Laura Linney to Receive 9th Annual Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award

Press release

OLD SAYBROOK, CT – Acclaimed actress, director, and producer Laura Linney will receive the 9th annual Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center’s Gala on Saturday, September 7, 2024. Affectionately known as “the Kate,” the Center presents the award each year to an individual who embodies the spirit, independence, and character of the legendary actress.

The Gala is the non-profit arts organization’s largest fund raiser with proceeds supporting the Katharine Hepburn Museum and arts education programs that serve more than 4,000 students each year. The event celebrates two women who guided their careers to their own standards – Katharine Hepburn and Laura Linney. Ms. Linney reprised the role of Linda Seton (1995, Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre) in Philip Barry’s Holiday - a role that Katharine Hepburn made famous in the 1938 film version, but also understudied a decade earlier on Broadway. Ms. Linney is an advocate for cancer care and has been outspoken about gender inequality in Hollywood, an issue Miss Hepburn steadfastly worked to overcome as a trailblazing actress.
Ms. Linney is an award-winning American actress who continues to garner widespread critical acclaim for her versatile, inspired performances in film, television, and theatre. Upcoming projects include Ms. Linney's directorial role in the Netflix series Black Rabbit, for which she will be directing episodes three and four of the eight-episode series. Starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman, the series follows the owner of a New York City hotspot (Law) who, after allowing his turbulent brother (Bateman) back into his life, faces escalating dangers that threaten to bring down everything he has built.

Notably, Ms. Linney starred in all four seasons of the critically acclaimed Netflix original series Ozark, where she plays Wendy Byrde, starring opposite Jason Bateman. The series follows a married couple who relocates their
family to the Ozarks following a money laundering scheme gone wrong. Ms. Linney received four Emmy Award nominations and seven SAG Awad nominations for her portrayal of Wendy Byrde. She was also an executive producer and directed part of the series.
Also on television, Ms. Linney starred in and served as an executive producer for the Showtime series The Big C for four seasons, for which she won several awards. She won multiple awards for her portrayal of Abigail Adams in the HBO miniseries John Adams, directed by Tom Hooper. Additionally, she served as an executive producer and starred in the highly anticipated Netflix revival of Tales of the City.
Ms. Linney's theatre career has been marked by numerous standout performances. She made her Broadway debut in 1990 in Six Degrees of Separation. Her notable Broadway credits include The Little Foxes, Time Stands Still, Sight Unseen, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Honour, Uncle Vanya, Les Liaisons, Dangereuses, Holiday and The Seagull. In 2018, she made her London theatre debut in Richard Eyre’s limited three-week run of My Name Is Lucy Barton. The show returned to the London stage in 2019 and made its Broadway debut which garnered her a Tony Award nomination for her performance. Ms. Linney returned to Broadway in 2023, starring opposite Jessica Hecht in Summer, 1976, a play following two women who form an unlikely friendship over playdates.
Ms. Linney’s numerous film credits include Suncoast, Wildcat, The Miracle Club, Falling, The Roads Not Taken, The Dinner, Nocturnal Animals, Sully, Genius, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, You Can Count On Me, Kinsey, The Savages, The Fifth Estate, Hyde Park On Hudson, The Squid and The Whale, Mystic River, Absolute Power, The Truman Show, Primal Fear, The Mothman Prophecies, Love Actually, P.S., The House Of Mirth, The Details, and Congo, among many others.
Linney has been nominated three times for an Academy Award, five times for a Tony Award, ten times for a SAG Award, once for a BAFTA Award, six times for a Golden Globe, and four times for a Critics’ Choice Award. She has won one SAG Award, one National Board of Review Award, two Golden Globe Awards and four Emmy Awards. She holds two honorary doctorates from her alma maters, Brown University and The Juilliard School.

The September 7th Gala includes a special performance by The Arthur Migliazza Quintet, featuring renowned boogie-woogie pianist Arthur Migliazza, plus a silent and live auction.

The Kate’s Gala is supported by presenting sponsor Whelen Engineer and The Shops at Mohegan Sun, American Cruise Lines, Bank of America Private Bank, Dominion Energy, Essex Financial Services, Gengras Motor Cars, Kainen Escalera & McHale PC, Liberty Bank, McDowell Communications Group, Possidento Therrien Electrical Contractors LLC, Michael and Jo-Ann Price, and GSB in partnership with the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. In-Kind support is also provided by Red Paper Plane, Pasta Vita, Saybrook Home, and TYCO Print.

For additional information, visit www.thekate.org or call 860-510-0453.