8 Hollywood Stars Who Didn't Accept Their Oscars

8. Katharine Hepburn Was Nominated 12 Times & Won 4... But Didn't Turn Up Once

One of the leading stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and known for an expansive body of work that spanned six decades, Katharine Hepburn was an American actress whose performances attracted awards from all quarters.

It should come as no surprise then that Hepburn received 12 Best Actress Academy Award nominations throughout her career and won four of them, for her roles in Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967), The Lion In Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981); the all-time record for a performer.

What may be surprising, however, is the fact that she shunned the majority of them, refusing to make an appearance at any of the ceremonies. In fact, the very first Academy Awards Hepburn ever attended was the 46th, in 1974, where she was a presenter, not a nominee, and conferred the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award on her friend Lawrence Weingarten.

Hepburn held no ill will towards the Academy, she just believed that the work itself was her prize. Not what we might expect from one of the most glamourous stars of the silver screen, but then celebrity vanity wasn't always what it is today.