The American actress became a Hollywood star with the film “Of Human Bondage” (1934; Des Menschen’s bondage). In the 1930s she became a film icon celebrated around the world. For many women, Bette Davis became a role model for female self-confidence. As a character actress, she has appeared in over 80 films. Davis was awarded two “Oscars” in the category “Best Actress” for her roles in the films “Dangerous” (1935) and “Jezebel” (1938)…
Bette Davis was born on April 5, 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Bette Davis, real name Ruth Elizabeth Davis, made her first film, Bad Sister, in 1931. The big breakthrough came three years later with the film “Of Human Bondage” (1934, Des Menschen Hörigkeit). The following year she was awarded her first “Oscar”. She received the coveted award in the category “Best Actress” in the film “Dangerous”. Disputes with those responsible at Warner Brothers’ Hollywood studios arose in 1936 when she wanted to shoot a film for a British film company in London. She was forced to drop the project, but subsequently received a new contract and better film offers. In 1938 the film “Jezebel” (The Wicked Lady) was released. Bette Davis received her second Oscar for her role in it.
She then appeared in films such as Dark Victory, Juarez, The Old Maid and The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex, all of which have since become classics. The best role, according to critics, was played by Bette Davis in the film “All about Eve” (1950, All about Eve). In it she played the aging and cynical stage star “Margo Channing”. In 1952 she appeared in the New York revue “Two’s Company”, in 1960 in the dramatized reading “The World of Carl Sandberg” and the following year in the drama “Night of the Iguana”. Her autobiography, The Lonely Life, was published in 1962. She finally became known to German audiences through the thriller “Lullaby for a Corpse” (1964), in which she played the role of “Charlotte”. In her later works, both in film and on television, she preferred the character subject. Davis was the first woman to receive the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award in 1977.
Bette Davis became known as an actress with exceptional qualities in her field. Not only did she become one of Hollywood’s most internationally popular film stars, whose fame surpassed even that of Humphrey Bogart, but she was also a very self-confident woman. She didn’t even stop at the big studio bosses in Hollywood and fought for a say in the selection of the films. The expressiveness of her eyes was legendary and also sung about. In addition to her two “Oscars”, Bette Davis received a total of eight nominations for this coveted award: “Dark Victory” (1939, Victim of a Great Love), “The Letter” (1940, The Letter), “The Little Foxes” (1941, Die little foxes), Now, Voyager (1942, Journey into the Past), Mr. Skeffington (1944), All About Eve (1950), The Star (1952) and What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?” (1962, What Really Happened to Baby Jane?).
Bette Davis died in Paris on October 6, 1989.
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Who sings Bette Davis eyes?
“Bette Davis Eyes” is a song written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974. It was originally recorded by DeShannon in that year for her album New Arrangement but it was made popular by American singer Kim Carnes in 1981 when it spent nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
How many children did Bette Davis have?
3
What is Bette Davis famous for?
During the 1940s Davis made several successful movies, including The Letter (1940), The Little Foxes (1941), Now, Voyager (1942), Watch on the Rhine (1943), and The Corn Is Green (1945), and she received Academy Award nominations for her performances in the first three films.
What is Bette Davis famous line?
Old age is no place for sissies. I am doomed to an eternity of compulsive work. No set goal achieved satisfies.
What was so special about Bette Davis eyes?
Some suggest Davis’s eyes were the result of the autoimmune thyroid condition, Graves’ disease. Swelling the muscles around the eyes and surrounding tissues, the condition pushes the eyeballs forward, causing them to protrude, limiting their movement.
How was Bette Davis discovered?
A screen test landed Davis a contract with Hollywood’s Universal Pictures, where she was assigned a small role in the film Bad Sister (1931), followed by similar minor parts in a few more movies. She moved to Warner Brothers in 1932, after gaining notice in that studio’s production of The Man Who Played God.
What was Bette Davis worth when she died?
Davis’s net worth at the time of her death was $2 Million after adjusting for taxes and inflation. According to her last will and testament, Bette’s estate was worth $1 Million. The bulk of the estate was left to her adopted son, Michael Merrill.
