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.
Filmography
all 223
Movies 190
self 78
TV Shows 33
AFI Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special (2023)
Madonna: Madame X (2021)
The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland (2021)
Mike Wallace Is Here (2019)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)
Always at The Carlyle (2018)
Bette Davis - Größer als das Leben (2017)
The Fabulous Allan Carr (2017)
Bette and Joan (2017)
Listen to Me Marlon (2015)
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire (2014)
And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored (2013)
Talking Pictures (2013)
Footsteps on the Ceiling (2013)
Screen Goddesses (2012)
The Time That Remains (2012)
The Clock (2010)
The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka (2009)
Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis (2009)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009)
Never Apologize (2008)
Crawford at Warners (2008)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema (2007)
Jezebel: Legend of the South (2006)
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006)
Hollywood Burn (2006)
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition (2006)
The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert (2005)
Elizabeth & Essex: Battle Royale (2005)
The Adventures of Errol Flynn (2005)
Christmas in Hollywood (2003)
Complicated Women (2003)
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (2002)
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies (2001)
Backstory: 'All About Eve' (2000)
Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial (1999)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (1997)
Frank Capra's American Dream (1997)
Joan Crawford: Always the Star (1996)
Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis (1996)
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill (1994)
All About Bette (1994)
Intimate Portrait (1993)
Here's Looking At You, Warner Bros. (1991)
O Espectador que o Cinema Esqueceu (1991)
Wicked Stepmother (1989)
Hairway to the Stars (1989)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind (1988)
The Whales of August (1987)
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood (1987)
As Summers Die (1986)
Directed by William Wyler (1986)
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1986)
Bette Davis at the Cinémathèque Française (1986)
Super Duper Bloopers (1986)
Murder with Mirrors (1985)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers (1985)
Terror in the Aisles (1984)
Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)
Right of Way (1983)
Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano (1983)
Life's Most Embarrassing Moments (1983)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (1983)
Showbiz Goes to War (1982)
Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Night of 100 Stars (1982)
A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! (1982)
Family Reunion (1981)
Sixty Years of Seduction (1981)
Skyward (1980)
The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
White Mama (1980)
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979)
The Horror Show (1979)
The Kennedy Center Honors (1978)
Death on the Nile (1978)
Return from Witch Mountain (1978)
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978)
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette (1978)
Laugh-In (1977)
The Disappearance of Aimee (1976)
Burnt Offerings (1976)
Hello Mother, Goodbye! (1974)
Hello Mother, Goodbye! (1974)
Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)
The American Film Institute Salute to ... (1973)
The Judge and Jake Wyler (1972)
The Scopone Game (1972)
Madame Sin (1972)
Bunny O'Hare (1971)
V.I.P. Schaukel (1971)
Connecting Rooms (1970)
The Dick Cavett Show (1968)
The Anniversary (1968)
It Takes a Thief (1968)
The Nanny (1965)
The Decorator (1965)
The Love Goddesses (1965)
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Where Love Has Gone (1964)
Hollywood and the Stars (1964)
Dead Ringer (1964)
The Hollywood Palace (1964)
The Empty Canvas (1963)
Hollywood and the Stars (1963)
The Andy Williams Christmas Show (1962)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
The Virginian (1962)
Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1959)
The Scapegoat (1959)
John Paul Jones (1959)
Suspicion (1957)
Perry Mason (1957)
Wagon Train (1957)
Stranded (1957)
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956)
Storm Center (1956)
The Catered Affair (1956)
Telephone Time (1956)
Tony Awards (1956)
The 20th Century Fox Hour (1955)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)
Gunsmoke (1955)
The Virgin Queen (1955)
When the Talkies Were Young (1955)
The Oscars (1953)
General Electric Theater (1953)
The Star (1952)
Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)
Another Man's Poison (1951)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1951)
Payment on Demand (1951)
All About Eve (1950)
What's My Line? (1950)
Breakdowns of 1949 (1949)
Beyond the Forest (1949)
June Bride (1948)
Winter Meeting (1948)
Deception (1946)
A Stolen Life (1946)
The Corn Is Green (1945)
Breakdowns of 1944 (1944)
Hollywood Canteen (1944)
Mr. Skeffington (1944)
A Present with a Future (1943)
Old Acquaintance (1943)
The Voice That Thrilled the World (1943)
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
Watch on the Rhine (1943)
Show-Business at War (1943)
Stars on Horseback (1943)
Breakdowns of 1942 (1942)
Now, Voyager (1942)
In This Our Life (1942)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)
Breakdowns of 1941 (1941)
The Little Foxes (1941)
The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
Shining Victory (1941)
The Great Lie (1941)
The Letter (1940)
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards (1940)
All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
If I Forget You (1940)
Breakdowns of 1939 (1939)
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
The Old Maid (1939)
Juarez (1939)
Dark Victory (1939)
Breakdowns of 1938 (1938)
The Sisters (1938)
Jezebel (1938)
Breakdowns of 1937 (1937)
It's Love I'm After (1937)
That Certain Woman (1937)
Kid Galahad (1937)
A Day at Santa Anita (1937)
Marked Woman (1937)
Breakdowns of 1936 (1936)
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) (1936)
Satan Met a Lady (1936)
The Golden Arrow (1936)
The Petrified Forest (1936)
A Dream Comes True (1935)
Dangerous (1935)
Special Agent (1935)
Front Page Woman (1935)
The Girl from 10th Avenue (1935)
Bordertown (1935)
Housewife (1934)
Of Human Bondage (1934)
Fog Over Frisco (1934)
Jimmy the Gent (1934)
Fashions of 1934 (1934)
The Big Shakedown (1934)
Bureau of Missing Persons (1933)
Ex-Lady (1933)
The Working Man (1933)
The 42nd Street Special (1933)
Parachute Jumper (1933)
Just Around the Corner (1933)
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
Three on a Match (1932)
The Cabin in the Cotton (1932)
The Dark Horse (1932)
The Rich Are Always with Us (1932)
So Big! (1932)
The Man Who Played God (1932)
Hell's House (1932)
The Menace (1932)
The Christmas Party (1931)
Way Back Home (1931)
Waterloo Bridge (1931)
Seed (1931)
The Bad Sister (1931)
Murder with Mirrors
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderFemale
Birthday1908-04-05
Deathday1989-10-06 (81 years old)
Birth NameRuth Elizabeth Davis
Birth PlaceLowell, United States of America
Height
RelationshipsWilliam Grant Sherry (1945-01-01 - 1950-01-01), Gary Merrill (1950-01-01 - 1960-01-01)
ChildrenB. D. Hyman
FatherHarlow Morrell Davis
MotherRuth Augusta 'Ruthie' Favor
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsThe First Lady of Film, Ruth Elizabeth Davis, The Fourth Warner Brother, Бетт Дэвис, 베티 데이비스, Бетті Девіс, Μπέτι Ντέιβις, Бети Дейвис, Бет Дэвіс
AwardsLos Angeles Times Women of the Year Silver Cup, star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Kennedy Center Honors, Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, Laurel Awards, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Emmy Award, Donostia Award, AFI Life Achievement Award, New York Film Critics Circle, Academy Award for Best Actress, Volpi Cup, Crystal Award
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