An iconoclast is a person who challenges conventional wisdom and traditional beliefs, and often shatters the very foundations upon which traditional, institutions rest. Katharine Hepburn was no stranger to iconoclastic thinking and is, to this day, an inspiration to women who seek market leadership in their luxury real estate marketing practice.

When a flower variety is associated with a celebrity, that celebrity is most likely an iconoclast.  Katharine Hepburn “owns” an association with calla lilies due to her famous lines about these flowers in an Academy Award nominated movie, Stage Door.

 “The calla lilies are in bloom again-- such a strange flower, suitable to any occasion. I carried them on my wedding day and now I place them here in memory of something that has died. “

Katharine Hepburn was, indeed, an iconoclast.  She danced to the beat of her own drum, with her refusal to bow to the Hollywood or the social conventions of her time.  She spoke her mind, wore pantsuits and usually wore no makeup. 

When her popularity waned with the studios, she was undeterred.  Phillip Barry wrote a play expressly for her, The Philadelphia Story.  The play got rave reviews. Hepburn secured the rights to the movie and picked her own director. When Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy were unavailable she chose Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart as her leading men.  She won the Oscar for playing the role of Tracie, a spoiled socialite. 

All in all Katharine Hepburn was nominated for the best actress award twelve times. She won the award four times including the Oscar for her role in The Lion in the Winter in 1968, the year she tied with another iconoclast Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl.

Katharine Hepburn always seemed “comfortable in her own skin”. Like a calla lilies, she was suitable to any occasion.

If you like brownies, checkout our post on Ms. Hepburn’s fabulous brownie recipe.  There is a great luxury real estate marketing tip in this post, too!