--- name: "Bette Davis" canonical: "https://film.one/person/bette-davis" fi1m_id: "bette-davis" imdb_id: "nm0000012" tmdb_id: 3380 wikidata_id: "Q71206" roles: ["Actor"] born: "5 April 1908" died: "6 October 1989" reviewed_on_fi1m: 10 average_fi1m_score: 79 average_as: "actor" average_over: 9 updated: "2026-10-02T22:53:00.732812+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Bette Davis ## Identity Bette Davis - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/bette-davis - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** bette-davis - **IMDb ID:** nm0000012 - **TMDB ID:** 3380 - **Wikidata ID:** Q71206 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bette_Davis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q71206, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000012/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3380 Actor. Born 5 April 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. Died 6 October 1989. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 5 April 1908, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA - **Died:** 6 October 1989 - **Active:** 1938–1962 - **Also known as:** Ruth Elizabeth Davis - **Titles on Fi1m:** 10: 9 acting, 1 other - **Frequently works with:** [Casey Robinson](https://film.one/person/casey-robinson.md), [William Wyler](https://film.one/person/william-wyler.md), [George Brent](https://film.one/person/george-brent.md), [Geraldine Fitzgerald](https://film.one/person/geraldine-fitzgerald.md), [Hal B. Wallis](https://film.one/person/hal-b-wallis.md), [Herbert Marshall](https://film.one/person/herbert-marshall.md), [Herman Shumlin](https://film.one/person/herman-shumlin.md) - **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won · 9 nominated) - **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as actor, over 9 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 78 (2), 1940s 76 (5), 1950s 90 (1), 1960s 82 (1), 2010s 76 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 79 across 5 titles - **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 5 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 9 of 9 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 8, Romance 4, Thriller 2, Crime 1, Horror 1 - **Screen time:** 18 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $13m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bette_Davis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q71206, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000012/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3380 ## Streaming the US now - **Tubi:** [*What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?*](https://film.one/film/what-ever-happened-to-baby-jane.md) (82), [*Now, Voyager*](https://film.one/film/now-voyager.md) (82), [*Dark Victory*](https://film.one/film/dark-victory.md) (79) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*All About Eve*](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) (90), [*The Little Foxes*](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md) (85) - **Apple TV:** [*Listen to Me Marlon*](https://film.one/film/listen-to-me-marlon.md) (76) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Bette Davis > Bette Davis makes a cutting line sound as though it has cost her something. We value the hurt beneath her precision most of all: even at her fiercest, she can make an unreasonable woman worth caring about. Margo Channing snaps back, and the hurt is still audible beneath the joke. In *All About Eve* (1950), Bette Davis makes this difficult woman someone we want to keep listening to. We laughed at her cruelty and then worried about her, because Davis leaves the insecurity audible beneath the insult. That is where we rate her highest: she lets us see why someone behaves badly without insisting that we excuse it. The early ingénue parts gave way to the breakthrough of *Of Human Bondage* (1934), with Davis as Mildred Rogers. *The Letter* (1940) was one of her collaborations with director William Wyler. *Now, Voyager* (1942) gave her Charlotte Vale, a part that drew on her ability to suggest vulnerability beneath a determined manner. These are useful companions to Margo: the clipped voice need not mean that the person using it feels secure. Joseph L. Mankiewicz makes particularly good use of that precision in *All About Eve*. Her delivery is exact enough to land the joke, but never tidies away Margo's sensitivity to the people around her. Beside her, Anne Baxter's Eve Harrington can look a little too visibly intent on being wide-eyed and attentive. Davis makes Margo's vanity feel less rehearsed, and considerably more painful. The film's flashback structure can be stiff, but Davis keeps us interested in Margo when the storytelling feels formal. Those precise consonants and large, expressive eyes also carry a risk: we can start waiting for the familiar Davis effect rather than listening to the character. Her melodramatic performances do not always avoid exaggeration. The later move into horror, including *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?* (1962), brought that risk closer to self-parody. It is a limitation worth admitting without treating every forceful line as a fault. Start with *All About Eve* before going in search of the more extravagant performances. ## Biography Bette Davis, also credited as Ruth Elizabeth Davis, was an American actress of film, television and theatre. Born on 5 April 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts, she began her career in Broadway plays before moving to Hollywood in 1930. Early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful, but she joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and went on to appear in nearly 100 films. Davis is known for her roles in *All About Eve* (1950) as Margo Channing, *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?* (1962) as Baby Jane Hudson, *Now, Voyager* (1942) as Charlotte Vale and *The Letter* (1940) as Leslie Crosbie. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice and received ten nominations for acting. Davis died on 6 October 1989 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, imdb.com, biography.com.* ## On Fi1m (10) ### Performed in (9) — the average rests on these - *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?* (1962), Fi1m 82, as Baby Jane Hudson — [page](https://film.one/film/what-ever-happened-to-baby-jane.md) - *All About Eve* (1950), Fi1m 90, as Margo Channing — [page](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) - *Watch on the Rhine* (1943), Fi1m 73, as Sara Müller — [page](https://film.one/film/watch-on-the-rhine.md) - *Now, Voyager* (1942), Fi1m 82, as Charlotte Vale — [page](https://film.one/film/now-voyager.md) - *The Little Foxes* (1941), Fi1m 85, as Regina Hubbard Giddens — [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md) - *All This, and Heaven Too* (1940), Fi1m 64, as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes — [page](https://film.one/film/all-this-and-heaven-too.md) - *The Letter* (1940), Fi1m 78, as Leslie Crosbie — [page](https://film.one/film/the-letter.md) - *Dark Victory* (1939), Fi1m 79, as Judith Traherne — [page](https://film.one/film/dark-victory.md) - *Jezebel* (1938), Fi1m 78, as Julie Marsden — [page](https://film.one/film/jezebel.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Listen to Me Marlon* (2015), Fi1m 76, as Self (archive footage) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/listen-to-me-marlon.md) ## Complete filmography (142) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year* (2023), series, Actor - *Mike Wallace Is Here* (2019), as (archive footage) - *Footsteps on the Ceiling* (2013), as Margo Channing (archive footage) - *The Adventures of Errol Flynn* (2005), as Queen Elizabeth (archive footage) - *Bride of Trailer Camp* (2001), as (archive footage) - *All About My Mother* (1999), In Memory Of — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/all-about-my-mother.md) - *Wicked Stepmother* (1989), as Miranda Pierpoint - *South of Reno* (1988), Actor - *The Whales of August* (1987), as Libby Strong - *Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood* (1987), as (archive footage) - *As Summers Die* (1986), as Hannah Loftin - *Murder with Mirrors* (1985), as Carrie Louise Serrocold - *Going Hollywood: The '30s* (1984), as (archive footage) - *Right of Way* (1983), as Miniature Dwyer - *Showbiz Goes to War* (1982), as (archive footage) - *Little Gloria... Happy at Last* (1982), series, as Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt - *Hotel* (1982), series, as Laura Trent - *Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady* (1982), Actor - *Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid* (1982), as (in "Deception") (archive footage) - *A Piano for Mrs. Cimino* (1982), as Esther McDonald Cimino - *Family Reunion* (1981), as Elizabeth Winfield - *Family Reunion* (1981), series, as Elizabeth Winfield - *Skyward* (1980), as Billie Dupree - *The Watcher in the Woods* (1980), as Mrs. Aylwood - *White Mama* (1980), as Estelle Malone - *Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter* (1979), as Lucy Mason - *The Horror Show* (1979), as (archive footage) - *Death on the Nile* (1978), as Marie Van Schuyler - *Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette* (1978), as Marie Van Schuyler - *Return from Witch Mountain* (1978), as Letha Wedge - *The Dark Secret of Harvest Home* (1978), series, as Widow Fortune - *Laugh-In* (1977), series, as Guest Performer - *The Disappearance of Aimee* (1976), as Minnie Kennedy - *Burnt Offerings* (1976), as Aunt Elizabeth - *Miss Moffat* (1974), as Miss Moffat - *Hello Mother, Goodbye!* (1974), series, as Mother - *Hello Mother, Goodbye!* (1974), as Mother - *Scream, Pretty Peggy* (1973), as Mrs. Elliott - *The Judge and Jake Wyler* (1972), as Judge Meredith - *The Scopone Game* (1972), as 'A vecchia - *Madame Sin* (1972), as Madame Sin - *Bunny O'Hare* (1971), as Bunny O'Hare - *Connecting Rooms* (1970), as Wanda Fleming - *The Anniversary* (1968), as Mrs. Taggart - *It Takes a Thief* (1968), series, as Bessie Grindel - *The Nanny* (1965), as Nanny - *The Decorator* (1965), as Liz - *Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte* (1964), as Charlotte Hollis - *Where Love Has Gone* (1964), as Mrs. Gerald Hayden - *Dead Ringer* (1964), as Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips - *The Empty Canvas* (1963), as Dino's Mother - *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?* (1962), as Baby Jane Hudson — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/what-ever-happened-to-baby-jane.md) - *The Virginian* (1962), series, as Celia Miller - *Pocketful of Miracles* (1961), as Apple Annie - *The DuPont Show with June Allyson* (1959), series, as Sarah Whitney - *The Scapegoat* (1959), as Countess - *John Paul Jones* (1959), as Empress Catherine the Great - *Suspicion* (1957), series, as Mrs. Wilfred Ellis - *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as Constant Doyle - *Wagon Train* (1957), series, as Ella Lindstrom, Madame Elizabeth McQueeny - *Storm Center* (1956), as Alicia Hull - *The Catered Affair* (1956), as Agnes Hurley - *Telephone Time* (1956), series, Actor - *The 20th Century Fox Hour* (1955), series, as Marie Hoke - *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Miss Fox - *Gunsmoke* (1955), series, as Etta Stone - *The Virgin Queen* (1955), as Queen Elizabeth I - *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as Miss Burrows, Christine Marlowe - *The Star* (1952), as Margaret Elliot - *The Ford Television Theatre* (1952), series, as Dolley Madison - *Phone Call from a Stranger* (1952), as Marie Hoke - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Mrs. Minnie Kennedy, Aimee's mother - *Another Man's Poison* (1951), as Janet Frobisher - *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as Irene Van Buren - *Payment on Demand* (1951), as Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson) - *All About Eve* (1950), as Margo Channing — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) - *Beyond the Forest* (1949), as Rosa Moline - *June Bride* (1948), as Linda Gilman - *Winter Meeting* (1948), as Susan Grieve - *Deception* (1946), as Christine Radcliffe - *A Stolen Life* (1946), as Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth · Producer - *The Corn Is Green* (1945), as Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat - *Mr. Skeffington* (1944), as Fanny Trellis - *A Present with a Future* (1943), as Mother - *Old Acquaintance* (1943), as Kit Marlowe - *Watch on the Rhine* (1943), as Sara Müller — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/watch-on-the-rhine.md) - *Stars on Horseback* (1943), Actor - *Now, Voyager* (1942), as Charlotte Vale — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/now-voyager.md) - *In This Our Life* (1942), as Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill - *The Man Who Came to Dinner* (1941), as Maggie Cutler - *The Little Foxes* (1941), as Regina Hubbard Giddens — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md) - *The Bride Came C.O.D.* (1941), as Joan Winfield - *Shining Victory* (1941), Actor - *The Great Lie* (1941), as Maggie Patterson Van Allen - *The Letter* (1940), as Leslie Crosbie — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-letter.md) - *All This, and Heaven Too* (1940), as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/all-this-and-heaven-too.md) - *If I Forget You* (1940), as Bette Davis - *The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex* (1939), as Queen Elizabeth - *The Old Maid* (1939), as Charlotte Lovell - *Juarez* (1939), as Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg - *Dark Victory* (1939), as Judith Traherne — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/dark-victory.md) - *The Sisters* (1938), as Louise Elliott Medlin - *Jezebel* (1938), as Julie Marsden — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/jezebel.md) - *It's Love I'm After* (1937), as Joyce Arden - *That Certain Woman* (1937), as Mary Donnell - *Kid Galahad* (1937), as Louise 'Fluff' Phillips - *A Day at Santa Anita* (1937), as Bette Davis (uncredited) - *Marked Woman* (1937), as Mary Dwight Strauber - *Satan Met a Lady* (1936), as Valerie Purvis - *The Golden Arrow* (1936), as Daisy Appleby - *The Petrified Forest* (1936), as Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple - *Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"* (1936), Actor - *A Dream Comes True* (1935), Actor - *Dangerous* (1935), as Joyce Heath - *Special Agent* (1935), as Julie Gardner - *Front Page Woman* (1935), as Ellen Garfield - *The Girl from 10th Avenue* (1935), as Miriam A. Brady - *Bordertown* (1935), as Mrs. Marie Roark - *Housewife* (1934), as Patricia Berkeley - *Of Human Bondage* (1934), as Mildred Rogers - *Fog Over Frisco* (1934), as Arlene Bradford - *Jimmy the Gent* (1934), as Joan Martin - *Fashions of 1934* (1934), as Lynn Mason - *The Big Shakedown* (1934), as Norma Nelson - *Bureau of Missing Persons* (1933), as Norma Roberts - *Ex-Lady* (1933), as Helen Bauer - *The Working Man* (1933), as Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey - *Parachute Jumper* (1933), as Patricia 'Alabama' Brent - *Just Around the Corner* (1933), as Ginger - *20,000 Years in Sing Sing* (1932), as Fay Wilson - *Three on a Match* (1932), as Ruth Westcott - *The Cabin in the Cotton* (1932), as Madge Norwood - *The Dark Horse* (1932), as Kay Russell - *The Rich Are Always with Us* (1932), as Malbro - *So Big!* (1932), as Miss Dallas O'Mara - *The Man Who Played God* (1932), as Grace Blair - *Hell's House* (1932), as Peggy Gardner - *The Menace* (1932), as Peggy Lowell - *Way Back Home* (1931), as Mary Lucy Duffy - *Waterloo Bridge* (1931), as Janet Cronin - *Seed* (1931), as Margaret Carter - *The Bad Sister* (1931), as Laura Madison ## Gallery - ![Bette Davis](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-bff306c166e2.jpg) Bette Davis — Studio Publicity, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/BetteDavis1935.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![SIGNS UP—Bette Davis, at work on 20th Century Fox movie, is registered to vote by a deputy registrar, Mrs. Irma Green, who visited the set. (1964)](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-45913dbf358a.jpg) SIGNS UP—Bette Davis, at work on 20th Century Fox movie, is registered to vote by a deputy registrar, Mrs. Irma Green, who visited the set. (1964) — Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/BetteDavisVote64.jpg/1280px-BetteDavisVote64.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Publicity photo of Bette Davis](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-b6c52d1a8dcb.jpg) Publicity photo of Bette Davis — Studio Publicity, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Bette_Davis.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![L'actrice américaine Bette Davis au Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville (Normandie, France). (1987)](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-1e93ee263aa1.jpg) L'actrice américaine Bette Davis au Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville (Normandie, France). (1987) — Roland Godefroy, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Bette_Davis14.JPG/1280px-Bette_Davis14.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Bette Davis](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-fe9e0f8a1f5e.jpg) Bette Davis — Image via TMDB - ![Bette Davis](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-655c44586b30.jpg) Bette Davis — Image via TMDB - ![Bette Davis](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-c5fddeeed9b4.jpg) Bette Davis — Image via TMDB - ![Bette Davis at the Filmex Tribute to Elixabeth Taylor, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, November 1981. Scanned from the original 35MM film negative. NOTE: Permission ](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-d5402eca5b64.jpg) Bette Davis at the Filmex Tribute to Elixabeth Taylor, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, November 1981. Scanned from the original 35MM film negative. NOTE: Permission — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Bette_Davis_%281096359064%29.jpg/1280px-Bette_Davis_%281096359064%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Bette Davis](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-0a37688d9cfb.jpg) Bette Davis — Image via TMDB - ![Bette Davis](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-b0ac1aba9c52.jpg) Bette Davis — Image via TMDB - ![Bette Davis](https://film.one/media/person/105011/gallery-674decf71967.jpg) Bette Davis — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 2 won, 9 nominated - 1963: Best Actress (nominated), for *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?* - 1953: Best Actress (nominated), for *The Star* - 1951: Best Actress (nominated), for *All About Eve* - 1945: Best Actress (nominated), for *Mr. Skeffington* - 1943: Best Actress (nominated), for *Now, Voyager* - 1942: Best Actress (nominated), for *The Little Foxes* - 1941: Best Actress (nominated), for *The Letter* - 1940: Best Actress (nominated), for *Dark Victory* - 1939: Best Actress (won), for *Jezebel* - 1936: Best Actress (won), for *Dangerous* - 1935: Best Actress (nominated), for *Of Human Bondage* ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won - 1979: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (won), for *Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter* ### Other awards — 4 won - Donostia Award 1989: Donostia Award (won) - Crystal Award 1983: Crystal Award (won) - AFI Life Achievement Award 1977: AFI Life Achievement Award (won) - Saturn Awards 1977: Best Supporting Actress (won), for *Burnt Offerings* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/bette-davis