Bette Davis facts for kids
Bette Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of the stage, cinema and television. She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. She was nicknamed "The Queen of Hollywood" or the "First Lady of the American Screen" and "The Fifth Warner Brother" during her career.
Davis had held the most Academy Award nominations for any actress (with ten) until Katharine Hepburn took her place with twelve.
Bette Davis made over 100 films across 60 years. Some of the most popular films include: Of Human Bondage (1934), Marked Woman (1937), Jezebel (1938), Dark Victory (1939), The Letter (1940), The Little Foxes (1941), Now, Voyager (1942), Watch on the Rhine (1943), Mr. Skeffington (1944), All About Eve (1950), The Virgin Queen (1955), The Catered Affair (1956), Pocketful of Miracles (1961), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Death on the Nile (1978) and The Whales of August (1987).
In 1981 Kim Carnes sang the hit song "Bette Davis Eyes". Davis liked the song. Carnes gave Davis a gold record. Davis hung the gold record on a wall.
The Kennedy Center honored Davis in 1987. She died of breast cancer in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
Images for kids
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Davis in her film debut, Bad Sister (1931)
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Davis in Jezebel (1938)
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Davis with Errol Flynn in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
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Davis in 1940
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Davis often played unlikable characters such as Regina Giddens in The Little Foxes (1941).
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Davis with Paul Henreid in Now, Voyager (1942), one of her most iconic roles
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Davis posing as Margo Channing in a promotional image for All About Eve (1950): She is pictured with Gary Merrill, to whom she was married from 1950 to 1960 (her fourth, and final, husband).
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Davis received her final Academy Award nomination for her role as demented Baby Jane Hudson in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).
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Davis and William Hopper in the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of Constant Doyle" (January 31, 1963)
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Davis (left) and Elizabeth Taylor in late 1981 during a show celebrating Taylor's life
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Davis (aged 79) completed her final role in The Whales of August (1987), which brought her acclaim during a period in which she was beset with failing health and personal trauma.
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Davis's crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles
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Davis' signature and handprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
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Davis in the trailer for Dark Victory (1939), in which she gave one of her 10 Oscar-nominated performances
