Katharine Houghton Hepburn (1907–2003) was a pioneering American actress known for her illustrious six-decade Hollywood career. Recognized for her independent spirit and strong-willed persona, Hepburn earned four Academy Awards for Best Actress, a record at the time. Raised in Connecticut, she entered acting at Bryn Mawr College and gained Broadway acclaim before making her mark in Hollywood. After initial successes like “Morning Glory” (1933), she faced setbacks but orchestrated a remarkable comeback with “The Philadelphia Story” (1940). Her 26-year screen partnership with Spencer Tracy produced nine films. Hepburn continued to challenge herself with Shakespearean roles and literary characters, earning acclaim for “The African Queen” (1951). In her later years, she received Oscars for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967), “The Lion in Winter” (1968), and “On Golden Pond” (1981). Hepburn’s diverse career, marked by resilience and versatility, solidified her as a Hollywood legend. She passed away in 2003 at the age of 96.
Katharine Hepburn Quotes
1. “Without discipline, there’s no life at all.”
— Katharine Hepburn
2. “If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.”
— Katharine Hepburn
3. “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.”
— Katharine Hepburn
4. “Life is hard. After all, it kills you.”
— Katharine Hepburn
5. “Kindness is one of the greatest gifts you can bestow upon another. If someone is in need, lend them a helping hand. Do not wait for a thank you. True kindness lies within the act of giving without the expectation of something in return.”
— Katharine Hepburn
6. “Never complain. Never explain.”
— Katharine Hepburn
7. “You can’t change the music of your soul.”
— Katharine Hepburn
8. “As one goes through life, one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.”
— Katharine Hepburn
9. “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.”
— Katharine Hepburn
10. “We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers – but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But it’s always your fault, because if you wanted to change you’re the one who has got to change.”
— Katharine Hepburn
11. “It’s not what you start in life, it’s what you finish.”
— Katharine Hepburn
12. “If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.”
— Katharine Hepburn
13. “If you need a helping hand, you can find one at the end of your arm.”
— Katharine Hepburn
14. “Listen to the Song of Life.”
— Katharine Hepburn
15. “The thing about life is that you must survive. Life is going to be difficult, and dreadful things will happen. What you do is move along, get on with it, and be tough. Not in the sense of being mean to others, but being tough with yourself and making a deadly effort not to be defeated.”
— Katharine Hepburn
16. “The time to make up your mind about people is never.”
— Katharine Hepburn
17. “If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behavior.”
— Katharine Hepburn
18. “Don’t moan, don’t whine, don’t blame. Just get on with it.”
— Katharine Hepburn
19. “Vitality! That’s the pursuit of life, isn’t it?”
— Katharine Hepburn
20. “You don’t pick who you fall in love with. There are so few people to love. It’s hard for one adult to even like another. Almost impossible.”
— Katharine Hepburn
21. “I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.”
— Katharine Hepburn
22. “I have not lived as a woman. I have lived as a man. I’ve just done what I damn well wanted to, and I’ve made enough money to support myself, and ain’t afraid of being alone.”
— Katharine Hepburn
23. “Death will be a great relief. No more interviews.”
— Katharine Hepburn
24. “Wouldn’t it be great if people could get to live suddenly as often as they die suddenly?”
— Katharine Hepburn
25. “You are the only person you can actually change.”
— Katharine Hepburn
26. “You politicians remain professional because the voters remain amateur.”
— Katharine Hepburn
27. “Silence the artist and you have silenced the most articulate voice the people have.”
— Katharine Hepburn
28. “Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I’ve had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got not to forget to laugh.”
— Katharine Hepburn
29. “The notion that work is a burden is a terrible mistake. Working and facing up to one’s responsibilities: That’s happiness.”
— Katharine Hepburn
30. “The calla lilies are in bloom again. Such a strange flower – suitable to any occasion. I carried them on my wedding day, and now I place them here in memory of something that has died.”
— Katharine Hepburn
31. “What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate.”
— Katharine Hepburn
32. “It’s life, isn’t it? You plow ahead and make a hit. And you plow on and someone passes you. Then someone passes them. Time levels.”
— Katharine Hepburn
33. “It’s a rather rude gesture, but at least it’s clear what you mean.”
— Katharine Hepburn
34. “I welcome death. In death, there are no interviews!”
— Katharine Hepburn
35. “I remember as a child going around with “Votes For Women” balloons. I learned early what it is to be snubbed for a good cause.”
— Katharine Hepburn
36. “I think everyone is an opportunist if they have an opportunity.”
— Katharine Hepburn
37. “I love rain. It’s lucky, I always think.”
— Katharine Hepburn
38. “To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time.”
— Katharine Hepburn
39. “It’s either some kind of electricity or some kind of energy. I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is, I’ve got it.”
— Katharine Hepburn
40. “I am a total me, me, Me person.”
— Katharine Hepburn
41. “The average Hollywood film star’s ambition is to be admired by an American, courted by an Italian, married to an Englishman and have a French boyfriend.”
— Katharine Hepburn
42. “I would have been a terrible mother because I’m basically a very selfish human being. Not that that has stopped most people going off and having children.”
— Katharine Hepburn
43. “What in the world would we do without our libraries?”
— Katharine Hepburn
44. “I have loved and been in love. There’s a big difference.”
— Katharine Hepburn
45. “I don’t feel the slightest interest in the next world; I think it’s here. And I think anything good that you’re going to do, you should do for other people here and not so you can try to have a happy time in the next world.”
— Katharine Hepburn
46. “Life’s what’s important. Walking, houses, family. Birth and pain and joy – and then death.”
— Katharine Hepburn
47. “What acting means is that you’ve got to get out of your own skin.”
— Katharine Hepburn
48. “Who is Katharine Hepburn? It took me a long time to create that creature.”
— Katharine Hepburn
49. “A sharp knife cuts the quickest and hurts the least.”
— Katharine Hepburn
50. “I don’t fear death, it must be like a long sleep.”
— Katharine Hepburn
51. “If you survive long enough, you’re revered rather like an old building.”
— Katharine Hepburn
52. “I can remember walking as a child. It was not customary to say you were fatigued. It was customary to complete the goal of the expedition.”
— Katharine Hepburn
53. “I don’t believe in marriage. It’s bloody impractical. ‘To love, honor, and obey.’ If it weren’t, you wouldn’t have to sign a contract.”
— Katharine Hepburn
54. “Life is very hard, isn’t it? It does kill you, after all.”
— Katharine Hepburn
55. “Why slap them on the wrist with a feather when you can belt them over the head with a sledgehammer.”
— Katharine Hepburn
56. “It is the plain women who know about love; the beautiful women are too busy being fascinating.”
— Katharine Hepburn
57. “Cold sober, I find myself absolutely fascinating.”
— Katharine Hepburn
58. “Life gets harder the smarter you get, the more you know.”
— Katharine Hepburn
59. “I don’t care WHAT they say about me, as long as it’s not the truth.”
— Katharine Hepburn
60. “When a man says he likes a woman in a skirt, I tell him to try one.”
— Katharine Hepburn
61. “As for me, prizes are nothing. My prize is my work.”
— Katharine Hepburn
62. “I’m an atheist, and that’s it. I believe there’s nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for people.”
— Katharine Hepburn
63. “To be loved is very demoralizing.”
— Katharine Hepburn
64. “There are no laurels in life, just new challenges.”
— Katharine Hepburn
65. “Everyone thought I was bold and fearless and even arrogant, but inside I was always quaking.”
— Katharine Hepburn
66. “If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting.”
— Katharine Hepburn
67. “Acting is a nice childish profession – pretending you’re someone else and, at the same time, selling yourself.”
— Katharine Hepburn
68. “Children need boundaries, so they can know how far they have to go to get beyond them.”
— Katharine Hepburn
69. “My greatest strength is common sense. I’m really a standard brand – like Campbell’s tomato soup or Baker’s chocolate.”
— Katharine Hepburn
70. “It’s a bore – B-O-R-E – when you find you’ve begun to rot.”
— Katharine Hepburn
71. “I loved Spencer Tracy. I would have done anything for him.”
— Katharine Hepburn
72. “People who want to be famous are really loners. Or they should be.”
— Katharine Hepburn
73. “I don’t regret anything I’ve ever done; as long as I enjoyed it at the time.”
— Katharine Hepburn
74. “I won’t go to a restaurant to eat with friends, always join them afterward for coffee. In the company, I always get over-enthusiastic, and this leads to indigestion.”
— Katharine Hepburn
75. “All my life, I’ve stayed at parties too long because I didn’t know when to go.”
— Katharine Hepburn
76. “Enemies are so stimulating.”
— Katharine Hepburn
77. “You suddenly realize what a tremendous opportunity it is just to be alive. The potential. If you can keep a-goin’ – you actually can do it. So just keep a-goin’ – you can win. It’s when you stop that you’re done.”
— Katharine Hepburn
78. “Nobody owes anybody anything; it’s up to each individual to set high standards for himself or herself, and to set about working hard and creating a solid future.”
— Katharine Hepburn
79. “The lack of work destroys people.”
— Katharine Hepburn
80. “Life is full of censorship. I can’t spit in your eye.”
— Katharine Hepburn
