Were Katharine Hepburn And Audrey Hepburn Related?
By WILLIAM FISCHER
History - Science
While there are Hollywood acting dynasties like the Barrymores and the Carradines, not all who share a last name are related. Two examples are Katharine and Audrey Hepburn.
Audrey was born with the surname Ruston; however, her father claimed descent from James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell, and eventually hyphenated his surname to Hepburn-Ruston.
The actors never appeared together in a film. Katharine was 20 years older and already established by the 1930s, whereas Audrey didn’t debut until the 1950s.
The two Hepburns also developed different public personas on and off-screen. Katharine was notoriously sharp and tomboyish, while Audrey combined naiveté with aristocratic charm.