Katharine Hepburn’s Beverly Hills Hideaway Listed for $1.39 Million

A 1923 Benedict Canyon cabin in Beverly Hills, long tied to Katharine Hepburn and her rumored companion Laura Harding, has hit the market for $1.39 million. The circa-1923 bungalow sits on about half an acre along a private lane and offers the seclusion that once attracted Hollywood’s most private corners of its social sphere. The listing is handled by the Gambino Group at Compass, with agents Carl Gambino and Cassie Levine, who describe the property’s vintage charm and contemporary upgrades to prospective buyers. The listing, first reported by the Daily Mail, underscores the enduring appeal of Hepburn’s early Hollywood era for fans and collectors of film lore.

Inside, the roughly 1,200-square-foot home has two bedrooms and a layout that blends rustic warmth with practical upgrades. The kitchen features a stone floor and a working Magic Chef stove from 1928, a nod to the bungalow’s era. A bright living room is anchored by a stone fireplace and is complemented by original oak details that hark back to the 1920s aesthetic. A second bedroom doubles as a study, and a separate bathroom offers a freestanding tub—a balance of period character and modern comfort. The property has been upgraded since Harding and Hepburn’s days, with solar power, skylights, and a large deck that frames canyon views. The modest footprint and wraparound outdoor spaces carry the kind of intimate setting that would have suited the two women during their Hollywood years.

Historically, Hepburn and Harding’s move from New York to Hollywood in the late 1920s helped cement Hepburn’s stardom as she became a defining figure of classic cinema. Harding was frequently described as Hepburn’s secretary, yet rumors persisted that the two shared a romantic bond. Hepburn herself denied such rumors in her 1991 memoir, Me, though gossip about their relationship persisted in Hollywood circles for decades. The 2007 biography Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn by William J. Mann, cited by the Daily Mail, compiles recollections from friends and family that frame the two women as “great loves,” whether platonic or romantic remains a matter of interpretation. The romance narrative surrounding the pair has long fascinated fans and scholars of Hollywood gossip, and the Benedict Canyon cabin has become a tangible anchor to those stories.

Hepburn’s life story also intersects with Harding’s. Harding reportedly relocated to a 60-acre farm in New Jersey after Hepburn’s ascent to global fame, according to the Daily Mail, but she retained ownership of the Beverly Hills cabin for a number of years. Harding’s wealth traced back to the Smith, Barney & Co. fortune, a financial footprint that evolved through mergers and the 2008 financial crisis into what became Morgan Stanley. The historical record surrounding their relationship—whether romantic or deeply loyal, or a blend of both—has been shaped by contemporary accounts and later biographical analyses, including Mann’s biography and earlier profiles.

The California listing situates this piece of Hollywood history within today’s real estate market. The bungalow sits on about half an acre along a shaded canyon lane, with canyon views that promise the privacy that once allowed Hepburn and Harding to move unseen from the prying eyes of the era’s gossip mills. The property’s modern upgrades are designed to appeal to contemporary buyers who want historical ambience without sacrificing comfort. In addition to the two bedrooms, the home includes a kitchen with a 1928 stove, a bright living space, and a rustic bathroom with a freestanding tub, all of which contribute to a narrative that blends architectural history with personal history.

The listing’s companion materials emphasize the property’s place in film lore as much as its architectural features. The Gambino Group notes that the Benedict Canyon bungalow is a rare example of a Hollywood-era residence that remains largely intact while receiving modern improvements. The juxtaposition of a 1920s floor plan with solar power and skylights offers a sense of continuity between the bungalow’s original charm and today’s energy-conscious home design. The broader story—of Hepburn, Harding, and the studio-era social circle they inhabited—continues to capture public imagination, with the home serving as a portal to that era’s glamour and intrigue.

The property’s public narrative is inextricable from the lore of Hollywood’s Golden Age. While Hepburn’s own words, as she described in Me, emphasize a rejection of romantic rumors, many observers have relied on the memories of friends, family, and biographers to interpret the nature of her relationship with Harding. The Benedict Canyon cabin—where the pair reportedly sought privacy from the industry’s glare—now stands as a tangible link to those conversations about love, friendship, and power during cinema’s early decades. The current listing preserves that sense of history while inviting new owners to imagine life in a house that once sheltered a famous actress and a figure who was, by reputation, one of her closest confidants.

As the market for historic properties in Los Angeles continues to attract buyers who want more than just a home, the Hepburn-Harding cabin adds a literary layer to the usual real estate calculus: location, size, condition, and price. For fans of old Hollywood, the listing offers a rare, concrete connection to a story that has endured in books, newspapers, and whispered conversations for nearly a century. The price tag of $1.39 million reflects a combination of the property’s vintage appeal, its recent upgrades, and the enduring allure of Katharine Hepburn’s early years in California. The sale will be watched by historians, fans, and real estate watchers alike as a barometer of interest in Hollywood’s quieter corners where art, gossip, and architecture intersect.