. But at the same time either with, rheumatic fever, rheumatoid arthritis and all kinds of an unknown
She was born September14, 1879 in Coruing, New York, she was the sixth of eleven children who survived her mother 18 pregnancies in 22 years. Her mother died at 49 years old and Margaret spent most of her younger
Maya Angelou is well known today for her poetry. She is a very inspirational woman that poems speak to many young women still today. Maya Angelou is one of those people that everyone loves and not many could ever have anything negative to say. She went through hard times as a child that later made her a better poet.
Shirley Temple was born on April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, California, and was a leading child film actress during the Great Depression. (Shirley Temple n. pag.) Shirley Temple was easily the most popular and famous child star of all time. (Biography for Shirley Temple n. pag.) Shirley Jane Temple was born to a banker and a housewife with two older children, on April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, California. (Shirley Temple n. pag.) Shirley could do it all: act, sing and dance and all at the age of five! (Biography for Shirley Temple n. pag.) Temple's mother capitalized on the toddler's natural flair for dancing by enrolling her in dance classes at the age of 3 1/2.(Shirley Temple n. pag.) When Temple was just 3 years old, she landed a contract with Educational Pictures and made her acting debut in a string of low-budget movies dubbed "Baby Burlesques." (Shirley Temple n. pag.) Her father became her agent and financial adviser.(Shirley Temple n. pag.) Her first contract was with Educational Pictures Inc., for whom she worked in 1932 and 1933. (Shirley Temple Black n. pag.) She got her start in the movies at the age of three and soon progressed to super stardom. (Biography for Shirley Temple n. pag.) Fans loved her as she was bright, bouncy and cheerful in her films and they ultimately bought millions of dollars worth of products that had her likene...
And when she became a Hattie Carnegie model she changed her name back to Lucille Ball. It stayed that way from that time forward (Ball 43-45). After modeling for a time, her face became well-known and was seen on billboards all around New York city. A movie producer noticed and offered her a minor role in a movie called Roman Scandals. Lucille dyed her brown hair blond and moved to Hollywood, California, the place where dreams had come true for so many actors and actresses (Biography.com). The newspaper in Lucille’s hometown of Jamestown, New York made a big deal about her starring in this movie, writing big articles that everyone read. Lucille found herself becoming a “local celebrity” overnight (Ball 64). Her small role in Roman Scandals opened other doors, landing her other roles in other films. Her second big break came when Lucille got a role in the movie Roberta and got a contract for up to three years with the studio that produced the movie. This contract ended up stretching to seven years of steady work with the studio (Ball
While on set of one of her movies the costume department stole Katharine Hepburn's slacks because they found them uncouth and unfit for an actress. Hepburn proceeded to walk around the set in her underwear, refusing to get dressed until her slacks were returned (Biography. Com Editors). This story is just one of many that personifies Hepburn's stubborn and unique personality that has made her such an inspiration and beloved actress. Not only did her personality make her famous but it is also the reason she helped improve society. Society has benefitted because of Katharine Hepburn's empowerment of women, provision of entertainment, and advocation for equality.
Civil rights activist, Daisy Bates was at the core of the school desegregation catastrophe in Little Rock, Arkansas in September 1957. Bates used her position as president of a local Arkansas branch of the NAACP to strategically destroy the segregated school system. Her civil rights work involved changing the policies of the Arkansas Public School System that promoted segregation of school students, which in turn denied equality of educational resources and qualitative instruction to Arkansas’ Negro students. This fight for civil rights for students of color caused a fundamental shift in how the state educated its students both Black and White. Her plan halted the nation to expose the segregation in the Arkansas school district. Bates advocated for Black children to attend public schools that had been segregated arguing that the school system needed to be desegregated. As a result of argument, Bates became the mentor to nine African-American students, who enrolled in
Helen Keller was an outstanding, amazing woman who fought her disabilities and worked to lead a fulfilling life. She traveled the world telling people her story and how she overcame her disabilities. She went to every continent but Antarctica to bring encouragement to the blind (Lash). She proved too many people that nothing could stop her, and that if nothing could stop her, nothing could stop anybody else. Helen Keller became famous for her ability to prove that anyone could achieve success despite personal struggles.
Diana Spencer had a happy childhood and home life until she was eight years old when her mother left the family and ran off with another man. Her parents went through a horrible divorce but Diana's father won custody of his three daughters and son. Diana Spencer was home tutored until the age of nine and then was sent in and out of exclusive schools where she ended her education at the age of 16 at a Swiss finishing school that she dropped out of within a few months. When Diana returned home she hired herself out as a cleaning lady but she eventually found work as an aide to a kindergarten teacher.