Top 160 Katharine Hepburn Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Without discipline, there’s no life at all.”

— Katharine Hepburn

Featured in: Discipline Quotes, Short Quotes About Life, Self Control Quotes

2. “If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.”

— Katharine Hepburn

Featured in: Funny Quotes, Interesting Quotes, Life Is Short Quotes, Being Yourself Quotes, Carpe Diem Quotes

3. “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.”

— Katharine Hepburn

4. “Never complain. Never explain.”

— Katharine Hepburn

5. “Life is hard. After all, it kills you.”

— Katharine Hepburn

Featured in: Life is Hard Quotes, Sad Quotes About Life, Demotivational Quotes

6. “Kindness is one of the greatest gifts you can bestow upon another. If someone is in need, lend them a helping hand. Do not wait for a thank you. True kindness lies within the act of giving without the expectation of something in return.”

— Katharine Hepburn

7. “As one goes through life, one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.”

— Katharine Hepburn

8. “You can’t change the music of your soul.”

— Katharine Hepburn

9. “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.”

— Katharine Hepburn

Featured in: Intention Quotes, Quotes About Giving, Romantic Quotes, Good Morning Love Quotes, Happy Valentine's Day Quotes

10. “We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers – but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But it’s always your fault, because if you wanted to change you’re the one who has got to change.”

— Katharine Hepburn

11. “If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.”

— Katharine Hepburn

12. “It’s not what you start in life, it’s what you finish.”

— Katharine Hepburn

13. “If you need a helping hand, you can find one at the end of your arm.”

— Katharine Hepburn

14. “If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behavior.”

— Katharine Hepburn

15. “Listen to the Song of Life.”

— Katharine Hepburn

16. “The thing about life is that you must survive. Life is going to be difficult, and dreadful things will happen. What you do is move along, get on with it, and be tough. Not in the sense of being mean to others, but being tough with yourself and making a deadly effort not to be defeated.”

— Katharine Hepburn

17. “The time to make up your mind about people is never.”

— Katharine Hepburn

18. “Don’t moan, don’t whine, don’t blame. Just get on with it.”

— Katharine Hepburn

19. “Vitality! That’s the pursuit of life, isn’t it?”

— Katharine Hepburn

20. “You don’t pick who you fall in love with. There are so few people to love. It’s hard for one adult to even like another. Almost impossible.”

— Katharine Hepburn

21. “You are the only person you can actually change.”

— Katharine Hepburn

22. “You politicians remain professional because the voters remain amateur.”

— Katharine Hepburn

23. “I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.”

— Katharine Hepburn

Featured in: Fun Quotes

24. “I have not lived as a woman. I have lived as a man. I’ve just done what I damn well wanted to, and I’ve made enough money to support myself, and ain’t afraid of being alone.”

— Katharine Hepburn

25. “Death will be a great relief. No more interviews.”

— Katharine Hepburn

26. “Wouldn’t it be great if people could get to live suddenly as often as they die suddenly?”

— Katharine Hepburn

27. “Silence the artist and you have silenced the most articulate voice the people have.”

— Katharine Hepburn

28. “Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I’ve had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got not to forget to laugh.”

— Katharine Hepburn

29. “The notion that work is a burden is a terrible mistake. Working and facing up to one’s responsibilities: That’s happiness.”

— Katharine Hepburn

30. “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

31. “What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate.”

— Katharine Hepburn

32. “It’s life isn’t it? You plow ahead and make a hit. And you plow on and someone passes you. Then someone passes them. Time levels.”

— Katharine Hepburn

33. “It’s a rather rude gesture, but at least it’s clear what you mean.”

— Katharine Hepburn

34. “I welcome death. In death there are no interviews!”

— Katharine Hepburn

35. “I remember as a child going around with “Votes For Women” balloons. I learnt early what it is to be snubbed for a good cause.”

— Katharine Hepburn

36. “I think everyone is an opportunist if they have an opportunity.”

— Katharine Hepburn

37. “I don’t fear death, it must be like a long sleep.”

— Katharine Hepburn

38. “I love rain. It’s lucky, I always think.”

— Katharine Hepburn

39. “To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time.”

— Katharine Hepburn

40. “It’s either some kind of electricity or some kind of energy. I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is, I’ve got it.”

— Katharine Hepburn

41. “Life is very hard, isn’t it? It does kill you, after all.”

— Katharine Hepburn

42. “I am a total me, me, Me person.”

— Katharine Hepburn

43. “The average Hollywood film star’s ambition is to be admired by an American, courted by an Italian, married to an Englishman and have a French boyfriend.”

— Katharine Hepburn

44. “I would have been a terrible mother because I’m basically a very selfish human being. Not that that has stopped most people going off and having children.”

— Katharine Hepburn

45. “What in the world would we do without our libraries?”

— Katharine Hepburn

46. “If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting.”

— Katharine Hepburn

47. “I have loved and been in love. There’s a big difference.”

— Katharine Hepburn

48. “I don’t feel the slightest interest in the next world; I think it’s here. And I think anything good that you’re going to do, you should do for other people here and not so you can try to have a happy time in the next world.”

— Katharine Hepburn

49. “Life’s what’s important. Walking, houses, family. Birth and pain and joy – and then death.”

— Katharine Hepburn

50. “What acting means is that you’ve got to get out of your own skin.”

— Katharine Hepburn