Kathy Bates
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Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress and director. She has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she studied theatre at the Southern Methodist University before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career. She landed minor stage roles before being cast in her first on screen role in Taking Off (1971). Her first Off-Broadway stage performance was in the 1976 production of Vanities. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, she continued to perform on screen and on stage, and garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play in 1983 for her performance in 'night, Mother, and won an Obie Award in 1988 for her performance in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Bates' performance as Annie Wilkes in the tense psychological thriller Misery (1990) marked her Hollywood breakthrough, winning her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Further acclaim came for her starring role in Dolores Claiborne (1995), The Waterboy (1998), and supporting roles in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Titanic (1997). Bates received subsequent Oscar nods in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work in Primary Colors (1998), About Schmidt (2002), and Richard Jewell (2019). Bates' television work has resulted in 14 Emmy Award nominations, including two for her leading role on the NBC series Harry's Law (2011–12). She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance on the ninth season of Two and a Half Men (2012) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her portrayal of Delphine LaLaurie on the third season of American Horror Story (2013). She also received accolades for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in the 1999 television adaptation of Annie. Her directing credits include several episodes of the HBO television series Six Feet Under (2001–03) and the television film Ambulance Girl (2005).
Known for
Credits
Titanic (1997)
as Molly Brown
The Blind Side (2009)
as Miss Sue
Bee Movie (2007)
as Janet Benson (voice)
Misery (1990)
as Annie Wilkes
Dick Tracy (1990)
as Mrs. Green
The Golden Compass (2007)
as Hester (voice)
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
as Queen Victoria
Rat Race (2001)
as The Squirrel Lady (uncredited)
Revolutionary Road (2008)
as Mrs. Helen Givings
Valentine's Day (2010)
as Susan
Failure to Launch (2006)
as Sue
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
as Evelyn Couch
The Waterboy (1998)
as Mama Boucher
Midnight in Paris (2011)
as Gertrude Stein
Richard Jewell (2019)
as Bobi Jewell
P.S. I Love You (2007)
as Patricia
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
as Regina Jackson
Charlotte's Web (2006)
as Bitsy the Cow (voice)
The Highwaymen (2019)
as Ma Ferguson
Rumor Has It... (2005)
as Aunt Mitsy (uncredited)
Dragonfly (2002)
as Mrs. Belmont
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)
as Sylvia Simon
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
as Dolores Claiborne
A Family Affair (2024)
as Leila Ford
Straight Time (1978)
as Selma Darin
Fred Claus (2007)
as Mother Claus
American Outlaws (2001)
as Ma James
You May Not Kiss the Bride (2011)
as Bryan's Mother
The Boss (2016)
as Ida Marquette
About Schmidt (2002)
as Roberta Hertzel
Personal Effects (2009)
as Gloria
Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy (2004)
as Siren / Sea Hag (voice)
White Palace (1990)
as Rosemary
Celebrity Naked Ambition (2003)
as Self (archive footage)
A Little Bit of Heaven (2011)
as Beverly Corbett
On the Basis of Sex (2018)
as Dorothy Kenyon
Chéri (2009)
as Madame Peloux
North (1994)
as Alaskan Mom
Complete Unknown (2016)
as Nina
Tammy (2014)
as Lenore
Primary Colors (1998)
as Libby Holden
Bad Santa 2 (2016)
as Sunny Soke
A Home of Our Own (1993)
as Frances Lacey
The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
as Maime Trotter
The Morning After (1986)
as Woman on Mateo Street
Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988)
as Mrs. Canby
Relative Strangers (2006)
as Agnes Menure
A Civil Action (1998)
as Bankruptcy Judge (uncredited)
The Great Lillian Hall (2024)
as Edith Wilson
The Miracle Club (2023)
as Eileen Dunne
Shadows and Fog (1991)
as Prostitute
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)
as Narrator (voice)
Home (2021)
as Bernadette
Men Don't Leave (1990)
as Lisa Coleman
Baby Steps (1999)
as Mrs. Mellon
Unconditional Love (2002)
as Grace Beasley
Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
as Leah Blier
Bonneville (2006)
as Margene Cunningham
Annie (1999)
as Miss Agatha Hannigan
Diabolique (1996)
as Det. Shirley Vogel
Swept from the Sea (1998)
as Miss Swaffer
Warm Springs (2005)
as Helena Mahoney
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2019)
as Barbara Haggermaker
Little Black Book (2004)
as Kippie Kann
Cadaver (2012)
as Beth
Rob Reiner – Scenes from a Life (2025)
as Self
Boychoir (2015)
as Headmistress
Krystal (2018)
as Vera
Bruno (2000)
as Mother Superior
Two of a Kind (1983)
as Furniture Man's Wife
Christmas Is Here Again (2007)
as Miss Dowdy (voice)
The War at Home (1996)
as Maurine Collier
Reflections on Titanic (2012)
as Self
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony (2021)
as Self (archive footage)
Guilty Hearts (2007)
as The Judge
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004)
as The Marquesa
My Sister's Keeper (2002)
as Christine Chapman
Misery Loves Company (2003)
as Self
Love Liza (2002)
as Mary Ann Bankhead
Roe vs. Wade (1989)
as Jessie
At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)
as Hazel Quarrier
Summer Heat (1987)
as Ruth
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
as Stella Mae
The Road to Mecca (1991)
as Elsa Barlow
Used People (1992)
as Bibby Berman
Signs of Life (1989)
as Mary Beth Alder
Tupperware! (2004)
as Narrator
My Best Friend Is a Vampire (1987)
as Helen Blake
Murder Ordained (1987)
as Bobbi Birk
Declaration of Independence (2003)
as Self
Taking Off (1971)
as Audition Singer
Summer Camp (2024)
as Ginny Moon
Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008)
as Charlotte Cartwright
Making Rat Race (2002)
as Herself
The Late Shift (1996)
as Helen Kushnick
The Effects of Magic (1998)
as Raphaella, the Magic Bunny
Ambulance Girl (2005)
as Jane Stern
Titanic: Stories from the Heart (2023)
as Self (archive footage)
Hansel and Gretel (2005)
as Narrator (voice)
The West Side Waltz (1995)
as Mr. Goo
Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes (1998)
as Self
Titanic: Breaking New Ground (1998)
as Self
Angus (1995)
as Meg Bethune
The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club (2009)
as Pancho Barnes (Voice)
Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life (1997)
as Self
Talking With (1995)
as Big Eight (segment "Rodeo")
No Place Like Home (1989)
as Bonnie Cooper
High Stakes (1989)
as Jill
Six Feet Under: In Memoriam (2005)
as Herself
Return to the 5 & Dime: An Interview with Ed Graczyk (2014)
as Self – Stella Mae (archive footage)
The Smack (—)
as Babs
Hostages (1992)
as Peggy Say
Curse of the Starving Class (1994)
as Ella Tate
The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful (1996)
as Self
Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun (1993)
as Lunar Mom
Johnny Bull (1986)
as Katherine Kovacs
Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood (2000)
as Frances Marion (voice)