Acting · Lowell, Massachusetts, USA · Born April 5, 1908
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.
MovieThis Is Joan Collins
2022
as Self (Archive Footage)
MovieMadonna: Madame X
2021
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieMorceaux de Cannes
2021
MovieMike Wallace Is Here
2019
as (archive footage)
MovieScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBette Davis: Larger Than Life
2017
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Fabulous Allan Carr
2017
as Self (archive)
MovieBette and Joan
2017
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLeslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn
2015
as Self (archive footage)
MovieListen to Me Marlon
2015
as Self (archive footage)
MovieMarlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
2014
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
MovieClassic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013
as Self (archive footage)
TVTalking Pictures
2013
as Self (archive footage)
MovieFootsteps on the Ceiling
2013
as Margo Channing (archive footage)
MovieVito
2011
as Self (archive)
MovieMarilyn at the Movies
2011
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka
2009
as Self (archive footage)
MovieQueer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis
2009
as Self (archive footage)
Movie1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
as Self (archive footage)
MovieWhy Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBette and Joan: Blind Ambition
2006
as Self (archive footage)
MovieJezebel: Legend of the South
2006
as Self (archive footage)
MovieStardust: The Bette Davis Story
2006
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert
2005
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005
as Queen Elizabeth (archive footage)
MovieHow Real is 'The Star'?
2005
as Self (archive footage)
MovieComplicated Women
2003
as Self (archive footage)
MovieSmothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
2002
as Self (archive footage)
MovieGoldwyn: The Man and His Movies
2001
as Self (archive footage)
Bride of Trailer Camp
2001
as (archive footage)
MovieBackstory: 'All About Eve'
2000
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997
as Self (archive footage)
MovieFrank Capra's American Dream
1997
as Self (archive footage)
MovieJoan Crawford: Always the Star
1996
as Self (archive footage)
MovieIntimate Portrait: Bette Davis
1996
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995
as Self (archive footage)
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
1995
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBiography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
1994
as Self (archive footage)
TVThe World of Hammer
1994
as Self (archive footage)
MovieAll About Bette
1994
as Self
TVIntimate Portrait
1993
as Self (archive footage)
MovieWicked Stepmother
1989
as Miranda Pierpoint
MovieHairway to the Stars
1989
as Self [Archive Footage]
MovieThe Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Whales of August
1987
as Libby Strong
MovieHammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
1987
as (archive footage)
MovieAs Summers Die
1986
as Hannah Loftin
MovieDirected by William Wyler
1986
as Self
MovieMarilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
1986
as archive footage
MovieBette Davis at the Cinémathèque Française
1986
as Self
MovieMurder with Mirrors
1985
as Carrie Louise Serrocold
MovieHollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985
as Self (archive footage)
MovieGoing Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as (archive footage)
MovieRight of Way
1983
as Miniature Dwyer
MovieBette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
1983
as Self
MovieHollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieShowbiz Goes to War
1982
as (archive footage)
TVLittle Gloria... Happy at Last
1982
as Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt
TVHotel
1982
as Laura Trent
MovieNatalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
1982
MovieDead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
as (in "Deception") (archive footage)
MovieShowbiz Ballyhoo
1982
as Self (archive footage)
MovieNight of 100 Stars
1982
as Self
MovieA Piano for Mrs. Cimino
1982
as Esther McDonald Cimino
TVLate Night with David Letterman
1982
as Self - Guest
MovieOops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
as Self (archive footage)
MovieFamily Reunion
1981
as Elizabeth Winfield
TVFamily Reunion
1981
as Elizabeth Winfield
MovieSkyward
1980
as Billie Dupree
MovieThe Watcher in the Woods
1980
as Mrs. Aylwood
MovieWhite Mama
1980
as Estelle Malone
MovieStrangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter
1979
as Lucy Mason
MovieThe Horror Show
1979
as (archive footage)
TVThe Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
MovieMickey's 50
1978
as Self
MovieDeath on the Nile
1978
as Marie Van Schuyler
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
1978
as Marie Van Schuyler
MovieReturn from Witch Mountain
1978
as Letha Wedge
TVThe Dark Secret of Harvest Home
1978
as Widow Fortune
Laugh-In
1977
as Guest Performer
MovieThe Disappearance of Aimee
1976
as Minnie Kennedy
MovieBurnt Offerings
1976
as Aunt Elizabeth
TVDinah!
1974
as Self
MovieMiss Moffat
1974
as Miss Moffat
MovieHello Mother, Goodbye!
1974
as Mother
TVHello Mother, Goodbye!
1974
as Mother
MovieScream, Pretty Peggy
1973
as Mrs. Elliott
TVThe American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
MovieThe Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor
1973
as Self (archive footage)
Bette Davis
1972
as Self
MovieThe Judge and Jake Wyler
1972
as Judge Meredith
MovieThe Scopone Game
1972
as 'A vecchia
MovieMadame Sin
1972
as Madame Sin
Film '72
1971
as Self
MovieBunny O'Hare
1971
as Bunny O'Hare
V.I.P. Schaukel
1971
as Self
MovieConnecting Rooms
1970
as Wanda Fleming
TVThe Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest
MovieThe Anniversary
1968
as Mrs. Taggart
TVIt Takes a Thief
1968
as Bessie Grindel
TVThe Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
1967
as Self
MovieThe Nanny
1965
as Nanny
MovieThe Decorator
1965
as Liz
MovieHush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
as Charlotte Hollis
MovieWhere Love Has Gone
1964
as Mrs. Gerald Hayden
MovieDead Ringer
1964
as Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips
TVThe Hollywood Palace
1964
as Self
MovieThe Empty Canvas
1963
as Dino's Mother
MovieWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962
as Baby Jane Hudson
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
TVThe Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self
TVThe Virginian
1962
as Celia Miller
MoviePocketful of Miracles
1961
as Apple Annie
TVThe Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self - Co-Host
TVThe DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
as Sarah Whitney
MovieThe Scapegoat
1959
as Countess
MovieJohn Paul Jones
1959
as Empress Catherine the Great
TVSuspicion
1957
as Mrs. Wilfred Ellis
TVPerry Mason
1957
as Constant Doyle
TVWagon Train
1957
as Ella Lindstrom
TVThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
MovieStorm Center
1956
as Alicia Hull
MovieThe Catered Affair
1956
as Agnes Hurley
TVTelephone Time
1956
TVTony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
TVThe 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
as Marie Hoke
TVAlfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Miss Fox
TVGunsmoke
1955
as Etta Stone
MovieThe Virgin Queen
1955
as Queen Elizabeth I
TVReflets de Cannes
1954
as Self
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
TVGeneral Electric Theater
1953
as Miss Burrows
MovieThe Star
1952
as Margaret Elliot
TVThe Ford Television Theatre
1952
as Dolley Madison
MoviePhone Call from a Stranger
1952
as Marie Hoke
TVHallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Mrs. Minnie Kennedy, Aimee's mother
MovieAnother Man's Poison
1951
as Janet Frobisher
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Irene Van Buren
MoviePayment on Demand
1951
as Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
MovieAll About Eve
1950
as Margo Channing
TVWhat's My Line?
1950
as Self
MovieBreakdowns of 1949
1949
as Self
MovieBeyond the Forest
1949
as Rosa Moline
MovieJune Bride
1948
as Linda Gilman
MovieWinter Meeting
1948
as Susan Grieve
MovieDeception
1946
as Christine Radcliffe
MovieA Stolen Life
1946
as Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
MovieThe Corn Is Green
1945
as Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat
MovieBreakdowns of 1944
1944
as Self
MovieHollywood Canteen
1944
as Self
MovieMr. Skeffington
1944
as Fanny Trellis
TVGolden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Presenter
A Present with a Future
1943
as Mother
MovieOld Acquaintance
1943
as Kit Marlowe
MovieThe Voice That Thrilled the World
1943
as Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage)
MovieThank Your Lucky Stars
1943
as Self
MovieWatch on the Rhine
1943
as Sara Müller
MovieShow-Business at War
1943
as Self
MovieStars on Horseback
1943
MovieBreakdowns of 1942
1942
as Self
MovieNow, Voyager
1942
as Charlotte Vale
MovieIn This Our Life
1942
as Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill
MovieThe Man Who Came to Dinner
1941
as Maggie Cutler
MovieBreakdowns of 1941
1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieThe Little Foxes
1941
as Regina Hubbard Giddens
MovieThe Bride Came C.O.D.
1941
as Joan Winfield
MovieShining Victory
1941
MovieThe Great Lie
1941
as Maggie Patterson Van Allen
MovieThe Letter
1940
as Leslie Crosbie
MovieCavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
as Self
MovieAll This, and Heaven Too
1940
as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
If I Forget You
1940
as Bette Davis
MovieBreakdowns of 1939
1939
as Self
MovieThe Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
1939
as Queen Elizabeth
MovieThe Old Maid
1939
as Charlotte Lovell
MovieJuarez
1939
as Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg
MovieDark Victory
1939
as Judith Traherne
MovieBreakdowns of 1938
1938
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Sisters
1938
as Louise Elliott Medlin
MovieJezebel
1938
as Julie Marsden
MovieBreakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
MovieIt's Love I'm After
1937
as Joyce Arden
MovieThat Certain Woman
1937
as Mary Donnell
MovieKid Galahad
1937
as Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
MovieA Day at Santa Anita
1937
as Bette Davis (uncredited)
MovieMarked Woman
1937
as Mary Dwight Strauber
MovieBreakdowns of 1936
1936
as Self
MovieScreen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936
as Self
MovieSatan Met a Lady
1936
as Valerie Purvis
MovieThe Golden Arrow
1936
as Daisy Appleby
MovieThe Petrified Forest
1936
as Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple
MovieDick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"
1936
MovieA Dream Comes True
1935
MovieDangerous
1935
as Joyce Heath
MovieSpecial Agent
1935
as Julie Gardner
MovieFront Page Woman
1935
as Ellen Garfield
MovieThe Girl from 10th Avenue
1935
as Miriam A. Brady
MovieBordertown
1935
as Mrs. Marie Roark
MovieHousewife
1934
as Patricia Berkeley
MovieOf Human Bondage
1934
as Mildred Rogers
MovieFog Over Frisco
1934
as Arlene Bradford
MovieJimmy the Gent
1934
as Joan Martin
MovieFashions of 1934
1934
as Lynn Mason
MovieThe Big Shakedown
1934
as Norma Nelson
MovieBureau of Missing Persons
1933
as Norma Roberts
MovieEx-Lady
1933
as Helen Bauer
MovieThe Working Man
1933
as Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey
MovieThe 42nd Street Special
1933
as Self (uncredited)
MovieParachute Jumper
1933
as Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
MovieJust Around the Corner
1933
as Ginger
Movie20,000 Years in Sing Sing
1932
as Fay Wilson
MovieThree on a Match
1932
as Ruth Westcott
MovieThe Cabin in the Cotton
1932
as Madge Norwood
MovieThe Dark Horse
1932
as Kay Russell
MovieThe Rich Are Always with Us
1932
as Malbro
MovieSo Big!
1932
as Miss Dallas O'Mara
MovieThe Man Who Played God
1932
as Grace Blair
MovieHell's House
1932
as Peggy Gardner
MovieThe Menace
1932
as Peggy Lowell
MovieWay Back Home
1931
as Mary Lucy Duffy
MovieWaterloo Bridge
1931
as Janet Cronin
MovieSeed
1931
as Margaret Carter
MovieThe Bad Sister
1931
as Laura Madison
