Woman of the Year is a 1942 American romantic comedy drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

The film was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin (with uncredited work on the rewritten ending by John Lee Mahin), and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

The film's plot is about the relationship between Tess Harding—an international affairs correspondent, chosen "Woman of the Year"—and Sam Craig—a sportswriter—who meet, marry, and encounter problems as a result of her unflinching commitment to her work.

Tess, the daughter of a former ambassador, is a highly educated, well-travelled political affairs columnist who speaks several languages fluently.

What he thought would be a date is actually a cocktail party where the guests are discussing the world situation in foreign languages.

A justice of the peace in South Carolina is arranged by Gerald, Tess's ultra-competent secretary, to fit her schedule and that of her illustrious senator father.

The character of Tess Harding was based on Dorothy Thompson, an American journalist and radio broadcaster who was highly influential.

[5] Kanin was fighting in the war at the time, so the script was written by his brother, Michael Kanin, and mutual friend Ring Lardner Jr. Hepburn contributed significantly to the script – reading it, suggesting cuts and word changes, and generally providing helpful enthusiasm for the project.

In the original ending, Sam went missing after returning the child to the orphanage, while he was supposed to write an article about an upcoming boxing match.

[8] Ring Lardner Jr. describes in Archive of America Television oral history interviews (2000) that changes made to the ending of the film were against the wishes of Katharine Hepburn, and were implemented while both screenwriters were on vacation in New York.

The changes were instigated by Louis B. Mayer, producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz and director George Stevens, with the actual new ending being written by John Lee Mahin (who was uncredited).

In an interview, Lardner indicated that these parties all believed that Tess Harding "had to get her comeuppance for being too strong in a man's world, so they wrote a scene where she tried to fix breakfast ... and gets everything wrong."

[13] A 1976 remake of the film, made for television and starring Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor, was broadcast on CBS.

In 1981, the film was adapted into a successful Broadway musical of the same name, starring Lauren Bacall, who won a Tony Award for her work.