Kathy Bates
Rate Person

Kathy Bates

Acting

Biography

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).

Films Featuring Kathy Bates

Fried Green Tomatoes

19917.7

The Day the Earth Stood Still

20085.7

Around the World in 80 Days

20046.0

Misery

19907.8

Dragonfly

20026.6

Swept from the Sea

19986.4

The Waterboy

19986.1

Prelude to a Kiss

19925.6

About Schmidt

20026.9

Revolutionary Road

20087.0

Diabolique

19965.5

Fred Claus

20075.8

My Sister's Keeper

20027.2

The Late Shift

19966.4

Bee Movie

20076.1

The Blind Side

20097.7

P.S. I Love You

20077.2

Chéri

20096.1

Failure to Launch

20065.8

Straight Time

19787.1

North

19945.0

Dolores Claiborne

19957.3

Misery Loves Company

20038.0

Primary Colors

19986.3

Christmas Is Here Again

20074.3

Summer Camp

20245.4

Angus

19956.6

Valentine's Day

20105.9

Arthur 2: On the Rocks

19885.5

Annie

19996.5

Charlotte's Web

20066.2

American Outlaws

20015.9

White Palace

19906.6

A Civil Action

19986.5

Two of a Kind

19835.8

Little Black Book

20045.3

Personal Effects

20096.0

Relative Strangers

20065.3

Love Liza

20026.4

Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys

20086.9

Unconditional Love

20026.0

A Little Bit of Heaven

20116.3

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

20047.0

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

20045.2

Bonneville

20065.6

Guilty Hearts

20075.8

Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

19825.9

At Play in the Fields of the Lord

19916.6

You May Not Kiss the Bride

20115.6

Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun

19935.0

Men Don't Leave

19906.3

The Smack

The Smack

A Home of Our Own

19937.0

Midnight in Paris

20117.5

Bruno

20006.5

The War at Home

19967.0

Summer Heat

19874.6

Curse of the Starving Class

19944.6

No Place Like Home

19896.7

Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony

20214.5

Tammy

20145.3

High Stakes

19893.4

My Best Friend Is a Vampire

19876.0

A Family Affair

20245.7

Shadows and Fog

19916.7

Ambulance Girl

20055.6

Titanic: Stories from the Heart

20237.0

Boychoir

20156.8

Used People

19925.8

The Boss

20165.8

Cadaver

Cadaver

20123.0

Roe vs. Wade

19896.0

Murder Ordained

19875.0

Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy

20046.8

Complete Unknown

20165.1

The Great Gilly Hopkins

20156.6

Bad Santa 2

20165.4

The Great Lillian Hall

20247.0

The Road to Mecca

The Road to Mecca

19915.5

Declaration of Independence

20037.7

Taking Off

19716.9

Krystal

20185.1

Talking With

1995

The Death & Life of John F. Donovan

20196.9

The Effects of Magic

19984.5

Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life

Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life

19977.3

The West Side Waltz

19956.2

The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club

20096.2

The Golden Compass

20076.1

Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood

20007.7

Hostages

19926.1

On the Basis of Sex

20187.3

Dick Tracy

19906.2

The Morning After

19866.0

The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful

199610.0

The Highwaymen

20196.8

Richard Jewell

20197.4

Rumor Has It...

20055.7

Home

20216.7

Hansel and Gretel

2005

Warm Springs

20056.6

Six Feet Under: In Memoriam

20058.7

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

20237.1

Tupperware!

20047.5

Johnny Bull

19865.5

Baby Steps

Baby Steps

199910.0

The Miracle Club

20236.3

Reflections on Titanic

20127.2

Signs of Life

19894.9

Making Rat Race

2002

Titanic

19977.9

Titanic: Breaking New Ground

19987.0

Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes

19989.0

Rat Race

20016.3

Rob Reiner – Scenes from a Life

2025

Celebrity Naked Ambition

20035.3

Return to the 5 & Dime: An Interview with Ed Graczyk

Return to the 5 & Dime: An Interview with Ed Graczyk

2014