Bette Davis

BETTE DAVIS d1989. American film TV and theatre actress 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 / period films and occasional comedies ; although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. After appearing in Broadway plays, Bette Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930 but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Brothers in 1932 and quickly 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. She gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative and confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were well publicised. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized. She was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Pictures. She won the Academy Award For Best Actress twice (Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938)) ; was the first person to accrue ten 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, raising 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 aged 81 from breast cancer in 1989. In 1999 she was placed second after Katherine Hepburn on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.