Bette Davis

Acting · 2.6 popularity

Age

118

Movies

183

Born: April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989
From: Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Website: Visit site

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.

Works

183 films

Death on the Nile

19787.1

All About Eve

19508.1

Mr. Skeffington

19446.8

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

19647.3

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

19627.9

June Bride

19487.1

Now, Voyager

19427.4

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

19826.7

Pocketful of Miracles

19617.3

Dead Ringer

19646.9

Juarez

19396.5

The Watcher in the Woods

19805.9

Jezebel

19387.0

Burnt Offerings

19766.5

Marked Woman

19376.6

The Letter

19407.3

Return from Witch Mountain

19785.9

Housewife

19347.3

The Scapegoat

19596.8

Front Page Woman

19355.9

Of Human Bondage

19346.5

John Paul Jones

19596.0

Dark Victory

19396.9

Breakdowns of 1942

19426.0

Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored

20135.5

The Great Lie

19417.0

All This, and Heaven Too

19407.2

Kid Galahad

19377.1

The Little Foxes

19417.5

Morceaux de Cannes

20212.0

The Bad Sister

19315.6

Special Agent

19356.2

The Man Who Came to Dinner

19417.0

The Nanny

19657.0

Directed by William Wyler

1986

In This Our Life

19426.9

Bette Davis

1972

Breakdowns of 1941

19417.0

Complicated Women

20036.9

A Stolen Life

19466.4

Mickey's 50

19789.0

20,000 Years in Sing Sing

19326.4

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

19837.0

Frank Capra's American Dream

19976.3

Night of 100 Stars

19825.8

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

20185.9

The Fabulous Allan Carr

20174.5

Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady

19826.0

Jimmy the Gent

19346.4

The Virgin Queen

19557.0

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

20057.7

Waterloo Bridge

19316.9

Satan Met a Lady

19365.8

The Petrified Forest

19367.1

The Bride Came C.O.D.

19417.0

Murder with Mirrors

19856.5

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

19888.2

Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

19852.0

Breakdowns of 1949

19496.0

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

19396.3

Payment on Demand

19516.3

Beyond the Forest

19496.7

The Old Maid

19397.1

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

19958.0

Hello Mother, Goodbye!

19746.0

South of Reno

19884.9

The Whales of August

19877.0

Breakdowns of 1936

1936

The Anniversary

19686.6

Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood

19876.4

Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!

19826.0

Deception

19466.7

Phone Call from a Stranger

19526.4

The Horror Show

19793.4

Stardust: The Bette Davis Story

20066.6

Listen to Me Marlon

20157.5

Madonna: Madame X

20217.8

Mike Wallace Is Here

20196.5

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

19975.1

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

20097.5

The Catered Affair

19567.2

Another Man's Poison

19516.8

All About Bette

19947.5

Wicked Stepmother

19894.6

Breakdowns of 1944

19446.5

Bordertown

19355.9

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

19406.3

Breakdowns of 1938

19385.8

Way Back Home

19316.3

Storm Center

19566.9

Three on a Match

19326.3

Hollywood Canteen

19447.3

Winter Meeting

19486.6

So Big!

19325.7

The Disappearance of Aimee

19768.7

Old Acquaintance

19437.1

Showbiz Goes to War

198210.0

Where Love Has Gone

19646.1

Thank Your Lucky Stars

19436.2

It's Love I'm After

19377.1

Vito

20116.9

Right of Way

19837.5

Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano

19837.8

The Corn Is Green

19457.2

Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis

19968.0

Madame Sin

19727.2

The Working Man

19336.5

The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert

20057.5

A Dream Comes True

19356.3

Footsteps on the Ceiling

2013

Dangerous

19356.6

The Scopone Game

19727.4

Going Hollywood: The '30s

19849.0

The Star

19527.2

Ex-Lady

19336.3

Breakdowns of 1939

19396.5

Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

20074.3

Joan Crawford: Always the Star

19967.5

The Sisters

19386.0

Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies

20018.5

Watch on the Rhine

19436.9

Bureau of Missing Persons

19335.7

Parachute Jumper

19335.9

The Big Shakedown

19345.9

Miss Moffat

1974

Breakdowns of 1937

19376.0

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

19867.4

The Judge and Jake Wyler

19722.5

Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire

20147.2

This Is Joan Collins

20227.5

A Day at Santa Anita

19376.0

Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell

19952.0

Jezebel: Legend of the South

20067.0

The Empty Canvas

19636.0

Fog Over Frisco

19346.4

The Dark Horse

19327.4

Just Around the Corner

19336.0

As Summers Die

19866.7

The 42nd Street Special

19335.6

Marilyn at the Movies

2011

Scream, Pretty Peggy

19736.2

White Mama

19808.0

Show-Business at War

19437.0

Family Reunion

19818.0

Fashions of 1934

19346.6

The Rich Are Always with Us

19325.3

The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor

19736.5

The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka

20094.0

Bunny O'Hare

19715.8

Skyward

19807.1

Bette Davis: Larger Than Life

20176.0

The Voice That Thrilled the World

19436.0

The Man Who Played God

19327.2

Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)

19366.0

Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette

19787.0

A Piano for Mrs. Cimino

19827.6

The Decorator

19656.0

Backstory: 'All About Eve'

20009.0

Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

20024.5

The Golden Arrow

19366.3

Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn

20159.0

Hairway to the Stars

19897.0

The Girl from 10th Avenue

19356.8

Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"

1936

Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter

19799.4

That Certain Woman

19375.6

Connecting Rooms

19705.6

Seed

19316.5

Hell's House

19325.3

The Cabin in the Cotton

19326.3

Showbiz Ballyhoo

1982

Stars on Horseback

19435.0

If I Forget You

19406.3

Bride of Trailer Camp

2001

Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition

20066.7

Bette and Joan

2017

Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill

1994

A Present with a Future

19437.0

Shining Victory

19416.1

The Menace

19325.6

Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis

2009

How Real is 'The Star'?

20056.0

Bette Davis at the Cinémathèque Française

1986