1908-04-05 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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Faye | Self - Actor (archive footage) | 2024-05-15 |
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Faye | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2024-05-15 |
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Madonna: Madame X | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2021-09-23 |
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Mike Wallace Is Here | (archive footage) | 2019-07-26 |
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Always at The Carlyle | Self (archive footage) | 2018-05-11 |
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Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2018-07-27 |
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Bette Davis - Größer als das Leben | Self (archive footage) | 2017-12-18 |
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Bette and Joan | Self (archive footage) | 2017-01-01 |
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Listen to Me Marlon | Self (archive footage) | 2015-07-29 |
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And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) | 2014-02-01 |
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Marlon Brando, un acteur nommé désir | Self - Actress (archive footage) | 2014-09-20 |
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Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored | Self (archive footage) | 2013-01-29 |
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Footsteps on the Ceiling | Margo Channing (archive footage) | 2013-01-01 |
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1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | Self (archive footage) | 2009-07-02 |
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田中絹代の旅立ち～占領下の日米親善芸術使節～ | Self (archive footage) | 2009-10-17 |
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Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis | Self (archive footage) | 2009-09-11 |
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Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema | Self (archive footage) | 2007-05-23 |
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Stardust: The Bette Davis Story | Self (archive footage) | 2006-05-03 |
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Jezebel: Legend of the South | Self (archive footage) | 2006-05-30 |
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Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition | Self (archive footage) | 2006-01-01 |
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The Adventures of Errol Flynn | Queen Elizabeth (archive footage) | 2005-04-05 |
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The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert | Self (archive footage) | 2005-06-18 |
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Complicated Women | Self (archive footage) | 2003-05-06 |
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Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour | Self (archive footage) | 2002-12-04 |
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Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies | Self (archive footage) | 2001-10-07 |
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Backstory: 'All About Eve' | Self (archive footage) | 2000-09-09 |
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The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender | Self (archive footage) | 1997-11-01 |
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Frank Capra's American Dream | Self (archive footage) | 1997-01-01 |
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Joan Crawford: Always the Star | Self (archive footage) | 1996-09-30 |
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Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis | Self (archive footage) | 1996-09-26 |
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All About Bette | Self | 1994-07-17 |
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Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill | Self (archive footage) | 1994-09-13 |
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Wicked Stepmother | Miranda Pierpoint | 1989-02-03 |
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Hairway to the Stars | Self [Archive Footage] | 1989-01-01 |
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The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind | Self (archive footage) | 1988-10-01 |
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Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood | (archive footage) | 1987-06-26 |
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The Whales of August | Libby Strong | 1987-10-14 |
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As Summers Die | Hannah Loftin | 1986-05-18 |
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Bette Davis à la Cinémathèque française | Herself | 1986-01-01 |
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Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend | Self (from All About Eve [1950]) (archive footage) | 1986-04-19 |
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Directed by William Wyler | Self | 1986-05-01 |
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Murder with Mirrors | Carrie Louise Serrocold | 1985-02-20 |
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Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers | Self (archive footage) | 1985-01-01 |
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Going Hollywood: The '30s | (archive footage) | 1984-01-01 |
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Right of Way | Miniature Dwyer | 1983-11-21 |
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Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano | Self | 1983-11-02 |
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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
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Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! | Self (archive footage) | 1982-01-01 |
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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | (in "Deception") (archive footage) | 1982-05-21 |
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A Piano for Mrs. Cimino | Esther McDonald Cimino | 1982-02-03 |
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Showbiz Goes to War | (archive footage) | 1982-12-31 |
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Night of 100 Stars | Self | 1982-03-08 |
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Family Reunion | Elizabeth Winfield | 1981-10-11 |
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White Mama | Estelle Malone | 1980-03-05 |
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The Watcher in the Woods | Mrs. Aylwood | 1980-04-17 |
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Skyward | Billie Dupree | 1980-11-20 |
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The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979-02-06 |
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Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter | Lucy Mason | 1979-05-13 |
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Mickey's 50 | Self | 1978-11-19 |
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Return from Witch Mountain | Letha Wedge | 1978-03-10 |
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Death on the Nile | Marie Van Schuyler | 1978-09-29 |
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The Disappearance of Aimee | Minnie Kennedy | 1976-11-17 |
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Burnt Offerings | Aunt Elizabeth | 1976-10-18 |
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Hello Mother, Goodbye! | 1974-05-15 | |
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The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor | Self (archive footage) | 1973-01-01 |
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Scream, Pretty Peggy | Mrs. Elliott | 1973-11-24 |
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Bette Davis | Self | 1972-12-17 |
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Lo scopone scientifico | 'A vecchia | 1972-08-28 |
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Madame Sin | Madame Sin | 1972-01-15 |
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The Judge and Jake Wyler | Judge Meredith | 1972-12-02 |
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Bunny O'Hare | Bunny O'Hare | 1971-10-18 |
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Connecting Rooms | Wanda Fleming | 1970-05-01 |
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The Anniversary | Mrs. Taggart | 1968-02-07 |
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The Nanny | Nanny | 1965-10-07 |
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The Decorator | Liz | 1965-06-09 |
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Where Love Has Gone | Mrs. Gerald Hayden | 1964-11-02 |
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Dead Ringer | Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips | 1964-02-19 |
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Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte | Charlotte Hollis | 1964-12-15 |
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La noia | Dino's Mother | 1963-12-04 |
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The Andy Williams Christmas Show | 1962-12-20 | |
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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Baby Jane Hudson | 1962-10-31 |
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Pocketful of Miracles | Apple Annie | 1961-12-18 |
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The Scapegoat | Countess | 1959-08-06 |
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John Paul Jones | Empress Catherine the Great | 1959-06-16 |
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The Catered Affair | Mrs. Agnes Hurley | 1956-06-14 |
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Storm Center | Alicia Hull | 1956-07-31 |
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The Virgin Queen | Queen Elizabeth I | 1955-07-22 |
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Phone Call from a Stranger | Marie Hoke | 1952-02-01 |
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The Star | Margaret Elliot | 1952-12-11 |
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Another Man's Poison | Janet Frobisher | 1951-11-20 |
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Payment on Demand | Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson) | 1951-02-03 |
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All About Eve | Margo Channing | 1950-11-09 |
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Breakdowns of 1949 | Self | 1949-12-31 |
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Beyond the Forest | Rosa Moline | 1949-10-21 |
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June Bride | Linda Gilman | 1948-10-29 |
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Winter Meeting | Susan Grieve | 1948-04-07 |
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A Stolen Life | Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth | 1946-05-01 |
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Deception | Christine Radcliffe | 1946-10-26 |
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The Corn Is Green | Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat | 1945-03-29 |
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Hollywood Canteen | Self | 1944-12-15 |
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Mr. Skeffington | Fanny Trellis | 1944-05-25 |
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Breakdowns of 1944 | Self | 1944-12-31 |
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The Voice That Thrilled the World | Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage) | 1943-10-16 |
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Thank Your Lucky Stars | Self | 1943-09-25 |
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A Present with a Future | Mother | 1943-12-01 |
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Show-Business at War | Self | 1943-05-21 |
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Watch on the Rhine | Sara Müller | 1943-08-27 |
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Old Acquaintance | Kit Marlowe | 1943-11-27 |
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Stars on Horseback | 1943-04-23 | |
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In This Our Life | Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill | 1942-05-08 |
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Now, Voyager | Charlotte Vale | 1942-10-22 |
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Breakdowns of 1942 | Self | 1942-12-31 |
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Shining Victory | 1941-05-30 | |
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The Little Foxes | Regina Hubbard Giddens | 1941-08-29 |
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The Bride Came C.O.D. | Joan Winfield | 1941-07-12 |
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Breakdowns of 1941 | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1941-11-14 |
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The Man Who Came to Dinner | Maggie Cutler | 1941-12-24 |
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The Great Lie | Maggie Patterson Van Allen | 1941-04-05 |
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The Letter | Leslie Crosbie | 1940-11-21 |
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All This, and Heaven Too | Henriette Deluzy-Desportes | 1940-07-05 |
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Cavalcade of the Academy Awards | Self | 1940-07-31 |
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If I Forget You | Bette Davis | 1940-05-01 |
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Juarez | Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg | 1939-06-10 |
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Dark Victory | Judith Traherne | 1939-04-20 |
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The Old Maid | Charlotte Lovell | 1939-08-16 |
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The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | Queen Elizabeth | 1939-11-11 |
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Breakdowns of 1939 | Self | 1939-12-31 |
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Breakdowns of 1938 | Self (archive footage) | 1938-12-31 |
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The Sisters | Louise Elliott Medlin | 1938-10-14 |
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Jezebel | Julie Marsden | 1938-03-26 |
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Breakdowns of 1937 | Self | 1937-12-31 |
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Marked Woman | Mary Dwight Strauber | 1937-04-10 |
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A Day at Santa Anita | Bette Davis (uncredited) | 1937-05-22 |
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That Certain Woman | Mary Donnell/Mme Al Haines | 1937-08-30 |
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It's Love I'm After | Joyce Arden | 1937-10-08 |
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Kid Galahad | Louise 'Fluff' Phillips | 1937-05-29 |
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The Golden Arrow | Daisy Appleby | 1936-05-23 |
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Satan Met a Lady | Valerie Purvis | 1936-07-22 |
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The Petrified Forest | Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple | 1936-02-08 |
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Breakdowns of 1936 | Self | 1936-12-30 |
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Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) | Self | 1936-09-11 |
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Front Page Woman | Ellen Garfield | 1935-07-11 |
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The Girl from 10th Avenue | Miriam A. Brady | 1935-06-01 |
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Dangerous | Joyce Heath | 1935-12-25 |
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A Dream Comes True | 1935-12-31 | |
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Special Agent | Julie Gardner | 1935-09-14 |
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Bordertown | Mrs. Marie Roark | 1935-01-23 |
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The Big Shakedown | Norma Nelson | 1934-01-06 |
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Housewife | Patricia Berkeley | 1934-08-11 |
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Fog Over Frisco | Arlene Bradford | 1934-06-02 |
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Jimmy the Gent | Joan Martin | 1934-03-09 |
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Of Human Bondage | Mildred Rogers | 1934-07-20 |
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Fashions of 1934 | Lynn Mason | 1934-02-14 |
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The Working Man | Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey | 1933-04-20 |
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Parachute Jumper | Patricia 'Alabama' Brent | 1933-01-28 |
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Ex-Lady | Helen Bauer | 1933-05-15 |
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Bureau of Missing Persons | Norma Roberts | 1933-09-16 |
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The 42nd Street Special | Self (uncredited) | 1933-02-20 |
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Just Around the Corner | Ginger | 1933-01-17 |
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So Big! | Miss Dallas O'Mara | 1932-04-30 |
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The Man Who Played God | Grace Blair | 1932-02-09 |
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Hell's House | Peggy Gardner | 1932-01-30 |
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The Cabin in the Cotton | Madge Norwood | 1932-09-26 |
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The Rich Are Always with Us | Malbro | 1932-05-19 |
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The Menace | Peggy Lowell | 1932-01-29 |
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Three on a Match | Ruth Westcott | 1932-10-29 |
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The Dark Horse | Kay Russell | 1932-06-16 |
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20,000 Years in Sing Sing | Fay Wilson | 1932-12-24 |
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Seed | Margaret Carter | 1931-05-14 |
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Waterloo Bridge | Janet Cronin | 1931-09-01 |
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The Bad Sister | Laura Madison | 1931-03-29 |
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Way Back Home | Mary Lucy Duffy | 1931-11-13 |
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Miss Moffat | Miss Moffat |
