Acting
Bette Davis
EN, FR, DE, JA cinema · 184 credits
Born
5 April 1908
Died
6 October 1989 (aged 81)
Birthplace
Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Also known as Ruth Elizabeth Davis
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.
Known for
Filmography
This Is Joan Collins
as Self (Archive Footage)
Madonna: Madame X
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Morceaux de Cannes
as Self (archive footage)
Mike Wallace Is Here
as (archive footage)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
Bette and Joan
as Self (archive footage)
Bette Davis: Larger Than Life
as Self (archive footage)
The Fabulous Allan Carr
as Self (archive footage)
Listen to Me Marlon
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn
as Self (archive footage)
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
as Self (archive footage)
Footsteps on the Ceiling
as Margo Channing (archive footage)
Marilyn at the Movies
as Self (archive footage)
Vito
as Self (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Self (archive footage)
The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka
as Self (archive footage)
Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis
as Self (archive footage)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
as Self (archive footage)
Jezebel: Legend of the South
as Self (archive footage)
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
as Self (archive footage)
The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert
as Self (archive footage)
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
as Queen Elizabeth (archive footage)
How Real is 'The Star'?
as Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
as Self (archive footage)
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
as Self (archive footage)
Bride of Trailer Camp
2001
Bride of Trailer Camp
as (archive footage)
Backstory: 'All About Eve'
as Self (archive footage)
All About My Mother
In Memory Of
Frank Capra's American Dream
as Self (archive footage)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
as Self (archive footage)
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
as Self (archive footage)
Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis
as Self (archive footage)
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
1995
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
as Self (archive footage)
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
as Self (archive footage)
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
as Self (archive footage)
All About Bette
as Self
Wicked Stepmother
as Miranda Pierpoint
Hairway to the Stars
as Self [Archive Footage]
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage)
The Whales of August
as Libby Strong
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
as (archive footage)
As Summers Die
as Hannah Loftin
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
as archive footage
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
as Self (archive footage)
Murder with Mirrors
as Carrie Louise Serrocold
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Right of Way
as Miniature Dwyer
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
as (in "Deception") (archive footage)
Showbiz Goes to War
as (archive footage)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
as Self (archive footage)
A Piano for Mrs. Cimino
as Esther McDonald Cimino
Showbiz Ballyhoo
as Self (archive footage)
Family Reunion
as Elizabeth Winfield
The Watcher in the Woods
as Mrs. Aylwood
White Mama
as Estelle Malone
Skyward
as Billie Dupree
The Horror Show
as (archive footage)
Death on the Nile
as Marie Van Schuyler
Return from Witch Mountain
as Letha Wedge
Mickey's 50
as Self
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
1978
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
as Marie Van Schuyler
Burnt Offerings
as Aunt Elizabeth
The Disappearance of Aimee
as Minnie Kennedy
Hello Mother, Goodbye!
as Mother
Miss Moffat
as Miss Moffat
Scream, Pretty Peggy
as Mrs. Elliott
The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor
as Self (archive footage)
Madame Sin
as Madame Sin
The Scopone Game
as 'A vecchia
The Judge and Jake Wyler
as Judge Meredith
Bunny O'Hare
as Bunny O'Hare
Connecting Rooms
as Wanda Fleming
The Anniversary
as Mrs. Taggart
The Nanny
as Nanny
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
as Charlotte Hollis
Dead Ringer
as Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
Where Love Has Gone
as Mrs. Gerald Hayden
The Empty Canvas
as Dino's Mother
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
as Baby Jane Hudson
Pocketful of Miracles
as Apple Annie
John Paul Jones
as Empress Catherine the Great
The Scapegoat
as Countess
Storm Center
as Alicia Hull
The Catered Affair
as Agnes Hurley
The Virgin Queen
as Queen Elizabeth I
Phone Call from a Stranger
as Marie Hoke
The Star
as Margaret Elliot
Another Man's Poison
as Janet Frobisher
Payment on Demand
as Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
All About Eve
as Margo Channing
Beyond the Forest
as Rosa Moline
Winter Meeting
as Susan Grieve
June Bride
as Linda Gilman
Deception
as Christine Radcliffe
A Stolen Life
as Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth, Producer
The Corn Is Green
as Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat
Mr. Skeffington
as Fanny Trellis
Watch on the Rhine
as Sara Müller
Old Acquaintance
as Kit Marlowe
The Voice That Thrilled the World
as Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage)
Now, Voyager
as Charlotte Vale
In This Our Life
as Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
The Man Who Came to Dinner
as Maggie Cutler
The Bride Came C.O.D.
as Joan Winfield
The Little Foxes
as Regina Hubbard Giddens
The Great Lie
as Maggie Patterson Van Allen
Breakdowns of 1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
All This, and Heaven Too
as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
The Letter
as Leslie Crosbie
If I Forget You
1940
If I Forget You
as Bette Davis
Dark Victory
as Judith Traherne
The Old Maid
as Charlotte Lovell
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
as Queen Elizabeth
Juarez
as Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg
Jezebel
as Julie Marsden
Breakdowns of 1938
as Self (archive footage)
The Sisters
as Louise Elliott Medlin
Marked Woman
as Mary Dwight Strauber
A Day at Santa Anita
as Bette Davis (uncredited)
Kid Galahad
as Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
That Certain Woman
as Mary Donnell
It's Love I'm After
as Joyce Arden
Satan Met a Lady
as Valerie Purvis
The Petrified Forest
as Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple
The Golden Arrow
as Daisy Appleby
Bordertown
as Mrs. Marie Roark
Dangerous
as Joyce Heath
Special Agent
as Julie Gardner
Front Page Woman
as Ellen Garfield
The Girl from 10th Avenue
as Miriam A. Brady
Of Human Bondage
as Mildred Rogers
Fog Over Frisco
as Arlene Bradford
Jimmy the Gent
as Joan Martin
Fashions of 1934
as Lynn Mason
The Big Shakedown
as Norma Nelson
Housewife
as Patricia Berkeley
Bureau of Missing Persons
as Norma Roberts
Ex-Lady
as Helen Bauer
The Working Man
as Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey
Parachute Jumper
as Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
Just Around the Corner
as Ginger
The 42nd Street Special
as Self (uncredited)
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
as Fay Wilson
Three on a Match
as Ruth Westcott
The Cabin in the Cotton
as Madge Norwood
The Dark Horse
as Kay Russell
So Big!
as Miss Dallas O'Mara
The Man Who Played God
as Grace Blair
Hell's House
as Peggy Gardner
The Menace
as Peggy Lowell
Waterloo Bridge
as Janet Cronin
The Bad Sister
as Laura Madison
Way Back Home
as Mary Lucy Duffy
Seed
as Margaret Carter