Bette Davis
Bette Davis, an American actress who navigated Hollywood with a forceful intensity and an unyielding commitment to her craft, rose to prominence in the 1930s after a rocky start at Universal Studios. Joining Warner Bros., she earned critical acclaim and became one of cinema's leading ladies, renowned for her willingness to take on challenging and unsympathetic roles. A perfectionist with a penchant for confrontation, Davis's public persona was as iconic as her performances, marked by a clipped voice and a constant cigarette. Despite periods of professional setback, she remained a trailblazer, winning two Academy Awards, becoming the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her personal life was tumultuous, marred by failed marriages and a single-parent struggle, but her legacy as a cinematic pioneer endures.
Known For
The roles that explain the career.
Filmography
80 credits across 2 departments.
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Morceaux de Cannes | Film | |
| 2019 | Mike Wallace Is Here | (archive footage) | Film |
| 2015 | Listen to Me Marlon | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 2015 | Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 2011 | Vito | Self (archive) | Film |
| 2007 | Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 2006 | Stardust: The Bette Davis Story | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 2005 | The Adventures of Errol Flynn | Queen Elizabeth (archive footage) | Film |
| 2005 | The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 2003 | Complicated Women | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 2002 | Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 2000 | Backstory: 'All About Eve' | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 1997 | The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 1995 | Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell | Self (archive footage) | Film |
| 1989 | Wicked Stepmother | Miranda Pierpoint | Film |
| 1987 | Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood | (archive footage) | Film |
| 1987 | The Whales of August | Libby Strong | Film |
| 1986 | As Summers Die | Hannah Loftin | Film |
| 1986 | Directed by William Wyler | Self | Film |
| 1985 | Murder with Mirrors | Carrie Louise Serrocold | Film |
| 1983 | Right of Way | Miniature Dwyer | Film |
| 1982 | Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | (in "Deception") (archive footage) | Film |
| 1982 | Little Gloria... Happy at Last | Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt | TV |
| 1981 | Family Reunion | Elizabeth Winfield | TV |
| 1980 | White Mama | Estelle Malone | Film |
| 1980 | The Watcher in the Woods | Mrs. Aylwood | Film |
| 1979 | Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter | Lucy Mason | Film |
| 1978 | Return from Witch Mountain | Letha Wedge | Film |
| 1978 | Death on the Nile | Marie Van Schuyler | Film |
| 1976 | Burnt Offerings | Aunt Elizabeth | Film |
| 1973 | Scream, Pretty Peggy | Mrs. Elliott | Film |
| 1972 | Madame Sin | Madame Sin | Film |
| 1972 | The Scopone Game | 'A vecchia | Film |
| 1971 | Bunny O'Hare | Bunny O'Hare | Film |
| 1968 | The Anniversary | Mrs. Taggart | Film |
| 1965 | The Nanny | Nanny | Film |
| 1964 | Dead Ringer | Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips | Film |
| 1964 | Where Love Has Gone | Mrs. Gerald Hayden | Film |
| 1964 | Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte | Charlotte Hollis | Film |
| 1963 | The Empty Canvas | Dino's Mother | Film |
| 1962 | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Baby Jane Hudson | Film |
| 1961 | Pocketful of Miracles | Apple Annie | Film |
| 1959 | John Paul Jones | Empress Catherine the Great | Film |
| 1959 | The Scapegoat | Countess | Film |
| 1956 | The Catered Affair | Agnes Hurley | Film |
| 1956 | Storm Center | Alicia Hull | Film |
| 1955 | The Virgin Queen | Queen Elizabeth I | Film |
| 1952 | The Star | Margaret Elliot | Film |
| 1952 | Phone Call from a Stranger | Marie Hoke | Film |
| 1951 | Another Man's Poison | Janet Frobisher | Film |
| 1951 | Payment on Demand | Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson) | Film |
| 1950 | All About Eve | Margo Channing | Film |
| 1949 | Beyond the Forest | Rosa Moline | Film |
| 1948 | June Bride | Linda Gilman | Film |
| 1948 | Winter Meeting | Susan Grieve | Film |
| 1946 | A Stolen Life | Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth | Film |
| 1946 | Deception | Christine Radcliffe | Film |
| 1945 | The Corn Is Green | Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat | Film |
| 1944 | Hollywood Canteen | Self | Film |
| 1944 | Mr. Skeffington | Fanny Trellis | Film |
| 1943 | Show-Business at War | Self | Film |
| 1943 | Watch on the Rhine | Sara Müller | Film |
| 1943 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Self | Film |
| 1943 | Old Acquaintance | Kit Marlowe | Film |
| 1942 | Now, Voyager | Charlotte Vale | Film |
| 1942 | In This Our Life | Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill | Film |
| 1941 | The Man Who Came to Dinner | Maggie Cutler | Film |
| 1941 | The Great Lie | Maggie Patterson Van Allen | Film |
| 1941 | The Little Foxes | Regina Hubbard Giddens | Film |
| 1941 | The Bride Came C.O.D. | Joan Winfield | Film |
| 1940 | The Letter | Leslie Crosbie | Film |
| 1940 | All This, and Heaven Too | Henriette Deluzy-Desportes | Film |
| 1939 | Dark Victory | Judith Traherne | Film |
| 1939 | The Old Maid | Charlotte Lovell | Film |
| 1939 | Juarez | Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg | Film |
| 1939 | The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | Queen Elizabeth | Film |
| 1938 | Jezebel | Julie Marsden | Film |
| 1938 | The Sisters | Louise Elliott Medlin | Film |
| 1937 | A Day at Santa Anita | Bette Davis (uncredited) | Film |
| 1937 | That Certain Woman | Mary Donnell | Film |
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