Postage Stamp on Hollywood Legend Actress Katharine Hepburn

Postage Stamp on Hollywood Legend Actress Katharine Hepburn

Known for her fierce independence and spirited personality both on and off screen, Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) was a leading lady in Hollywood for more than 60 years. Appearing in everything from screwball comedies to serious dramas, she received a record four Academy Awards for lead acting roles, and in 1999 was named the greatest female star of Classic Hollywood Cinema by the American Film Institute. Beginning her acting career in college, her work on Broadway brought her to the attention of Hollywood, and by the time of her third picture “Morning Glory” (1933) she received a best actress Oscar. In the 1940s she began a romantic partnership with Spencer Tracy which spanned 26 years and 9 movies. Today she is considered an important and influential cultural figure, and off screen her independent lifestyle came to symbolize the modern woman, changing attitudes not only in traditional gender roles but in fashion as well.

The 44-cent stamp honoring Katharine Hepburn is being issued May 12 at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, popularly known as “The Kate”. Sam Waterston, who acted with Hepburn in the film “The Glass Menagerie” and has starred on TV’s “Law & Order” for 17 seasons, will attend, according to the U.S. Postal Service, as will Anthony Harvey, who directed Hepburn in “The Lion in Winter.”

U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter will lead the ceremony. The stamp is the 16th in the USPS’ “Legends of Hollywood” commemorative series.

The stamp depicts a black-and- white photo of Hepburn from the 1942 film “Woman of the Year.” The margin of the sheet of 20 stamps has a photo from “West Side Waltz.” Hepburn received 12 Academy Award nominations for best actress and won four Oscars.

The stamp is “a wonderful way to recognize the incredible achievements of Hepburn,” said center Executive Director Chuck Still in a release. “We are thrilled to be hosting the issuing of such a tremendous honor.”

Hepburn spent summers at her family home in the Fenwick section for most of her life, living there permanently later in life. She died in 2003 at age 96.