There’s no doubt that skateboarding is cool, so it’s inevitable that celebrities are going to want to give it a go. Over the years, we’ve seen an interesting mix of actresses take part and I have to ask, who “wore it better?”
The most surprising actress has to be the elegant Katharine Hepburn, and it’s not just one random promo photo. While filming the movie, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), which was a positive portrayal of an interracial marriage, Hepburn decided to give skateboarding a go, which was well documented. Hepburn’s niece, Katharine [Houghton] Grant was also performing in the film and based on one photo it appears that her niece, not her nephew Jack Grant introduces her to this new, trending activity. Although, most sources say that Jack was the avid skateboarder and took the photos.
Side note: Hepburn ended up winning Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her performance and based on the photos below she is pretty badass.
Exactly a decade later, we’ve got the legendary Jodie Foster ripping around in her bell bottoms at age 15 in 1977. The website vintage.es sourced a variety of photos of Jodie, and there’s footage from a Parisian news broadcaster of Jodie enjoying her planche à roulettes on YouTube! If only she got to skateboard with fellow child star Kristy McNichol – maybe some magic would’ve ensued.
Jodie seemed to really embrace skateboarding, with documentation the following year showing that she stuck it out. Jodie was in the limelight by then, having just filmed Taxi Driver (1976) playing the role of “Iris,” child prostitute, alongside Robert De Niro. In a recent report, Foster noted that her relationship to the film was complicated, but she was never uncomfortable with it, instead she felt it was important to portray the reality of child sexual exploitation.
Side note: Foster was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Role for her Taxi Driver performance.
And finally, Farah Fawcett in all her feathered-hair glory, rode a skateboard in the infamous chase scene in Charlie’s Angels episode called “Consenting Adults” in 1976. Some of the footage is a tad comical considering that Stacey Peralta was her stunt double, but photos show that she did step foot on the board.
Of all three celebrities, I’m leaning towards Jodie as someone who really embraced skateboarding, but all efforts are admirable and hopefully some young womxn were stoked to try as a result!
Womxn Skateboard History 