KATHARINE HEPBURN - AUTOGRAPHED INSCRIBED PHOTOGRAPH CIRCA 1969 - HFSID 292745

KATHARINE HEPBURN
Hepburn signs this 11¾x16 photograph of herself in The Madwoman of Chaillot
Photograph inscribed and signed: "For dearest Vi,/Love & Tears/Katharine/Act III Mad Woman". B/w, 11¾x16. Shown in the title role of The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), adapted from a work by French playwright Jean Giraudoux. The photo is inscribed to Violet Murray, who was Hepburn's wardrobe mistress on over 20 filmsof the 1950s and 1960s, including The African Queen.  Stage, screen, and television actress Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) was nominated for 12 Academy Awards for Best Actress, winning four: Morning Glory (1934), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1969) and On Golden Pond (1982). She won an Emmy for Love Among the Ruins (1975). Altogether, she notched 12 Oscar, 5 Emmy and 2 Tony nominations. Like many film actors and actresses, she first broke into show business on the stage, making her first appearances on Broadway in 1928 with roles in Night Hostess and These Days. She returned to Broadway frequently throughout her career, sometimes to rehabilitate her public image. Her final role on Broadway was in the comedy The West Side Waltz (1982), which she starred in. In 1932, she made her first appearance in a film, starring in A Bill of Divorcement alongside John Barrymore. Over the decades, she played opposite most of her era's biggest stars, including Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Laurence Olivier, Henry Fonda, and Spencer Tracy, the latter of whom she made nine films with. Her intimate relationship with Tracy spanned 26 years (until his death in 1967) and is the most famous extramarital affair in the history of Hollywood. Tracy was married to Louise Tracy, and the two had been estranged for years. Later in life, Hepburn starred in several television movies, the last being One Christmas (1994). In 1991, she published an autobiography titled Me: Stories of My Life. To the present day, Hepburn remains a significant cultural icon due to her prolific career and disregard for the Hollywood social scene and its conventions at the time. After she divorced in 1934, she never married again, choosing to live independently for the rest of her life. Her career floundered at times, particularly in the years just before WWII broke out from 1934-1940. This can be partially attributed to her poor relationship with the press, whom she refused to deal with cordially in many cases. She was named the greatest female star in the history of Hollywood by the American Film Institute in 1999, although naturally some disagree with this assessment. Heavy surface creases seen head on. Corners and edges creased and chipped. Mounting residue at edges and corners from previous mount. Signature in poor contrast but legible. Adhesive residue and clear adhesive tape on verso. Multiple surface damages from previous mounting (not effecting signature).