Katherine Hepburn: 'I'm a personality as well as an actress'

'I'm a personality as well as an actress,' Hepburn once said. 'Show me an actress who isn't a personality, and you'll show me a woman who isn't a star.'

Hepburn's fascination for acting goes back to her childhood. As a youngster, she used to take up odd jobs to pay for tickets to the latest silent movies. Her first acting experience can be traced to an amateur production at the age of 12. She attended college at Bryn Mawr, at first trying to cope with academics but later switching to theatre. After college, she toured the East Coast with a stock company, eventually gaining recognition for her role in the Broadway hit, The Warrior's Husband.

The early years on stage were hard and she received her share of brickbats. An early appearance in The Lake, prompted the famous remark of Dorothy Parker that Hepburn 'ran the gamut of emotions from A to B.' However, through her perseverance, Hepburn soon gained a reputation as one of the best actresses of her time.

By the early 1930s she was making her mark in Hollywood. She turned down her first contract offer from Paramount Pictures and then made extravagant salary demands when approached by RKO Pictures. After seeing her screen test for A Bill of Divorcement (1932), the studio agreed to her demands and Hepburn's film career was launched opposite screen legend John Barrymore. She won the Oscar the following year for her film Morning Glory.

Well known for her on and off screen relationship with famous actor Spencer Tracy, the duo worked in films such as Woman of the Year (which earned her another Oscar nomination) and Adam's Rib.

She lived life on her own terms. In her words: 'I don't regret anything I've ever done as long as I enjoyed it at the time.'

Compiled by Cultural Correspondent