Bette Davis
Acting
Born 1908-04-05
Died 1989-10-06
Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
225 credits
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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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Filmography
— top 60 of 225
The World of Hammer
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Perry Mason
The Mike Douglas Show
Golden Globe Awards
Tony Awards
Wagon Train
The Virginian
The Dick Cavett Show
What's My Line?
The Merv Griffin Show
Intimate Portrait
Gunsmoke
Film '72
Hotel
The Oscars
Telephone Time
Dinah!
Late Night with David Letterman
The Ford Television Theatre
Death on the Nile
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Kennedy Center Honors
It Takes a Thief
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Suspicion
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
V.I.P. Schaukel
The Hollywood Palace
All About Eve
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
All About My Mother
Reflets de Cannes
Talking Pictures
Mr. Skeffington
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
June Bride
Now, Voyager
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Pocketful of Miracles
Dead Ringer
Juarez
The Watcher in the Woods
Jezebel
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Burnt Offerings
Marked Woman
The Letter
Return from Witch Mountain
Housewife
The Scapegoat
Little Gloria... Happy at Last
Front Page Woman
Of Human Bondage
John Paul Jones
Family Reunion
Dark Victory
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