Bette Davis
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1908-04-05
Day of Death
1989-10-06 (81 years old)
Place of Birth
Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Bette Davis
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.
Known For
Acting
Miss Moffat
as Miss Moffat
(2021)
Madonna: Madame X
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(2019)
Mike Wallace Is Here
as (archive footage)
(2018)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
(2017)
Bette Davis: Larger Than Life
as Self (archive footage)
(2017)
Bette and Joan
as Self (archive footage)
(2015)
Listen to Me Marlon
as Self (archive footage)
(2014)
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
(2013)
Footsteps on the Ceiling
as Margo Channing (archive footage)
(2013)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
as Self (archive footage)
(2009)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Self (archive footage)
(2009)
The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka
as Self (archive footage)
(2009)
Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis
as Self (archive footage)
(2007)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
(2006)
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
as Self (archive footage)
(2006)
Jezebel: Legend of the South
as Self (archive footage)
(2005)
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
as Queen Elizabeth (archive footage)
(2005)
The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert
as Self (archive footage)
(2003)
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
(2002)
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
as Self (archive footage)
(2001)
Bride of Trailer Camp
as (archive footage)
(2001)
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
as Self (archive footage)
(2000)
Backstory: 'All About Eve'
as Self (archive footage)
(1997)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
as Self (archive footage)
(1997)
Frank Capra's American Dream
as Self (archive footage)
(1996)
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
as Self (archive footage)
(1996)
Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis
as Self (archive footage)
(1994)
All About Bette
as Self
(1994)
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
as Self (archive footage)
(1989)
Wicked Stepmother
as Miranda Pierpoint
(1989)
Hairway to the Stars
as Self [Archive Footage]
(1988)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage)
(1987)
The Whales of August
as Libby Strong
(1987)
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
as (archive footage)
(1986)
Directed by William Wyler
as Self
(1986)
As Summers Die
as Hannah Loftin
(1986)
(1985)
Murder with Mirrors
as Carrie Louise Serrocold
(1985)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
as Self (archive footage)
(1984)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
(1983)
Right of Way
as Miniature Dwyer
(1983)
(1983)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1982)
Showbiz Goes to War
as (archive footage)
(1982)
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
(1982)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
as Self (archive footage)
(1982)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
as (in "Deception") (archive footage)
(1982)
A Piano for Mrs. Cimino
as Esther McDonald Cimino
(1982)
Showbiz Ballyhoo
as Self (archive footage)
(1981)
Family Reunion
as Elizabeth Winfield
(1980)
Skyward
as Billie Dupree
(1980)
White Mama
as Estelle Malone
(1980)
The Watcher in the Woods
as Mrs. Aylwood
(1979)
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter
as Lucy Mason
(1979)
The Horror Show
as (archive footage)
(1978)
Death on the Nile
as Marie Van Schuyler
(1978)
Mickey's 50
as Self
(1978)
Return from Witch Mountain
as Letha Wedge
(1976)
Burnt Offerings
as Aunt Elizabeth
(1976)
The Disappearance of Aimee
as Minnie Kennedy
(1974)
(1973)
The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor
as Self (archive footage)
(1973)
Scream, Pretty Peggy
as Mrs. Elliott
(1972)
Madame Sin
as Madame Sin
(1972)
The Scopone Game
as 'A vecchia
(1972)
Bette Davis
as Self
(1972)
The Judge and Jake Wyler
as Judge Meredith
(1971)
Bunny O'Hare
as Bunny O'Hare
(1970)
Connecting Rooms
as Wanda Fleming
(1968)
The Anniversary
as Mrs. Taggart
(1965)
The Decorator
as Liz
(1965)
The Nanny
as Nanny
(1964)
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
as Charlotte Hollis
(1964)
Dead Ringer
as Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
(1964)
Where Love Has Gone
as Mrs. Gerald Hayden
(1963)
The Empty Canvas
as Dino's Mother
(1962)
(1962)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
as Baby Jane Hudson
(1961)
Pocketful of Miracles
as Apple Annie
(1959)
John Paul Jones
as Empress Catherine the Great
(1959)
The Scapegoat
as Countess
(1956)
The Catered Affair
as Mrs. Agnes Hurley
(1956)
Storm Center
as Alicia Hull
(1955)
The Virgin Queen
as Queen Elizabeth I
(1952)
Phone Call from a Stranger
as Marie Hoke
(1952)
The Star
as Margaret Elliot
(1951)
Payment on Demand
as Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
(1951)
Another Man's Poison
as Janet Frobisher
(1950)
All About Eve
as Margo Channing
(1949)
Beyond the Forest
as Rosa Moline
(1949)
Breakdowns of 1949
as Self
(1948)
Winter Meeting
as Susan Grieve
(1948)
June Bride
as Linda Gilman
(1946)
Deception
as Christine Radcliffe
(1946)
A Stolen Life
as Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
(1945)
The Corn Is Green
as Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat
(1944)
Hollywood Canteen
as Self
(1944)
Mr. Skeffington
as Fanny Trellis
(1944)
Breakdowns of 1944
as Self
(1943)
The Voice That Thrilled the World
as Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage)
(1943)
Old Acquaintance
as Kit Marlowe
(1943)
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Self
(1943)
Watch on the Rhine
as Sara Müller
(1943)
A Present with a Future
as Mother
(1943)
Show-Business at War
as Self
(1943)
(1942)
Breakdowns of 1942
as Self
(1942)
Now, Voyager
as Charlotte Vale
(1942)
In This Our Life
as Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
(1941)
The Great Lie
as Maggie Patterson Van Allen
(1941)
The Little Foxes
as Regina Hubbard Giddens
(1941)
(1941)
Breakdowns of 1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1941)
The Man Who Came to Dinner
as Maggie Cutler
(1941)
The Bride Came C.O.D.
as Joan Winfield
(1940)
(1940)
The Letter
as Leslie Crosbie
(1940)
All This, and Heaven Too
as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
(1940)
If I Forget You
as Bette Davis
(1939)
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
as Queen Elizabeth
(1939)
Dark Victory
as Judith Traherne
(1939)
Breakdowns of 1939
as Self
(1939)
Juarez
as Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg
(1939)
The Old Maid
as Charlotte Lovell
(1938)
Breakdowns of 1938
as Self (archive footage)
(1938)
Jezebel
as Julie Marsden
(1938)
The Sisters
as Louise Elliott Medlin
(1937)
Marked Woman
as Mary Dwight Strauber
(1937)
A Day at Santa Anita
as Bette Davis (uncredited)
(1937)
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self
(1937)
It's Love I'm After
as Joyce Arden
(1937)
Kid Galahad
as Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
(1937)
That Certain Woman
as Mary Donnell/Mme Al Haines
(1936)
(1936)
The Golden Arrow
as Daisy Appleby
(1936)
Breakdowns of 1936
as Self
(1936)
The Petrified Forest
as Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple
(1936)
Satan Met a Lady
as Valerie Purvis
(1935)
Bordertown
as Mrs. Marie Roark
(1935)
Dangerous
as Joyce Heath
(1935)
The Girl from 10th Avenue
as Miriam A. Brady
(1935)
(1935)
Front Page Woman
as Ellen Garfield
(1935)
Special Agent
as Julie Gardner
(1934)
The Big Shakedown
as Norma Nelson
(1934)
Of Human Bondage
as Mildred Rogers
(1934)
Fog Over Frisco
as Arlene Bradford
(1934)
Fashions of 1934
as Lynn Mason
(1934)
Jimmy the Gent
as Joan Martin
(1934)
Housewife
as Patricia Berkeley
(1933)
Bureau of Missing Persons
as Norma Roberts
(1933)
Parachute Jumper
as Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
(1933)
The Working Man
as Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey
(1933)
Ex-Lady
as Helen Bauer
(1933)
The 42nd Street Special
as Self (uncredited)
(1933)
Just Around the Corner
as Ginger
(1932)
The Rich Are Always with Us
as Malbro
(1932)
The Dark Horse
as Kay Russell
(1932)
So Big!
as Miss Dallas O'Mara
(1932)
The Cabin in the Cotton
as Madge Norwood
(1932)
The Man Who Played God
as Grace Blair
(1932)
The Menace
as Peggy Lowell
(1932)
Three on a Match
as Ruth Westcott
(1932)
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
as Fay Wilson
(1932)
Hell's House
as Peggy Gardner
(1931)
Seed
as Margaret Carter
(1931)
Way Back Home
as Mary Lucy Duffy
(1931)
Waterloo Bridge
as Janet Cronin
(1931)
The Bad Sister
as Laura Madison
Crew
(1946)
A Stolen Life
Producer