Katharine Hepburn is one of the biggest female actresses of all time. Not only did she work in Hollywood for more than 60 years, she also earned four Oscars for Best Actress — a record that still hasn't been broken. So it's no surprise that Hepburn is getting the biopic treatment in the tentatively titled Kate, which is currently in pre-production soon. The movie will be helmed by out British director Clare Beavan, known for her biopics about bisexual author Daphne Du Maurier (2007's Daphne) and Alan Turing, the British WWIII computer scientist and cryptanalyst who was prosecuted for homosexuality (2007's Codebreaker).
Based on the book, Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn by William J. Mann, the movie will focus on Hepburn in two distinct periods of her life: the 25-year-old Hepburn who just began taking a starring turn in Hollywood and the still-energetic 80-year-old woman looking back on her life and career. Rather than just portraying her iconic status, the film hopes to delve into her personal life.
"This is not the Kate Hepburn of public legend, including all those Tracy-Hepburn pictures, but rather the much more fascinating and complex private woman," producer Richard Akel said to Indiewire. "In reality, she was far more interesting and ultimately more inspiring than the myth she created."
Mann's book covers everything from Hepburn's early childhood identity as a boy named "Jimmy" to her relationships with women throughout her life including her affair with Laura Harding. Hopefully, the movie won't shy away from these details, and we'll finally get to see the real Katherine Hepburn on screen!
