Katharine Hepburn stars in 'In the Golden Pond' (1981)
Katherine Hepburn once said that "If you survive long enough you are revered like an ancient building". But she was revered from her youth. She is true to herself, rebellious, independent, and fierce. Those who knew her define her as a woman of arms. Her beauty and elegance were matched by her acting talent. In 1981, thanks to the movie In the Golden Pond, Hepburn became the most Oscar-winning actress in Hollywood history, a position that no one has managed to take away from her yet.
Throughout her more than 60-year film career, Hepburn participated in successful titles such as The African Queen, Philadelphia Stories or the other three with which she won the statuette: Glory for a Day (1933), Guess Who? is coming tonight? (1967) and The Lion in Winter (1968).
Ambitious and persevering until her last days, the actress always refused to accommodate herself to her successes and to "rot", as she said, and she zealously sought improvement. The key to her always went through deciding freely and being true to herself. "With all the opportunities I had, I could have done more, and if I had done more, it could have been remarkable," she once said. The truth is that she was very selective when she had to choose which films to participate in, in fact, she only shot fifty films, but always very well chosen.
A diva with her pants on
Hepburn was an unconventional star. Her independence on her professional level was a reflection of her own personality. Fierce and free, her feminist and highly advanced soul led her to live openly with a woman, to do without makeup on many occasions, and to exchange glamor for the comfort of a man's suit. She wore pants when no woman dared to and she fought tooth and nail against the venal impositions of the movie studios, which then closely controlled the actors. Still, none of it stopped him from becoming quite the fashion icon with her irresistible good looks and her androgynous figure.
Those traits of hers made her the best candidate for Silvia's Great Adventure (1936) in which Hepburn dresses as a man and even kisses a woman. Although she went through the hoop and was married for five years, she declared after her divorce that she would not live in marriage again. And she kept her word. Although, indeed, she would not have been able to marry whom she would later have a relationship of more than 25 years, the actor Spencer Tracy, since was married.
She starred in films alongside the great Hollywood leading men, such as Cary Grant, James Stewart, John Wayne, and Peter O'Toole among others. At the age of eighty she published a memoir, How was The African Queen Filmed? Or how I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall, and Huston and almost went crazy, which was a smash seller, followed by her famed autobiography Me. Stories of my life in 1991.
In 1994 she announced her withdrawal from the screens during the filming of the television film Una Navidad. Since then she has completely withdrawn from public life due to her poor health. Skin cancer and Parkinson's disease were some of the pathologies that limited the last years of her existence, although they did not prevent her from achieving longevity. "Life is what's important: walking, enjoying home, family, birth and death, and joy. Acting is just waiting for a cream pie," she said. That's why she lived intensely.
At the Golden Pool (1981)
A beautiful portrait of old age that mixes drama and comedy with ease and simplicity. The film tells the story of Norman Thayer (Henry Fonda) and his wife Ethel (Katharine Hepburn), two elderly people who are going to spend their summer vacations at "Golden Pond", an idyllic place where they bought a house years ago. Norman has lived beautiful moments here, but his advanced age has caused his character to sour and he does not enjoy his last years as he should.
The couple has a daughter named Chelsea (Jane Fonda) who hasn't been visiting them for years due to the bad relationship she has with Norman. This year the young woman decides to change her mind, and coinciding that she is going to pass through the area, she decides to go see them. She takes advantage of the visit to introduce them to her boyfriend who has a son named Billy. These holidays will serve for the family to reflect and formalize a new, closer, and purer relationship.
