Bette Davis
Acting
Born April 5, 1908 · 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.
Films (172)
Madonna: Madame X
2021
Mike Wallace Is Here
2019
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
Bette Davis: Larger Than Life
2017
Bette and Joan
2017
Listen to Me Marlon
2015
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
2014
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013
Footsteps on the Ceiling
2013
The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka
2009
Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis
2009
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
2006
Jezebel: Legend of the South
2006
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
2006
The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert
2005
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005
How Real is 'The Star'?
2005
Complicated Women
2003
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
2002
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
2001
Bride of Trailer Camp
2001
Backstory: 'All About Eve'
2000
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997
Frank Capra's American Dream
1997
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
1996
Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis
1996
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
1994
All About Bette
1994
Wicked Stepmother
1989
Hairway to the Stars
1989
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988
The Whales of August
1987
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
1987
As Summers Die
1986
Directed by William Wyler
1986
Bette Davis at the Cinémathèque Française
1986
Murder with Mirrors
1985
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
Right of Way
1983
Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
Showbiz Goes to War
1982
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
1982
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
Showbiz Ballyhoo
1982
Night of 100 Stars
1982
A Piano for Mrs. Cimino
1982
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
Family Reunion
1981
Skyward
1980
The Watcher in the Woods
1980
White Mama
1980
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter
1979
The Horror Show
1979
Mickey's 50
1978
Death on the Nile
1978
Return from Witch Mountain
1978
The Disappearance of Aimee
1976
Burnt Offerings
1976
Miss Moffat
1974
Hello Mother, Goodbye!
1974
Scream, Pretty Peggy
1973
The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor
1973
Bette Davis
1972
The Judge and Jake Wyler
1972
The Scopone Game
1972
Madame Sin
1972
Bunny O'Hare
1971
Connecting Rooms
1970
The Anniversary
1968
The Nanny
1965
The Decorator
1965
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
Where Love Has Gone
1964
Dead Ringer
1964
The Empty Canvas
1963
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962
Pocketful of Miracles
1961
The Scapegoat
1959
John Paul Jones
1959
Storm Center
1956
The Catered Affair
1956
The Virgin Queen
1955
The Star
1952
Phone Call from a Stranger
1952
Another Man's Poison
1951
Payment on Demand
1951
All About Eve
1950
Breakdowns of 1949
1949
Beyond the Forest
1949
June Bride
1948
Winter Meeting
1948
Deception
1946
A Stolen Life
1946
The Corn Is Green
1945
Breakdowns of 1944
1944
Hollywood Canteen
1944
Mr. Skeffington
1944
A Present with a Future
1943
Old Acquaintance
1943
The Voice That Thrilled the World
1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars
1943
Watch on the Rhine
1943
Show-Business at War
1943
Stars on Horseback
1943
Breakdowns of 1942
1942
Now, Voyager
1942
In This Our Life
1942
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1941
Breakdowns of 1941
1941
The Little Foxes
1941
The Bride Came C.O.D.
1941
Shining Victory
1941
The Great Lie
1941
The Letter
1940
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
All This, and Heaven Too
1940
If I Forget You
1940
Breakdowns of 1939
1939
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
1939
The Old Maid
1939
Juarez
1939
Dark Victory
1939
Breakdowns of 1938
1938
The Sisters
1938
Jezebel
1938
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
It's Love I'm After
1937
That Certain Woman
1937
Kid Galahad
1937
A Day at Santa Anita
1937
Marked Woman
1937
Breakdowns of 1936
1936
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936
Satan Met a Lady
1936
The Golden Arrow
1936
The Petrified Forest
1936
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"
1936
A Dream Comes True
1935
Dangerous
1935
Special Agent
1935
Front Page Woman
1935
The Girl from 10th Avenue
1935
Bordertown
1935
Housewife
1934
Of Human Bondage
1934
Fog Over Frisco
1934
Jimmy the Gent
1934
Fashions of 1934
1934
The Big Shakedown
1934
Bureau of Missing Persons
1933
Ex-Lady
1933
The Working Man
1933
The 42nd Street Special
1933
Parachute Jumper
1933
Just Around the Corner
1933
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
1932
Three on a Match
1932
The Cabin in the Cotton
1932
The Dark Horse
1932
The Rich Are Always with Us
1932
So Big!
1932
The Man Who Played God
1932
Hell's House
1932
The Menace
1932
Way Back Home
1931
Waterloo Bridge
1931
Seed
1931
The Bad Sister
1931