Ranked #68 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
She and Spencer Tracy acted together in 9 movies: Adam's Rib (1949), Desk Set (1957), Keeper of the Flame (1942), Pat and Mike (1952), The Sea of Grass (1947), State of the Union (1948), Without Love (1945), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and Woman of the Year (1942).
She is a descendant of "Eleanor of Aquitaine", whom she portrayed in The Lion in Winter (1968).
She never watched Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) because it was Spencer Tracy's last film.
She thought Melanie Griffith was a good actress, but would fade away quickly. She also saw Julia Roberts as the next big thing. But the actress she loved above all was Vanessa Redgrave. She adored every performance Ms Redgrave has ever given and would tell people that she was, "A thrill to look at and to listen to".
She was nearly decapitated by an aeroplane propeller when she was rushing about an airport, avoiding the press.
She was of Scottish and English descent.
She was one of the few great stars in Hollywood who made no attempt to sugarcoat her true personality for anyone, a personality that was blunt and feisty.
She was voted the "2nd Greatest Movie Star of All Time" by Entertainment Weekly.
She was voted the 14th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
Spoofed in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon Little Red Walking Hood (1937), in which Little Red Riding Hood speaks exactly like her.
Suffered from pyrophobia (fear of fire).
Survived the Great New England Hurricane of Sept. 21, 1938 while at her summer home in the Borough of Fenwick in Old Saybrook, CT. Reportedly she was there considering a marriage proposal by Howard Hughes. The storm killed at least 682. Hepburn, her family and servants barely escaped with their lives: Soon after fleeing it on foot in the storm, her home was washed away along with her Oscar for her 1933 film _Morning Glory_ which was later found intact. Hepburn rebuilt the home in 1939, and was locally famous for running people off "her" (public) beach in her later years.
Thanked by Natalie Merchant in the liner notes of her album "Motherland".
The intersection of East 49th Street and Second Avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City was renamed "Katharine Hepburn Place" shortly after her passing. Hepburn lived in a brownstone (244 East 49th Street) which is close to the intersection.
The scene in which her character falls into the canal in Summertime (1955) left her with a permanent eye infection as the water was contaminated.
Thought very highly of the acting talents of Jeremy Irons and John Lithgow. She particularly disliked Meryl Streep, claiming she could recognize Streep's constant search for tactics during a performance. Hepburn also thought Glenn Close talented, but said openly Close's feet were too big for audiences to take her seriously as an actress.
Three films of hers are on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. They are: The African Queen (1951) at #48, On Golden Pond (1981) at #45, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) at #35.
Turned down the role of Kitty Foyle in Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman (1940). The part was then given to Ginger Rogers, who went on to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance.
Turned down the role of Marilla in Anne of Green Gables (1985) (TV), but recommended her great-niece, Schuyler Grant for the role of Anne. Schuyler ended up playing Diana instead.