Bette Davis
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Apr 5, 1908
- Died
- Oct 6, 1989 (aged 81)
- Place of birth
- Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
- Credits
- 225
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
All About Eve
1950Movie
Margo Channing
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962Movie
Baby Jane Hudson
Death on the Nile
1978Movie
Marie Van Schuyler
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982Movie
(in "Deception") (archive footage)
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964Movie
Charlotte Hollis
Burnt Offerings
1976Movie
Aunt Elizabeth
Filmography
1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year
2023TV
This Is Joan Collins
2022Movie
Self (Archive Footage)
Madonna: Madame X
2021Movie
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Morceaux de Cannes
2021Movie
Self (archive footage)
Mike Wallace Is Here
2019Movie
(archive footage)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018Movie
Self (archive footage)
Bette Davis: Larger Than Life
2017Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Fabulous Allan Carr
2017Movie
Self (archive footage)
Bette and Joan
2017Movie
Self (archive footage)
Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn
2015Movie
Self (archive footage)
Listen to Me Marlon
2015Movie
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
2014Movie
Self - Actress (archive footage)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013Movie
Self (archive footage)
Talking Pictures
2013TV
Self (archive footage)
Footsteps on the Ceiling
2013Movie
Margo Channing (archive footage)
Vito
2011Movie
Self (archive footage)
Marilyn at the Movies
2011Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka
2009Movie
Self (archive footage)
Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis
2009Movie
Self (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009Movie
Self (archive footage)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007Movie
Self (archive footage)
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
2006Movie
Self (archive footage)
Jezebel: Legend of the South
2006Movie
Self (archive footage)
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
2006Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert
2005Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005Movie
Queen Elizabeth (archive footage)
How Real is 'The Star'?
2005Movie
Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
2003Movie
Self (archive footage)
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
2002Movie
Self (archive footage)
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
2001Movie
Self (archive footage)
Bride of Trailer Camp
2001Movie
(archive footage)
Backstory: 'All About Eve'
2000Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997Movie
Self (archive footage)
Frank Capra's American Dream
1997Movie
Self (archive footage)
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
1996Movie
Self (archive footage)
Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis
1996Movie
Self (archive footage)
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995Movie
Self (archive footage)
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
1995Movie
Self (archive footage)
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
1994Movie
Self (archive footage)
The World of Hammer
1994TV
Self (archive footage)
All About Bette
1994Movie
Self
Intimate Portrait
1993TV
Self (archive footage)
Wicked Stepmother
1989Movie
Miranda Pierpoint
Hairway to the Stars
1989Movie
Self [Archive Footage]
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988Movie
Self (archive footage)
South of Reno
1988Movie
The Whales of August
1987Movie
Libby Strong
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
1987Movie
(archive footage)
As Summers Die
1986Movie
Hannah Loftin
Directed by William Wyler
1986Movie
Self
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
1986Movie
archive footage
Bette Davis at the Cinémathèque Française
1986Movie
Self
Murder with Mirrors
1985Movie
Carrie Louise Serrocold
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985Movie
Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984Movie
(archive footage)
Right of Way
1983Movie
Miniature Dwyer
Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
1983Movie
Self
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983Movie
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Showbiz Goes to War
1982Movie
(archive footage)
Little Gloria... Happy at Last
1982TV
Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt
Hotel
1982TV
Laura Trent
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
1982Movie
Self
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982Movie
(in "Deception") (archive footage)
Showbiz Ballyhoo
1982Movie
Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars
1982Movie
Self
A Piano for Mrs. Cimino
1982Movie
Esther McDonald Cimino
Late Night with David Letterman
1982TV
Self - Guest
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982Movie
Self (archive footage)
Family Reunion
1981Movie
Elizabeth Winfield
Family Reunion
1981TV
Elizabeth Winfield
Skyward
1980Movie
Billie Dupree
The Watcher in the Woods
1980Movie
Mrs. Aylwood
White Mama
1980Movie
Estelle Malone
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter
1979Movie
Lucy Mason
The Horror Show
1979Movie
(archive footage)
The Kennedy Center Honors
1978TV
Self
Mickey's 50
1978Movie
Self
Death on the Nile
1978Movie
Marie Van Schuyler
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
1978Movie
Marie Van Schuyler
Return from Witch Mountain
1978Movie
Letha Wedge
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
1978TV
Widow Fortune
Laugh-In
1977TV
Guest Performer
The Disappearance of Aimee
1976Movie
Minnie Kennedy
Burnt Offerings
1976Movie
Aunt Elizabeth
Dinah!
1974TV
Self
Miss Moffat
1974Movie
Miss Moffat
Hello Mother, Goodbye!
1974Movie
Mother
Hello Mother, Goodbye!
1974TV
Mother
Scream, Pretty Peggy
1973Movie
Mrs. Elliott
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973TV
Self
The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor
1973Movie
Self (archive footage)
Bette Davis
1972Movie
Self
The Judge and Jake Wyler
1972Movie
Judge Meredith
The Scopone Game
1972Movie
'A vecchia
Madame Sin
1972Movie
Madame Sin
Film '72
1971TV
Self
Bunny O'Hare
1971Movie
Bunny O'Hare
V.I.P. Schaukel
1971TV
Self
Connecting Rooms
1970Movie
Wanda Fleming
The Dick Cavett Show
1968TV
Self - Guest
The Anniversary
1968Movie
Mrs. Taggart
It Takes a Thief
1968TV
Bessie Grindel
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
1967TV
Self
The Nanny
1965Movie
Nanny
The Decorator
1965Movie
Liz
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964Movie
Charlotte Hollis
Where Love Has Gone
1964Movie
Mrs. Gerald Hayden
Dead Ringer
1964Movie
Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
The Hollywood Palace
1964TV
Self
The Empty Canvas
1963Movie
Dino's Mother
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962Movie
Baby Jane Hudson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962TV
Self
The Merv Griffin Show
1962TV
Self
The Virginian
1962TV
Celia Miller
Pocketful of Miracles
1961Movie
Apple Annie
The Mike Douglas Show
1961TV
Self - Co-Host
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959TV
Sarah Whitney
The Scapegoat
1959Movie
Countess
John Paul Jones
1959Movie
Empress Catherine the Great
Suspicion
1957TV
Mrs. Wilfred Ellis
Perry Mason
1957TV
Constant Doyle
Wagon Train
1957TV
Ella Lindstrom, Madame Elizabeth McQueeny
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956TV
Self
Storm Center
1956Movie
Alicia Hull
The Catered Affair
1956Movie
Agnes Hurley
Telephone Time
1956TV
Tony Awards
1956TV
Self - Presenter
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955TV
Marie Hoke
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955TV
Miss Fox
Gunsmoke
1955TV
Etta Stone
The Virgin Queen
1955Movie
Queen Elizabeth I
Reflets de Cannes
1954TV
Self
The Oscars
1953TV
Self
General Electric Theater
1953TV
Miss Burrows, Christine Marlowe
The Star
1952Movie
Margaret Elliot
The Ford Television Theatre
1952TV
Dolley Madison
Phone Call from a Stranger
1952Movie
Marie Hoke
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951TV
Mrs. Minnie Kennedy, Aimee's mother
Another Man's Poison
1951Movie
Janet Frobisher
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951TV
Irene Van Buren
Payment on Demand
1951Movie
Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
All About Eve
1950Movie
Margo Channing
What's My Line?
1950TV
Self
Breakdowns of 1949
1949Movie
Self
Beyond the Forest
1949Movie
Rosa Moline
June Bride
1948Movie
Linda Gilman
Winter Meeting
1948Movie
Susan Grieve
Deception
1946Movie
Christine Radcliffe
A Stolen Life
1946Movie
Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
The Corn Is Green
1945Movie
Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat
Breakdowns of 1944
1944Movie
Self
Hollywood Canteen
1944Movie
Self
Mr. Skeffington
1944Movie
Fanny Trellis
Golden Globe Awards
1944TV
Self - Presenter
A Present with a Future
1943Movie
Mother
Old Acquaintance
1943Movie
Kit Marlowe
The Voice That Thrilled the World
1943Movie
Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage)
Thank Your Lucky Stars
1943Movie
Self
Watch on the Rhine
1943Movie
Sara Müller
Show-Business at War
1943Movie
Self
Stars on Horseback
1943Movie
Breakdowns of 1942
1942Movie
Self
Now, Voyager
1942Movie
Charlotte Vale
In This Our Life
1942Movie
Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1941Movie
Maggie Cutler
Breakdowns of 1941
1941Movie
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Little Foxes
1941Movie
Regina Hubbard Giddens
The Bride Came C.O.D.
1941Movie
Joan Winfield
Shining Victory
1941Movie
The Great Lie
1941Movie
Maggie Patterson Van Allen
The Letter
1940Movie
Leslie Crosbie
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940Movie
Self
All This, and Heaven Too
1940Movie
Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
If I Forget You
1940Movie
Bette Davis
Breakdowns of 1939
1939Movie
Self
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
1939Movie
Queen Elizabeth
The Old Maid
1939Movie
Charlotte Lovell
Juarez
1939Movie
Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg
Dark Victory
1939Movie
Judith Traherne
Breakdowns of 1938
1938Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Sisters
1938Movie
Louise Elliott Medlin
Jezebel
1938Movie
Julie Marsden
Breakdowns of 1937
1937Movie
Self
It's Love I'm After
1937Movie
Joyce Arden
That Certain Woman
1937Movie
Mary Donnell
Kid Galahad
1937Movie
Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
A Day at Santa Anita
1937Movie
Bette Davis (uncredited)
Marked Woman
1937Movie
Mary Dwight Strauber
Breakdowns of 1936
1936Movie
Self
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936Movie
Self
Satan Met a Lady
1936Movie
Valerie Purvis
The Golden Arrow
1936Movie
Daisy Appleby
The Petrified Forest
1936Movie
Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"
1936Movie
A Dream Comes True
1935Movie
Dangerous
1935Movie
Joyce Heath
Special Agent
1935Movie
Julie Gardner
Front Page Woman
1935Movie
Ellen Garfield
The Girl from 10th Avenue
1935Movie
Miriam A. Brady
Bordertown
1935Movie
Mrs. Marie Roark
Housewife
1934Movie
Patricia Berkeley
Of Human Bondage
1934Movie
Mildred Rogers
Fog Over Frisco
1934Movie
Arlene Bradford
Jimmy the Gent
1934Movie
Joan Martin
Fashions of 1934
1934Movie
Lynn Mason
The Big Shakedown
1934Movie
Norma Nelson
Bureau of Missing Persons
1933Movie
Norma Roberts
Ex-Lady
1933Movie
Helen Bauer
The Working Man
1933Movie
Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey
The 42nd Street Special
1933Movie
Self (uncredited)
Parachute Jumper
1933Movie
Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
Just Around the Corner
1933Movie
Ginger
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
1932Movie
Fay Wilson
Three on a Match
1932Movie
Ruth Westcott
The Cabin in the Cotton
1932Movie
Madge Norwood
The Dark Horse
1932Movie
Kay Russell
The Rich Are Always with Us
1932Movie
Malbro
So Big!
1932Movie
Miss Dallas O'Mara
The Man Who Played God
1932Movie
Grace Blair
Hell's House
1932Movie
Peggy Gardner
The Menace
1932Movie
Peggy Lowell
Way Back Home
1931Movie
Mary Lucy Duffy
Waterloo Bridge
1931Movie
Janet Cronin
Seed
1931Movie
Margaret Carter
The Bad Sister
1931Movie
Laura Madison