Bette Davis
Born 1908 • Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
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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Directed by Larry Cohen
as Miranda Pierpoint
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Directed by Lindsay Anderson
as Libby Strong
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Directed by Jean-Claude Tramont
as Hannah Loftin
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Directed by George Schaefer
as Miniature Dwyer
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Directed by George Schaefer
as Esther McDonald Cimino
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Directed by Fielder Cook
as Elizabeth Winfield
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Directed by Jackie Cooper
as Estelle Malone
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Directed by John Hough
as Mrs. Aylwood
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Directed by Milton Katselas
as Lucy Mason
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Directed by John Guillermin
as Marie Van Schuyler
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Directed by Anthony Harvey
as Minnie Kennedy
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Directed by Dan Curtis
as Aunt Elizabeth
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Directed by Peter H. Hunt
as Unknown
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Directed by Gordon Hessler
as Mrs. Elliott
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Directed by Luigi Comencini
as 'A vecchia
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Directed by David Lowell Rich
as Judge Meredith
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Directed by David Greene
as Madame Sin
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Directed by Gerd Oswald
as Bunny O'Hare
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Directed by Franklin Gollings
as Wanda Fleming
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Directed by Roy Ward Baker
as Mrs. Taggart
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Directed by Edward Dmytryk
as Mrs. Gerald Hayden
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Directed by Paul Henreid
as Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
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Directed by Robert Aldrich
as Charlotte Hollis
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Directed by Damiano Damiani
as Dino's Mother
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Directed by Robert Aldrich
as Baby Jane Hudson
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Directed by Frank Capra
as Apple Annie
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Directed by John Farrow
as Empress Catherine the Great
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Directed by Richard Brooks
as Mrs. Agnes Hurley
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Directed by Daniel Taradash
as Alicia Hull
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Directed by Henry Koster
as Queen Elizabeth I
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Directed by Jean Negulesco
as Marie Hoke
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Directed by Irving Rapper
as Janet Frobisher
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Directed by Curtis Bernhardt
as Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
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Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
as Margo Channing
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Directed by King Vidor
as Rosa Moline
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Directed by Bretaigne Windust
as Susan Grieve
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Directed by Bretaigne Windust
as Linda Gilman
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Directed by Curtis Bernhardt
as Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
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Directed by Irving Rapper
as Christine Radcliffe
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Directed by Vincent Sherman
as Fanny Trellis
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Directed by Vincent Sherman
as Mother
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Directed by Myron J. Swartz
as Unknown
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Directed by Vincent Sherman
as Kit Marlowe
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Directed by Herman Shumlin
as Sara Müller
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Directed by John Huston
as Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
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Directed by Irving Rapper
as Charlotte Vale
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Directed by William Keighley
as Maggie Cutler
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Directed by Irving Rapper
as Unknown
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Directed by William Keighley
as Joan Winfield
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Directed by Edmund Goulding
as Maggie Patterson Van Allen
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Directed by William Wyler
as Regina Hubbard Giddens
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Directed by Anatole Litvak
as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
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Directed by Unknown
as Bette Davis
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Directed by Edmund Goulding
as Charlotte Lovell
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Directed by Anatole Litvak
as Louise Elliott Medlin
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Directed by Archie Mayo
as Joyce Arden
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Directed by Edmund Goulding
as Mary Donnell
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Directed by William Dieterle
as Valerie Purvis
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Directed by Unknown
as Unknown
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Directed by Alfred E. Green
as Daisy Appleby
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Directed by Michael Curtiz
as Ellen Garfield
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Directed by Alfred E. Green
as Miriam A. Brady
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Directed by William Keighley
as Julie Gardner
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Directed by John Francis Dillon
as Norma Nelson
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Directed by Michael Curtiz
as Joan Martin
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Directed by William Dieterle
as Lynn Mason
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Directed by John Cromwell
as Mildred Rogers
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Directed by William Dieterle
as Arlene Bradford
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Directed by Alfred E. Green
as Patricia Berkeley
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Directed by Roy Del Ruth
as Norma Roberts
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Directed by John G. Adolfi
as Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey
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Directed by Unknown
as Ginger
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Directed by Alfred E. Green
as Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
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Directed by Alfred E. Green
as Kay Russell
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Directed by Michael Curtiz
as Madge Norwood
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Directed by Alfred E. Green
as Malbro
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Directed by John G. Adolfi
as Grace Blair
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Directed by Roy William Neill
as Peggy Lowell
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Directed by William A. Wellman
as Miss Dallas O'Mara
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Directed by Howard Higgin
as Peggy Gardner
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Directed by James Whale
as Janet Cronin
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Directed by John M. Stahl
as Margaret Carter
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Directed by William A. Seiter
as Mary Lucy Duffy
About Bette Davis
Known for: Acting