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By Kate E. Stephenson

It’s a great honor to be nominated for the Academy Award, much less to win the Oscar. In over 80 years of Hollywood movie magic, only four Kates have been included among the crème de la crème of Academy royalty: Katharine Hepburn, Kathleen Turner, Kathy Bates, and Kate Winslet. An exclusive club, to be sure.

With an astounding 12 nominations and an unbroken record for the most Oscar wins for any one individual (4!), Katharine Hepburn remains the reigning queen. Aptly dubbed the First Lady of Cinema, the Great Kate appeared in 44 feature films, 8 television movies, and 33 plays. She seemed to have boundless energy and inspiration in her 66 years in Tinsel Town. Filming her last role in 1994 at the age of 87 (and receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for the effort), she proved that talent has no age restrictions.

Awarding Ms. Hepburn’s Oscars in 1934, 1968, 1969 and 1982, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences clearly preferred her dramatic portrayals. However, her versatility as an actor is enviable, spanning from goofball comedy to Shakespearean Tragedy—this lady played them all. Her role of choice, on screen and off, was that of the independent, forward thinking, strong, “modern woman.” Denouncing typical Hollywood hype, Katherine refused to conform to the social norm, and can be credited with breaking down many of the proverbial walls, not to mention cracking the glass ceiling. Often viewed as haughty and difficult because of her refusal to play the Hollywood Game, Ms. Hepburn took her career into her own hands, making her own rules up as she went along, and left an unparalleled legacy for her troubles.

Here’s to you, Kate!

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Trivia runs on Kate-book.com every Monday at 10:30am. It is written by the insanely knowledgable Kate E. Stephenson. Read much more about Kate here, and click here to follow her on Twitter.