Cast
Bette Davis
Acting
Cast
Bette Davis
Known for
Acting
Born
1908-04-05
From
Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Died
1989-10-06
Also known as Ruth Elizabeth Davis
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.
Death on the Nile
as Marie Van Schuyler
All About Eve
as Margo Channing
Jezebel
as Julie Marsden
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
as (in "Deception") (archive footage)
Now, Voyager
as Charlotte Vale
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
as Baby Jane Hudson
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
The Letter
as Leslie Crosbie
Ex-Lady
as Helen Bauer
Burnt Offerings
as Aunt Elizabeth
Juarez
as Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg
Pocketful of Miracles
as Apple Annie
June Bride
as Linda Gilman
Special Agent
as Julie Gardner
Mr. Skeffington
as Fanny Trellis
Skyward
as Billie Dupree
The Star
as Margaret Elliot
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
as Charlotte Hollis
The Nanny
as Nanny
Return from Witch Mountain
as Letha Wedge
Seed
as Margaret Carter
The Anniversary
as Mrs. Taggart
Dead Ringer
as Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
as Self (archive footage)
The Fabulous Allan Carr
as Self (archive)
Family Reunion
as Elizabeth Winfield
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
as (archive footage)
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
as Self
Parachute Jumper
as Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
Deception
as Christine Radcliffe
Hollywood Canteen
as Self
The Watcher in the Woods
as Mrs. Aylwood
The Little Foxes
as Regina Hubbard Giddens
Kid Galahad
as Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
Dark Victory
as Judith Traherne
The Whales of August
as Libby Strong
Wicked Stepmother
as Miranda Pierpoint
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
as Queen Elizabeth (archive footage)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
All This, and Heaven Too
as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
Marked Woman
as Mary Dwight Strauber
Breakdowns of 1942
as Self
Jimmy the Gent
as Joan Martin
Frank Capra's American Dream
as Self (archive footage)
Morceaux de Cannes
A Stolen Life
as Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
In This Our Life
as Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
Of Human Bondage
as Mildred Rogers
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage)
The Horror Show
as (archive footage)
Dangerous
as Joyce Heath
Watch on the Rhine
as Sara Müller
Mickey's 50
as Self
The Man Who Came to Dinner
as Maggie Cutler
Old Acquaintance
as Kit Marlowe
Murder with Mirrors
as Carrie Louise Serrocold
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
as Self (archive footage)
Storm Center
as Alicia Hull
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
as Self (archive footage)
It's Love I'm After
as Joyce Arden
The Empty Canvas
as Dino's Mother
Bordertown
as Mrs. Marie Roark
The Petrified Forest
as Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
as Self (archive footage)
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
as Queen Elizabeth
The Virgin Queen
as Queen Elizabeth I
Satan Met a Lady
as Valerie Purvis
The Great Lie
as Maggie Patterson Van Allen
The Old Maid
as Charlotte Lovell
The Scapegoat
as Countess
Three on a Match
as Ruth Westcott
Payment on Demand
as Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
as Fay Wilson
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
as Self (archive footage)
The Catered Affair
as Agnes Hurley
The Disappearance of Aimee
as Minnie Kennedy
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self
Madonna: Madame X
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Housewife
as Patricia Berkeley
Listen to Me Marlon
as Self (archive footage)
John Paul Jones
as Empress Catherine the Great
As Summers Die
as Hannah Loftin
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Self
Breakdowns of 1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Self (archive footage)
So Big!
as Miss Dallas O'Mara
The Cabin in the Cotton
as Madge Norwood
Way Back Home
as Mary Lucy Duffy
The Sisters
as Louise Elliott Medlin
Showbiz Goes to War
as (archive footage)
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
as Self (archive footage)
The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor
as Self (archive footage)
Show-Business at War
as Self
Mike Wallace Is Here
as (archive footage)
Directed by William Wyler
as Self
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
Breakdowns of 1938
as Self (archive footage)
The Bride Came C.O.D.
as Joan Winfield
White Mama
as Estelle Malone
The Judge and Jake Wyler
as Judge Meredith
The Corn Is Green
as Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
Phone Call from a Stranger
as Marie Hoke
Beyond the Forest
as Rosa Moline
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
as Self
The Girl from 10th Avenue
as Miriam A. Brady
The Voice That Thrilled the World
as Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage)
Where Love Has Gone
as Mrs. Gerald Hayden
Shining Victory
Fog Over Frisco
as Arlene Bradford
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
as Self (archive footage)
Right of Way
as Miniature Dwyer
A Dream Comes True
Waterloo Bridge
as Janet Cronin
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
as Self (archive footage)
Another Man's Poison
as Janet Frobisher
Breakdowns of 1944
as Self
That Certain Woman
as Mary Donnell
Connecting Rooms
as Wanda Fleming
Vito
as Self (archive)
Marilyn at the Movies
as Self (archive footage)
Bureau of Missing Persons
as Norma Roberts
Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis
as Self (archive footage)
Madame Sin
as Madame Sin
Front Page Woman
as Ellen Garfield
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
as archive footage
The 42nd Street Special
as Self (uncredited)
The Dark Horse
as Kay Russell
The Rich Are Always with Us
as Malbro
The Menace
as Peggy Lowell
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter
as Lucy Mason
This Is Joan Collins
as Self (Archive Footage)
The Scopone Game
as 'A vecchia
All About Bette
as Self
The Bad Sister
as Laura Madison
Fashions of 1934
as Lynn Mason
The Man Who Played God
as Grace Blair
Hello Mother, Goodbye!
as Mother
Scream, Pretty Peggy
as Mrs. Elliott
Winter Meeting
as Susan Grieve
A Piano for Mrs. Cimino
as Esther McDonald Cimino
Breakdowns of 1949
as Self
Breakdowns of 1936
as Self
Bunny O'Hare
as Bunny O'Hare
Breakdowns of 1939
as Self
Hell's House
as Peggy Gardner
The Big Shakedown
as Norma Nelson
Bette Davis: Larger Than Life
as Self (archive footage)
The Working Man
as Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
The Golden Arrow
as Daisy Appleby
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
as Self (archive footage)
Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
as Self
A Day at Santa Anita
as Bette Davis (uncredited)
Miss Moffat
as Miss Moffat
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
as Marie Van Schuyler
Bette and Joan
as Self (archive footage)
Stars on Horseback
Jezebel: Legend of the South
as Self (archive footage)
Footsteps on the Ceiling
as Margo Channing (archive footage)
The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert
as Self (archive footage)
Backstory: 'All About Eve'
as Self (archive footage)
The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka
as Self (archive footage)
Just Around the Corner
as Ginger
Showbiz Ballyhoo
as Self (archive footage)
Bette Davis at the Cinémathèque Française
as Self
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
as Self (archive footage)
Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis
as Self (archive footage)
The Decorator
as Liz
A Present with a Future
as Mother
Bride of Trailer Camp
as (archive footage)
Bette Davis
as Self
If I Forget You
as Bette Davis
Hairway to the Stars
as Self [Archive Footage]
How Real is 'The Star'?
as Self (archive footage)