When Cate Blanchett won a Best Supporting Oscar for her dramatization of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, she became the first actress to win an Oscar portraying a true screen legend and Academy Award winning actress. When reviewing her performance, Rodger Ebert remarked, “Critically speaking Cate Blanchett has the task of playing Katharine Hepburn, who was herself so close to caricature that to play her accurately involves some risk.” The Oscar was proof that this risk paid dividends.
The next few days mark birthdays for both stars. The Australian born Cate will turn a mere 38 on May 14th, but May 12th marks the 100th anniversary of Hartford born Kate’s birth.
There is no arguing that Katharine Hepburn was a formidable presence in Hollywood. Her films appear on so many lists of the best and she consistently ranks in the very top of the many lists of best film actresses of all time. Cate Blanchett is beginning to lay claim to the same distinction. In fact, she just ranked number 10 in the recently published list of the Top 100 influential people.
Why not commemorate their birthdays by watching one of their films.