Bette 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 …

Movies & TV Shows

1. All About Eve (1950) — Margo Channing
2. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) — Baby Jane Hudson
3. Death on the Nile (1978) — Marie Van Schuyler
4. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) — (in "Deception") (archive footage)
5. Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) — Charlotte Hollis
6. Burnt Offerings (1976) — Aunt Elizabeth
7. Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) — Miss Fox
8. The Letter (1940) — Leslie Crosbie
9. Return from Witch Mountain (1978) — Letha Wedge
10. Now, Voyager (1942) — Charlotte Vale
11. Jezebel (1938) — Julie Marsden
12. The Petrified Forest (1936) — Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple
13. The Little Foxes (1941) — Regina Hubbard Giddens
14. Pocketful of Miracles (1961) — Apple Annie
15. Listen to Me Marlon (2015) — Self (archive footage)
16. Dark Victory (1939) — Judith Traherne
17. The Watcher in the Woods (1980) — Mrs. Aylwood
18. The Scopone Game (1972) — 'A vecchia
19. Of Human Bondage (1934) — Mildred Rogers
20. Perry Mason (1957) — Constant Doyle
21. Gunsmoke (1955) — Etta Stone
22. Dead Ringer (1964) — Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
23. The Nanny (1965) — Nanny
24. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) — Queen Elizabeth
25. The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941) — Maggie Cutler
26. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) — Self
27. The Oscars (1953) — Self
28. The Whales of August (1987) — Libby Strong
29. Marked Woman (1937) — Mary Dwight Strauber
30. Three on a Match (1932) — Ruth Westcott
31. Mr. Skeffington (1944) — Fanny Trellis
32. All This, and Heaven Too (1940) — Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
33. Late Night with David Letterman (1982) — Self - Guest
34. Kid Galahad (1937) — Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
35. A Stolen Life (1946) — Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
36. In This Our Life (1942) — Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
37. Dangerous (1935) — Joyce Heath
38. The Old Maid (1939) — Charlotte Lovell
39. Beyond the Forest (1949) — Rosa Moline
40. Watch on the Rhine (1943) — Sara Müller