Every Film Katharine Hepburn Received An Oscar Nomination For

Few figures in Hollywood history have had the screen presence or prolific career of Katharine Hepburn. She was, by all accounts, an anomaly, someone who Britannica describes as an "unlikely star." Hepburn was commanding and quirky, as well as extremely assertive and independent during a time when that was not the norm for women in Hollywood. As explained by Biography, she wasn't interested in playing by Hollywood's traditional rules for women: She didn't always dress up or wear makeup while out, she dressed unconventionally, and she shunned media when at all possible.

By Hepburn's own account, she also had no issue clashing with co-stars or directors when she felt it was necessary. Yet, she was beloved by her directors and co-stars over her six decades in Hollywood, with few who had negative words to say about her. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences clearly admired her as well, nominating her for a staggering 12 Oscars, tied with Jack Nicholson and surpassed only by Meryl Streep (per Insider). 

After winning her first Oscar, Katharine Hepburn's profile skyrocketed, although that didn't mean instant success for her every endeavor. According to Britannica, she attempted a return to Broadway as her contract permitted, but the show flopped. So instead, she continued her Hollywood career, completing four more films that weren't particularly huge hits, including an adaptation of "Little Women" in which she played Josephine. Then, in 1935, she landed what would become her second Oscar-nominated role, playing the titular character in director George Stevens' "Alice Adams."

The film, based on the Booth Tarkington novel of the same name, follows a woman from a working-class family who has upper-class aspirations. Naturally, Hepburn's character Alice falls head-over-heels for a charming, wealthy womanizer and an unlikely love story ensues (per Turner Classic Movies). She and director Stevens sometimes clashed on set, even verbally on occasion, over how much vulnerability and sensitivity she should show in certain scenes, according to biographer Anne Edwards. 

Regardless of their differences in opinion, their collaboration worked. The New York Times praised this as one of her finest performances thus far and noted it brought her status back to a "high place after faltering in several bad pictures." Ultimately, the Oscar would go to Bette Davis for her dark and dramatic role in "Dangerous."

In 1942, Katharine Hepburn followed up "The Philadelphia Story" with "Woman of the Year," for which she would earn her fourth Oscar nomination. Reteaming with "Alice Adams" director George Stevens, the film tells the story of a serious political writer, played by Hepburn, and her unlikely romance with a sportswriter, played by Spencer Tracy (who had been passed over for her previous film), in what would be the first of their nine films together (per Turner Classic Movies). 

According to Britannica, the film was also the start of a secret, decades-long relationship between the two stars. Hepburn opened up about the relationship later in life, even in her own memoir, where she discussed how the two kept it a secret, the pain it caused Tracy's wife (who remained married to him), and their ability to avoid the press. In Anne Edwards' Hepburn biography, Edwards describes how alcoholism took a toll on Tracy's health and fueled his depression, which made him temperamental and impatient on set. Despite this and the duo's inherent differences in personality, Hepburn and Tracy clicked on and off camera. 

As for the film, Criterion Collection describes "Woman of the Year" as "dazzling" and "funny," while also a realistic portrayal of a marriage between two very different people with two very different perspectives. In their original review, The New York Times amusingly described the film to be as "warming as a Manhattan cocktail" while still being "as juicy as a porterhouse steak."

In the four years following "The African Queen," Katharine Hepburn performed in only one feature film. Then, in 1955, she joined "Summertime," directed by David Lean. At this point in Lean's career, he'd already had considerable success behind the camera, directing films such as "Great Expectations" and "Oliver Twist," although he had not yet become known for his later critically-acclaimed films such as "The Bridge on River Kwai" and "Lawrence of Arabia" (per Britannica).

Lean's "Summertime" follows Hepburn's character, a middle-aged, unmarried American teacher, as she travels to Venice, Italy, and falls into a romantic summer fling with a married man (per Criterion). In a 2022 review for Collider, Julia Harari describes the film as one about independence but also isolation, with Hepburn's character running away from "nothingness" for "somethingness."

Whatever the case, it resonated with critics and audiences. The New York Times praised her performance as "clever and amusing," but also capturing the character's "wistful frustration." It was a box office hit also and received two Oscar nominations, including another for Hepburn. In a recent review for the film's Criterion Blu-ray release, Slate Magazine called the film "gorgeous" and "immaculate," showing it holds up even today.

Katharine Hepburn would appear in two more comedies before joining the much more dramatic and dark "Suddenly, Last Summer." The film, which co-starred Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, was adapted from a Tennessee Williams play and dealt with serious issues including mental health, lobotomies, sex, and even cannibalism (per Britannica). Gore Vidal, who wrote the screenplay, was already an acclaimed novelist at the time. His writing often surprised and shocked audiences with perspectives that were deemed controversial and inappropriate at the time, according to Britannica.

"Suddenly, Last Summer" was also a rare film in which Hepburn played the villain, a wealthy woman attempting to use her prestige and influence over a doctor to have her niece lobotomized for nefarious purposes. Needless to say, critics didn't love it. The New York Times review called the film pretentious and argued that many actors were over-acting. The Chicago Reader alleged that the film "flirts with camp." Despite this, it snagged Hepburn another Oscar nomination, as well as a nod for co-star Elizabeth Taylor.

After taking nearly five years off from Hollywood (as she helped Spencer Tracy through illness, Britannica explains), Katharine Hepburn returned in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," directed by Stanley Kramer and co-starring Tracy, Sidney Poitier, and Hepburn's own real-life niece Katharine Houghton. Sadly, it would be the ninth and final time Hepburn and Tracy worked together, as he died shortly after filming at age 67 (per Los Angeles Times).

The 1960s were marked by the Civil Rights Movement, so it's no surprise Hollywood tackled issues of race — in this case, using humor to demonstrate the importance of tolerance in a movie about interracial marriage. The film, per Britannica, is about two parents (Hepburn and Tracy) whose daughter (Houghton) is revealed to be engaged to a Black doctor (Poitier).

Roger Ebert acknowledged the film's flaws in his review, but said it was still a "magnificent piece of entertainment" that would make a viewer both laugh and cry. Variety's original review was also positive and said the film "must be seen to be believed." Ultimately, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was a hit and received 10 Oscar nominations, which led to Hepburn winning her second statue. 

If anyone thought she would buck her trend of skipping the awards show this time to receive it, though, they were sadly mistaken. As explained in The Hollywood Reporter, Hepburn had yet to attend the Academy Awards ceremony, because to her, the prize was simply her work.

After her Oscar win for "The Lion in the Winter" (her 11th nomination), Katharine Hepburn finally attended her first Academy Awards ceremony — but it wasn't for herself. As described by Today, she attended the ceremony in 1974 to present an award to her producer and friend Lawrence Weingarten. In her own career, she continued to act in a movie once every two or three years.

In 1982, she earned her 12th and final Oscar nomination for "On Golden Pond." She joined Henry Fonda to star in the film, an adaptation of a popular play about an aging couple and their rocky and complicated relationship with their daughter, played by Fonda's real-life daughter Jane Fonda (per Turner Classic Movies). The critics loved it. The New York Times praised the chemistry between Hepburn and Fonda, saying Fonda was her best co-star since Bogart and Tracy. On top of being both a critical and financial success, Fonda won his first and only Oscar for the film, while Hepburn won her record-breaking fourth best actress statue — and no, once again, she did not attend the ceremony.

Hepburn would appear in a few more films over the following decade before being honored by the Kennedy Center in 1990, according to Britannica. In 1999, the American Film Institute named her the greatest American actress of all time. Hepburn died at her Connecticut home on June 29, 2003, at age 96.