Bette Davis
Known for Acting · 219 credits
- Born
- 1908-04-05
- Died
- 1989-10-06
- Place of birth
- Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
- 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.
Known For
TV Shows (40)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self / Self (archive footage)
Perry Mason
1957
as Constant Doyle
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self - Co-Host
Golden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Presenter
Wagon Train
1957
as Ella Lindstrom / Madame Elizabeth McQueeny
What's My Line?
1950
as Self
The Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self
Late Night with David Letterman
1982
as Self - Guest
The Virginian
1962
as Celia Miller
Hotel
1982
as Laura Trent
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
Intimate Portrait
1993
as Self (archive footage)
Gunsmoke
1955
as Etta Stone
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
as Dolley Madison
The Oscars
1953
as Self
Dinah!
1974
as Self
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Miss Fox
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
as Marie Hoke
Telephone Time
1956
It Takes a Thief
1968
as Bessie Grindel
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
Suspicion
1957
as Mrs. Wilfred Ellis
The Hollywood Palace
1964
as Self
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
as Sarah Whitney
The Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
V.I.P. Schaukel
1971
as Self
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
1967
as Self
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
The World of Hammer
1994
as Self (archive footage)
Talking Pictures
2013
as Self (archive footage)
Reflets de Cannes
1954
as Self
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Mrs. Minnie Kennedy, Aimee's mother
General Electric Theater
1953
as Miss Burrows / Christine Marlowe
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Irene Van Buren
Little Gloria... Happy at Last
1982
as Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
1978
as Widow Fortune
Laugh-In
1977
as Guest Performer
Family Reunion
1981
as Elizabeth Winfield
Hello Mother, Goodbye!
1974
as Mother
Movies (179)
Death on the Nile
1978
as Marie Van Schuyler
All About Eve
1950
as Margo Channing
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
as (in "Deception") (archive footage)
Jezebel
1938
as Julie Marsden
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962
as Baby Jane Hudson
The Letter
1940
as Leslie Crosbie
Now, Voyager
1942
as Charlotte Vale
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
as Charlotte Hollis
Complicated Women
2003
as Self (archive footage)
Mr. Skeffington
1944
as Fanny Trellis
Skyward
1980
as Billie Dupree
Pocketful of Miracles
1961
as Apple Annie
Burnt Offerings
1976
as Aunt Elizabeth
Special Agent
1935
as Julie Gardner
The Star
1952
as Margaret Elliot
Return from Witch Mountain
1978
as Letha Wedge
June Bride
1948
as Linda Gilman
Night of 100 Stars
1982
as Self
The Little Foxes
1941
as Regina Hubbard Giddens
Ex-Lady
1933
as Helen Bauer
Juarez
1939
as Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg
The Anniversary
1968
as Mrs. Taggart
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997
as Self (archive footage)
The Watcher in the Woods
1980
as Mrs. Aylwood
Dead Ringer
1964
as Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
Wicked Stepmother
1989
as Miranda Pierpoint
Seed
1931
as Margaret Carter
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
as Self (archive footage)
The Fabulous Allan Carr
2017
as Self (archive)
Dark Victory
1939
as Judith Traherne
The Whales of August
1987
as Libby Strong
The Nanny
1965
as Nanny
Marked Woman
1937
as Mary Dwight Strauber
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
as Self
Family Reunion
1981
as Elizabeth Winfield
Frank Capra's American Dream
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
2014
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
All This, and Heaven Too
1940
as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005
as Queen Elizabeth (archive footage)
Mickey's 50
1978
as Self
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Canteen
1944
as Self
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
1987
as (archive footage)
Kid Galahad
1937
as Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
Jimmy the Gent
1934
as Joan Martin
The Sisters
1938
as Louise Elliott Medlin
As Summers Die
1986
as Hannah Loftin
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985
as Self (archive footage)
Dangerous
1935
as Joyce Heath
The Virgin Queen
1955
as Queen Elizabeth I
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1941
as Maggie Cutler
Parachute Jumper
1933
as Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
Of Human Bondage
1934
as Mildred Rogers
The Horror Show
1979
as (archive footage)
Murder with Mirrors
1985
as Carrie Louise Serrocold
Deception
1946
as Christine Radcliffe
So Big!
1932
as Miss Dallas O'Mara
In This Our Life
1942
as Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988
as Self (archive footage)
The Petrified Forest
1936
as Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple
Show-Business at War
1943
as Self
The Great Lie
1941
as Maggie Patterson Van Allen
Morceaux de Cannes
2021
Showbiz Goes to War
1982
as (archive footage)
Old Acquaintance
1943
as Kit Marlowe
The Catered Affair
1956
as Agnes Hurley
Watch on the Rhine
1943
as Sara Müller
Payment on Demand
1951
as Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
Phone Call from a Stranger
1952
as Marie Hoke
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
as Self (archive footage)
A Stolen Life
1946
as Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
1939
as Queen Elizabeth
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
2001
as Self (archive footage)
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
1932
as Fay Wilson
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
2002
as Self (archive footage)
Storm Center
1956
as Alicia Hull
The Old Maid
1939
as Charlotte Lovell
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
1986
as archive footage
The Scapegoat
1959
as Countess
Breakdowns of 1942
1942
as Self
John Paul Jones
1959
as Empress Catherine the Great
It's Love I'm After
1937
as Joyce Arden
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as (archive footage)
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
1996
as Self (archive footage)
The Judge and Jake Wyler
1972
as Judge Meredith
Three on a Match
1932
as Ruth Westcott
Way Back Home
1931
as Mary Lucy Duffy
The Voice That Thrilled the World
1943
as Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage)
Satan Met a Lady
1936
as Valerie Purvis
Breakdowns of 1938
1938
as Self (archive footage)
The Disappearance of Aimee
1976
as Minnie Kennedy
Front Page Woman
1935
as Ellen Garfield
Right of Way
1983
as Miniature Dwyer
Bordertown
1935
as Mrs. Marie Roark
Thank Your Lucky Stars
1943
as Self
Vito
2011
as Self (archive)
Shining Victory
1941
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
The Empty Canvas
1963
as Dino's Mother
Directed by William Wyler
1986
as Self
Beyond the Forest
1949
as Rosa Moline
Bureau of Missing Persons
1933
as Norma Roberts
Breakdowns of 1941
1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Madame Sin
1972
as Madame Sin
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
as Self (archive footage)
The Corn Is Green
1945
as Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat
Housewife
1934
as Patricia Berkeley
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007
as Self (archive footage)
Madonna: Madame X
2021
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Where Love Has Gone
1964
as Mrs. Gerald Hayden
The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor
1973
as Self (archive footage)
The Girl from 10th Avenue
1935
as Miriam A. Brady
The Dark Horse
1932
as Kay Russell
Hell's House
1932
as Peggy Gardner
Another Man's Poison
1951
as Janet Frobisher
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter
1979
as Lucy Mason
Waterloo Bridge
1931
as Janet Cronin
Mike Wallace Is Here
2019
as (archive footage)
Listen to Me Marlon
2015
as Self (archive footage)
White Mama
1980
as Estelle Malone
About Bette 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… With 219 credits spanning from 1931 to 2022, Bette Davis has appeared in 179 films and 40 TV shows.
Fans searching for Bette Davis movies, Bette Davis filmography, or the latest projects starring Bette Davis can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Bette Davis Movies
- Death on the Nile (1978) — as Marie Van Schuyler
- All About Eve (1950) — as Margo Channing
- Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) — as (in "Deception") (archive footage)
- Jezebel (1938) — as Julie Marsden
- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) — as Baby Jane Hudson
Where to Watch Bette Davis Films
Most Bette Davis movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Bette Davis, check our movies catalogue and browse page.