Movies List
TV Show List
Listen to Me Marlon

as Self (archive footage)

2015
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

as Self (archive footage)

2009
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story

as Self (archive footage)

2006
Complicated Women

as Self (archive footage)

2003
Wicked Stepmother

as Miranda Pierpoint

1989
Murder with Mirrors

as Carrie Louise Serrocold

1985
Little Gloria... Happy at Last

as Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt

1982
Family Reunion

as Elizabeth Winfield

1981
The Watcher in the Woods

as Mrs. Aylwood

1980
White Mama

as Estelle Malone

1980
Death on the Nile

as Marie Van Schuyler

1978
Return from Witch Mountain

as Letha Wedge

1978
Burnt Offerings

as Aunt Elizabeth

1976
The Disappearance of Aimee

as Minnie Kennedy

1976
Scream, Pretty Peggy

as Mrs. Elliott

1973
Bunny O'Hare

as Bunny O'Hare

1971
The Anniversary

as Mrs. Taggart

1968
The Nanny

as Nanny

1965
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

as Charlotte Hollis

1964
Dead Ringer

as Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips

1964
Where Love Has Gone

as Mrs. Gerald Hayden

1964
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

as Baby Jane Hudson

1962
Pocketful of Miracles

as Apple Annie

1961
John Paul Jones

as Empress Catherine the Great

1959
The Scapegoat

as Countess

1959
The Catered Affair

as Mrs. Agnes Hurley

1956
Bette Davis Bette Davis

Birthday

1908-04-05

Place of Birth

Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Biography

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized. Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 films, television and theater roles to her credit. In 1999, Davis was placed second, after Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.
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