Hollywood great Katharine Hepburn died on June 29, 2003, at the age of 96 and was eulogized as a one-of-a-kind actress. She won four Academy Awards, but her personal life was a conundrum. Hepburn never received her Oscars in person. She consistently avoided photographers. She made it a policy never to give autographs. Hepburn carried on an affair with actor Spencer Tracy for 27 years even though he never dissolved his marriage.

In a 1990 interview, Hepburn told The Associated Press: "I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward to heaven.''