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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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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Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2018-07-27 |
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Bette and Joan | Self (archive footage) | 2017-01-01 |
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Bette Davis - Größer als das Leben | Self (archive footage) | 2017-12-18 |
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Listen to Me Marlon | Self (archive footage) | 2015-07-29 |
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Marlon Brando, un acteur nommé désir | Self - Actress (archive footage) | 2014-09-20 |
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Footsteps on the Ceiling | Margo Channing (archive footage) | 2013-01-01 |
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Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored | Self (archive footage) | 2013-01-29 |
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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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1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | Self (archive footage) | 2009-07-02 |
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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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Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition | Self (archive footage) | 2006-01-01 |
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Jezebel: Legend of the South | Self (archive footage) | 2006-05-30 |
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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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Bride of Trailer Camp | (archive footage) | 2001-06-21 |
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Backstory: 'All About Eve' | Self (archive footage) | 2000-09-09 |
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Frank Capra's American Dream | Self (archive footage) | 1997-01-01 |
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The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender | Self (archive footage) | 1997-11-01 |
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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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Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill | Self (archive footage) | 1994-09-13 |
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All About Bette | Self | 1994-07-17 |
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Hairway to the Stars | Self [Archive Footage] | 1989-01-01 |
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Wicked Stepmother | Miranda Pierpoint | 1989-02-03 |
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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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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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Bette Davis à la Cinémathèque française | Self | 1986-01-01 |
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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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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
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Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano | Self | 1983-11-02 |
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Showbiz Ballyhoo | Self (archive footage) | 1982-05-05 |
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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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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | (in "Deception") (archive footage) | 1982-05-21 |
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Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! | Self (archive footage) | 1982-01-01 |
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A Piano for Mrs. Cimino | Esther McDonald Cimino | 1982-02-03 |
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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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Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter | Lucy Mason | 1979-05-13 |
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The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979-02-06 |
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Death on the Nile | Marie Van Schuyler | 1978-09-29 |
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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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Burnt Offerings | Aunt Elizabeth | 1976-10-18 |
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The Disappearance of Aimee | Minnie Kennedy | 1976-11-17 |
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Hello Mother, Goodbye! | 1974-05-15 | |
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Scream, Pretty Peggy | Mrs. Elliott | 1973-11-24 |
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The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor | Self (archive footage) | 1973-01-01 |
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Madame Sin | Madame Sin | 1972-01-15 |
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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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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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Dead Ringer | Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips | 1964-02-19 |
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Where Love Has Gone | Mrs. Gerald Hayden | 1964-11-02 |
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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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John Paul Jones | Empress Catherine the Great | 1959-06-16 |
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The Scapegoat | Countess | 1959-08-06 |
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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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The Star | Margaret Elliot | 1952-12-11 |
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Phone Call from a Stranger | Marie Hoke | 1952-02-01 |
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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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Winter Meeting | Susan Grieve | 1948-04-07 |
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June Bride | Linda Gilman | 1948-10-29 |
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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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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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Old Acquaintance | Kit Marlowe | 1943-11-27 |
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Watch on the Rhine | Sara Müller | 1943-08-27 |
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Stars on Horseback | 1943-04-23 | |
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Show-Business at War | Self | 1943-05-21 |
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The Voice That Thrilled the World | Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage) | 1943-10-16 |
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Now, Voyager | Charlotte Vale | 1942-10-22 |
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In This Our Life | Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill | 1942-05-08 |
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Breakdowns of 1942 | Self | 1942-12-31 |
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The Bride Came C.O.D. | Joan Winfield | 1941-07-12 |
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The Man Who Came to Dinner | Maggie Cutler | 1941-12-24 |
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Shining Victory | 1941-05-30 | |
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Breakdowns of 1941 | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1941-11-14 |
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The Little Foxes | Regina Hubbard Giddens | 1941-08-29 |
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The Great Lie | Maggie Patterson Van Allen | 1941-04-05 |
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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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The Letter | Leslie Crosbie | 1940-11-21 |
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Dark Victory | Judith Traherne | 1939-04-20 |
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Juarez | Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg | 1939-06-10 |
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Breakdowns of 1939 | Self | 1939-12-31 |
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The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | Queen Elizabeth | 1939-11-11 |
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The Old Maid | Charlotte Lovell | 1939-08-16 |
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Jezebel | Julie Marsden | 1938-03-26 |
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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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Breakdowns of 1937 | Self | 1937-12-31 |
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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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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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The Petrified Forest | Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple | 1936-02-08 |
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Satan Met a Lady | Valerie Purvis | 1936-07-22 |
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Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) | Self | 1936-09-11 |
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The Golden Arrow | Daisy Appleby | 1936-05-23 |
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Breakdowns of 1936 | Self | 1936-12-30 |
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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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Bordertown | Mrs. Marie Roark | 1935-01-23 |
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A Dream Comes True | 1935-12-31 | |
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Front Page Woman | Ellen Garfield | 1935-07-11 |
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Special Agent | Julie Gardner | 1935-09-14 |
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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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Of Human Bondage | Mildred Rogers | 1934-07-20 |
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Jimmy the Gent | Joan Martin | 1934-03-09 |
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Fashions of 1934 | Lynn Mason | 1934-02-14 |
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The Big Shakedown | Norma Nelson | 1934-01-06 |
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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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Bureau of Missing Persons | Norma Roberts | 1933-09-16 |
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The Working Man | Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey | 1933-04-20 |
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Ex-Lady | Helen Bauer | 1933-05-15 |
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Parachute Jumper | Patricia 'Alabama' Brent | 1933-01-28 |
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Hell's House | Peggy Gardner | 1932-01-30 |
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Three on a Match | Ruth Westcott | 1932-10-29 |
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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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20,000 Years in Sing Sing | Fay Wilson | 1932-12-24 |
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So Big! | Miss Dallas O'Mara | 1932-04-30 |
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The Dark Horse | Kay Russell | 1932-06-16 |
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The Man Who Played God | Grace Blair | 1932-02-09 |
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The Menace | Peggy Lowell | 1932-01-29 |
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Waterloo Bridge | Janet Cronin | 1931-09-01 |
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Way Back Home | Mary Lucy Duffy | 1931-11-13 |
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The Bad Sister | Laura Madison | 1931-03-29 |
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Seed | Margaret Carter | 1931-05-14 |
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Miss Moffat | Miss Moffat |
