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found. She was paid $35 a week, barely enough to survive, and she often went hungry. She also experienced a brief and unhappy marriage during this period. In 1928, she married Ludlow Ogden Smith, a wealthy socialite and friend of her brother. The marriage was a disaster from the start. She refused to take his name, insisted on maintaining her independence, and found the social obligations of being a wealthy wife suffocating. After just a few years, the couple separated, and they were divorced in 1934. Hepburn never remarried, famously stating that marriage was "a institution" she wanted no part of. She and Smith remained friends, however, and he continued to support her career financially during her early struggling years. Her breakthrough finally came in 1932 with The Warrior's Husband, a comedy set in the land of the Amazons that required her to enter the stage carrying a large stag on her shoulders and leaping down a flight of steps. The athleticism and energy she brought to the role made her the talk of New York. Critics raved about her "electric" presence and "magnificent" physicality. It also caught the attention of Hollywood, and soon she was offered a screen test. Chapter Five: Conquering Hollywood — The First Oscar An RKO talent scout was so impressed by Hepburn's performance in The Warrior's Husband that he offered her a screen test. Hepburn, who had no particular interest in Hollywood, demanded what she considered an absurd salary of $1,500 per week, assuming the studio would refuse. To her surprise, they agreed, and she was on her way to California. She made an impressive film debut in George Cukor's A Bill of Divorcement (1932), starring opposite John Barrymore. Cukor, the great director, immediately recognized her unique qualities and became her lifelong friend and favorite collaborator. Her third film, Morning Glory (1933), in which she played an aspiring actress who rejects romance for her career, won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was just twenty-six years old. That same year, she starred as the beloved Jo in the classic adaptation of Little Women, which broke box-office records and cemented her status as a major star. However, her off-screen behavior was as notable as her on-screen performances. In an era when actresses were expected to exude glamour at all times, Hepburn refused to wear makeup when not working, wore trousers in public—which was considered scandalous—and declined interviews and autograph requests. She once quipped to a group of fans who demanded an autograph: "Beat it... go sit on a tack!" When the costume department stole her slacks, she walked around the studio in her underwear until they were returned. She refused to play the game. She refused to be a Hollywood "product." Chapter Six: The Downfall — "Box Office Poison" Despite her early success, Hepburn's career hit a rough patch in the late 1930s. A much-publicized return to Broadway in The Lake (1933) was a notorious flop, prompting Dorothy Parker's famous quip that Hepburn "ran the gamut of emotions from A to B." Her film choices also grew questionable. While she earned praise for her comedic performances opposite Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby (1938) and Holiday (1938), audiences failed to respond. The films lost money, and Hepburn was blamed. The public, it seemed, did not know what to make of her. She was too intelligent, too angular, too athletic, too unromantic. In 1938, a group of leading film exhibitors published a list of actors deemed "box office poison." Hepburn's name was at the top. Her career was in serious jeopardy. She was publicly humiliated,