For seven decades Katharine Hepburn played a leading role in the popular culture of the twentieth century - reigning as an admired actress, a beloved movie star, and a treasured icon of the modern American woman. She also remained one of the most private of all the public figures of her time. In 1983 - at the age of seventy-five, her career cresting - the four-time Academy Award winner opened the door to biographer A. Scott Berg - then thirty-three - and began a special friendship, one that endured to the end of her illustrious life. From the start, Scott Berg felt that Katharine Hepburn intended his role to be not just that of a friend but also of a chronicler, a confidant who might record for posterity her thoughts and feelings. Over the next twenty years, Kate used their many hours together to reveal all that came to mind, often reflecting on the people and episodes of her past, occasionally on the meaning of life. Here are the stories from those countless intimate conversations, and much more. In addition to recording heretofore untold biographical details of her entire phenomenal career and her famous relationships with such men as Spencer Tracy and Howard Hughes, Kate Remembered also tells the amusing, often emotional story of one of the most touching friendships in her final years. Scott Berg provides his own memories of Katharine Hepburn offstage - quiet dinners in her town house in New York City, winter swims (she swam, he watched) in the Long Island Sound at Fenwick, her home in Connecticut, weekend visits with family members and dear friends...even some unusual appearances by the likes of Michael Jackson and Warren Beatty. Finally, Kate Remembered discusses the legendary actress's moving farewell, during which her mighty personality surrendered at last to her failing body - all the while remaining true to her courageous character. Kate Remembered is a book about love and friendship, family and career, Hollywood and Broadway - all punctuated by unforgettable lessons from an extraordinary life.
A NEW YORK TIMES Notable Book of the Year “In her book about her life, Miss Hepburn insists that that woman in the movies was not her at all. ‘I’m not going to hide behind you anymore,’ she says. ‘Who are you anyway? You're not me.’ Sure she is. The woman in the book is cocky, fearless, smart, capable, and human, on screen and off.”—Anna Quindlen, The New York Times Admired and beloved by movie audiences for more than sixty years, four-time Academy Award winner Katharine Hepburn is an American classic and an extraordinary, enduring presence on the international cultural scene. Yet her private life has been obscured by mystery. Now Miss Hepburn breaks her long-kept silence in this absorbing and provocative memoir. With characteristic gusto and candor, Katharine Hepburn reflects on the events, people, and places that have shaped her life—her childhood and family, her early days in New York, and her experiences with political activism. She talks about the ups and downs of her career, her long friendship with Spencer Tracy, and of course, her close collaborations with several of the leading actors, directors, and producers of the past half century. Illustrated with 165 photographs from family archives, many of which have never been published, it is an unforgettable portrait of Katharine Hepburn as we have not seen her before. “It is the understanding heart revealed just before the final curtain that makes us fall in love with Katharine Hepburn.”—The New York Times Book Review
