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Bette Davis

Author profile

born

April 05, 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts, The United States

died

October 06, 1989

gender

female

website

http://www.bettedavis.com/about/bio.htm

genre

Biographies & Memoirs

About this author

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Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theatre. 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 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...more Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theatre. 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 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 actresses, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and her 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 was the first actor to receive 10 Academy Award nominations and the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of decline, 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 film, television and theater roles to her credit.

In 1999, Davis was placed second, behind Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.
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combine editions
Books by Bette Davis

Average rating: 3.66 · 259 ratings · 25 reviews · 5 distinct works

	This 'n That by Bette Davis, Michael Herskowitz 3.51 avg rating — 144 ratings — 5 editions	My rating:
	The Lonely Life: An Autobiography 3.86 avg rating — 94 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	"I'd Love to Kiss You--": Conversations with Bette Davis by Whitney Stine, Bette Davis 3.79 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 1990 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Edith Head's Hollywood by Paddy Calistro, Bette Davis (Foreword) 3.91 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 1983 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Mother Goddam by Whitney Stine, Bette Davis 3.62 avg rating — 50 ratings — published 1975 — 12 editions	My rating: