Woman Of The Year

This 1933 cigarette card, produced after the success of her debut 1932 film, A Bill of Divorcement, is one of the loveliest photographs of screen legend Katharine Hepburn.

With a reputation for being difficult, Katharine Hepburn is often a Hollywood celebrity one either adored or abhorred, but her extraordinary talent was recognised by fans and detractors alike.

Also, contrary to popular rumour, Hepburn didn't pitch a fit when she was passed over for the iconic role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind:

In 1939, Hepburn was going to do producer David O. Selznick a favor and play the role of Scarlett O'Hara because he did not yet have anyone else signed for the role.

Hepburn insisted that she did not have the lustful sexual appeal that the part demanded and told Selznick that his studio needed to find the woman who did. Hepburn rehearsed the lines thoroughly just in case. The night before the deadline, Selznick finally cast Vivien Leigh.

Unbeknownst to Hepburn and the rest of Hollywood, Leigh was favored for the role early on, but as an English actress, she was deemed unsuitable for the part. In addition, her affair with Laurence Olivier, while he was in the middle of a divorce, made her a controversial choice.

The vast "search for Scarlett" was orchestrated to make it seem as if no other actress could be found, thus limiting the shock of Vivien Leigh landing the role. Hepburn was later the maid of honor at Leigh and Olivier's wedding in 1940. Hepburn remained a close friend of Vivien Leigh until Leigh's death in 1967.