Bette Davis
AKA: The First Lady of Film
Birthday: 1908-04-05
Died: 1989-10-06
Birthplace: Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Home Page:
https://www.bettedavis.com/
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.
Filmography
Character: Margo Channing
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Baby Jane Hudson
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Charlotte Hollis
Character: Marie Van Schuyler
Character: Carrie Louise Serrocold
Character: Marie Van Schuyler (archive footage)
Character: Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
Character: Christine Radcliffe
Character: Mary Dwight Strauber
Character: (in "Deception") (archive footage)
Character: Mrs. Marie Roark
Character: Charlotte Vale
Character: (archive footage)
Character: Judith Traherne
Character: Aunt Elizabeth
Character: Valerie Purvis
Character: Miranda Pierpoint
Character: Queen Elizabeth I
Character: Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
Character: Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat
Character: Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
Character: Regina Hubbard Giddens
Character: Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
Character: Maggie Patterson Van Allen
Character: Mildred Rogers
Character: Charlotte Lovell
Character: (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Queen Elizabeth
Character: Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple
Character: Leslie Crosbie
Character: Arlene Bradford
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Character: (archive footage)
Character: Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
Character: Mrs. Gerald Hayden
Character: Janet Frobisher
Character: Empress Catherine the Great
Character: Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
Character: (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Margaret Elliot
Character: Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg
Character: Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey
Character: Mary Donnell/Mme Al Haines
Character: Miss Dallas O'Mara
Character: Mrs. Agnes Hurley
Character: Louise Elliott Medlin
Character: Queen Elizabeth (archive footage)
Character: Self [Archive Footage]
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Ellen Garfield
Character: Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Mary Lucy Duffy
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Miniature Dwyer
Character: Patricia Berkeley
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Character: Miriam A. Brady
Character: Self (from All About Eve [1950]) (archive footage)
Character: Minnie Kennedy
Character: Margaret Carter
Character: Estelle Malone
Character: (archive footage)
Character: Esther McDonald Cimino
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Elizabeth Winfield
Character: Judge Meredith
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self - Actor (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Mrs. Beatrice Enter
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: (archive footage)
Character: Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self - Actress (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Character: Margo Channing (archive footage)
Character: Self (uncredited)