Hepburn leaves hospital

Hepburn has won four Best Actress Oscars

Hollywood legend Katherine Hepburn has left hospital after a nine-day stay.

Hepburn, 94, was discharged on Thursday after being treated for a urinary tract infection.

"Her progress was deemed satisfactory enough so she could go home," said James Battaglio, a spokesman for Hartford hospital.

She underwent physical therapy

Hepburn has won four best actress Oscars, and was known as the first lady of American cinema in her prime.

Her health on leaving hospital was the same as when she was admitted, Mr Battaglio said.

Hepburn was due to have been allowed home last weekend, but doctors decided she should undergo a short course of physical therapy after losing strength while being treated.

Family connection

Hepburn, who lives in Old Saybrook, near Hartford, Conneticut, was taken to the hospital on 18 July after being seen by her own doctor at a clinic in the town.

The actress was born in Hartford in 1907, and her father and brother, both doctors, practised at the hospital where she was treated.

During her 60-year career, Hepburn was nominated for Academy Awards a record 12 times - an achievement equalled only by Meryl Streep.

She has won Best Actress Oscars for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), A Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981).

Rare interview

Her last film was Love Affair in 1994.

In a rare interview with a New York newspaper last year, Hepburn denied occasional rumours that her health was failing and that she was bed-ridden.

"I am OK", she told the New York Post, adding: "Tell everyone I am doing fine."

She said she was still a big eater and enjoyed home-made meals prepared by her cook.

Oscar glory

In her early films Hepburn often portrayed strong female characters.

She won the first of her Oscars at the age of 24 for her third film, Morning Glory.

Her forthright style has lent itself equally to drama and comedy, and she starred opposite Cary Grant in the 1930s screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby.

She won an unprecedented fourth Oscar for her performance in On Golden Pond, a remarkable portrait of a resolute woman growing old with grace and grit.