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Kathy Bates

Born 1948-06-28
📍 Memphis, Tennessee, USA

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).

Filmography 165

Rob Reiner – Scenes from a Life
as Self
2025
Matlock
as Madeline 'Matty' Matlock
2024
The Great Lillian Hall
as Edith Wilson
2024
A Family Affair
as Leila Ford
2024
Summer Camp
as Ginny Moon
2024
Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter
as Self
2023
Titanic: Stories from the Heart
as Self (archive footage)
2023
The Miracle Club
as Eileen Dunne
2023
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
as Sylvia Simon
2023
The Jennifer Hudson Show
as Self
2022
Home
as Bernadette
2021
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
as Self (archive footage)
2021
Richard Jewell
as Bobi Jewell
2019
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self
2019
The Highwaymen
as Ma Ferguson
2019
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan
as Barbara Haggermaker
2019
On the Basis of Sex
as Dorothy Kenyon
2018
Krystal
as Vera
2018
Disjointed
as Ruth
2017
FEUD
as Joan Blondell
2017
Bad Santa 2
as Sunny Soke
2016
Complete Unknown
as Nina
2016
Chelsea
as Self
2016
The Boss
as Ida Marquette
2016
The Great Gilly Hopkins
as Maime Trotter
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self
2015
Lip Sync Battle
as Self
2015
Boychoir
as Headmistress
2015
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
as Self
2014
Tammy
as Lenore
2014
Reflections on Titanic
as Self
2012
American Horror Story
as Delphine LaLaurie
2011
American Horror Story
as Ethel Darling
2011
American Horror Story
as Iris
2011
American Horror Story
as Agnes Mary Winstead
2011
American Horror Story
as Miriam Mead / Delphine LaLaurie
2011
Midnight in Paris
as Gertrude Stein
2011
You May Not Kiss the Bride
as Bryan's Mother
2011
A Little Bit of Heaven
as Beverly Corbett
2011
Harry's Law
as Harriet 'Harry' Korn
2011
Mike & Molly
as Kay
2010
Valentine's Day
as Susan Milton
2010
The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club
as Pancho Barnes (Voice)
2009
Alice
as Queen of Hearts
2009
The Blind Side
as Miss Sue
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
2009
Chéri
as Madame Peloux
2009
Personal Effects
as Gloria
2009
Revolutionary Road
as Mrs. Helen Givings
2008
The Day the Earth Stood Still
as Regina Jackson
2008
Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys
as Charlotte Cartwright
2008
Stand Up to Cancer
as Self
2008
The Golden Compass
as Hester (voice)
2007
P.S. I Love You
as Patricia
2007
Fred Claus
as Mother Claus
2007
Bee Movie
as Janet Benson (voice)
2007
Christmas Is Here Again
as Miss Dowdy (voice)
2007
The Big Bang Theory
as Mrs. Fowler
2007
Guilty Hearts
as The Judge
2007
Chelsea Lately
as Self (archive footage)
2007
Charlotte's Web
as Bitsy the Cow (voice)
2006
Bonneville
as Margene Cunningham
2006
Relative Strangers
as Agnes Menure
2006
Failure to Launch
as Sue
2006
Rumor Has It...
as Aunt Mitsy (uncredited)
2005
Six Feet Under: In Memoriam
as Herself
2005
Ambulance Girl
as Jane Stern
2005
Warm Springs
as Helena Mahoney
2005
The Office
as Jo Bennett
2005
American Dad!
as D.O. Rothy (voice)
2005
Hansel and Gretel
as Narrator (voice)
2005
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
as The Marquesa
2004
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
as Narrator (voice)
2004
Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy
as Siren / Sea Hag (voice)
2004
Little Black Book
as Kippie Kann
2004
Around the World in 80 Days
as Queen Victoria
2004
Two and a Half Men
as Charlie Harper
2003
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
as Self
2003
Celebrity Naked Ambition
as Self (archive footage)
2003
Declaration of Independence
as Self
2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self
2003
Misery Loves Company
as Self
2003
Love Liza
as Mary Ann Bankhead
2002
About Schmidt
as Roberta Hertzel
2002
Unconditional Love
as Grace Beasley
2002
Dragonfly
as Mrs. Belmont
2002
Making Rat Race
as Herself
2002
My Sister's Keeper
as Christine Chapman
2002
American Outlaws
as Ma James
2001
Rat Race
as The Squirrel Lady (uncredited)
2001
Six Feet Under
as Bettina
2001
Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood
as Frances Marion (voice)
2000
Bruno
as Mother Superior
2000
Annie
as Miss Agatha Hannigan
1999
A Civil Action
as Bankruptcy Judge (uncredited)
1998
Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes
as Self
1998
The Waterboy
as Mama Boucher
1998
The Effects of Magic
as Raphaella, the Magic Bunny
1998
Titanic: Breaking New Ground
as Self
1998
Primary Colors
as Libby Holden
1998
Swept from the Sea
as Miss Swaffer
1998
Titanic
as Molly Brown
1997
The View
as Self
1997
King of the Hill
as Patrol Officer Jane Cooper (voice)
1997
The War at Home
as Maurine Collier
1996
The Daily Show
as Self
1996
Diabolique
as Det. Shirley Vogel
1996
The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful
as Self
1996
The Late Shift
as Helen Kushnick
1996
3rd Rock from the Sun
as Charlotte Everly
1996
The West Side Waltz
as Mr. Goo
1995
MADtv
as Stuart's Grandma
1995
Angus
as Meg Bethune
1995
Talking With
as Big Eight (segment "Rodeo")
1995
Dolores Claiborne
as Dolores Claiborne
1995
Curse of the Starving Class
as Ella Tate
1994
Inside the Actors Studio
as Self
1994
North
as Alaskan Mom
1994
The Stand
as Rae Flowers (uncredited)
1994
Tupperware!
as Narrator
1994
A Home of Our Own
as Frances Lacey
1993
Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun
as Lunar Mom
1993
Used People
as Bibby Berman
1992
Hostages
as Peggy Say
1992
Prelude to a Kiss
as Leah Blier
1992
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
as Narrator (voice)
1992
Fried Green Tomatoes
as Evelyn Couch
1991
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
as Hazel Quarrier
1991
Shadows and Fog
as Prostitute
1991
Misery
as Annie Wilkes
1990
White Palace
as Rosemary
1990
Dick Tracy
as Mrs. Green
1990
Men Don't Leave
as Lisa Coleman
1990
No Place Like Home
as Bonnie Cooper
1989
High Stakes
as Jill
1989
Roe vs. Wade
as Jessie
1989
Signs of Life
as Mary Beth Alder
1989
American Experience
as Narrator (voice)
1988
American Experience
as Narrator
1988
Arthur 2: On the Rocks
as Mrs. Canby
1988
China Beach
1988
My Best Friend Is a Vampire
as Helen Blake
1987
Summer Heat
as Ruth
1987
Murder Ordained
as Bobbi Birk
1987
Murder Ordained
as Bobbi Birk
1987
The Morning After
as Woman on Mateo Street
1986
L.A. Law
as Charlotte Haley
1986
Johnny Bull
as Katherine Kovacs
1986
Two of a Kind
as Furniture Man's Wife
1983
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
as Stella Mae
1982
St. Elsewhere
as Polly Miller
1982
Cagney & Lacey
1982
Straight Time
as Selma Darin
1978
The Love Boat
as Sally Allison
1977
Taking Off
as Audition Singer
1971
Great Performances
as Self
1971
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
The Oscars
as Self
1953
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Christine Chapman
1951
The Emmy Awards
as Self
1949
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee / Presenter
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Audience Member
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Winner
1944