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Kathy Bates

Acting

Born June 28, 1948 · Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Also known as Kathleen Doyle Bates · Кейти Бейтс

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).

Awards & recognition

  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie · 2014
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series · 2012
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 1991
  • Actor Awards
  • Golden Globe Awards
Show all 13 awards →
  • Mary Pickford Award
  • Primetime Emmy Award
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actress · 2020 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actress · 2003 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actress · 1999 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 1991 · nominated
  • Tony AwardBest Actress in a Play · 1983 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

Six Feet Under: In Memoriam

2005as Herself

The Office

2005as Jo Bennett

American Horror Story

2011as Miriam Mead / Delphine LaLaurie

Six Feet Under

2001as Bettina

Oz

1997Director

Homicide: Life on the Street

1993Director

The Big Bang Theory

2007as Mrs. Fowler

Titanic

1997as Molly Brown

Misery

1990as Annie Wilkes

Stand Up to Cancer

as Self

The Blind Side

2009as Miss Sue

Fried Green Tomatoes

1991as Evelyn Couch

Feud

2017as Joan Blondell

Everwood

2002Director

Midnight in Paris

2011as Gertrude Stein

Tupperware!

2004as Narrator

Two and a Half Men

2003as Charlie Harper

3rd Rock from the Sun

1996as Charlotte Everly

China Beach

1988

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962as Self

Richard Jewell

2019as Bobi Jewell

King of the Hill

1997as Patrol Officer Jane Cooper (voice)

On the Basis of Sex

2018as Dorothy Kenyon

Dolores Claiborne

1995as Dolores Claiborne

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

2023as Sylvia Simon

P.S. I Love You

2007as Patricia

My Sister's Keeper

2002as Christine Chapman

Straight Time

1978as Selma Darin

Matlock

2024as Madeline 'Matty' Matlock

Mad TV

1995as Stuart's Grandma

NYPD Blue

1993Director

L.A. Law

1986as Charlotte Haley

The Great Lillian Hall

2024as Edith Wilson

Revolutionary Road

2008as Mrs. Helen Givings

American Dad!

2005as D.O. Rothy (voice)

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

2004as Narrator (voice)

A Home of Our Own

1993as Frances Lacey

Cagney & Lacey

1982

The Death & Life of John F. Donovan

2018as Barbara Haggermaker

About Schmidt

2002as Roberta Hertzel

The Highwaymen

2019as Ma Ferguson

The Family That Preys

2008as Charlotte Cartwright

The Stand

1994as Rae Flowers (uncredited)

Home

2020as Bernadette

Mike & Molly

2010as Kay

Shadows and Fog

1991as Prostitute

No Place Like Home

1989as Bonnie Cooper

The Great Gilly Hopkins

2015as Maime Trotter

Warm Springs

2005as Helena Mahoney

Angus

1995as Meg Bethune