Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on April 5, 1908. Her parents divorced when she was young. Her early interests were in dance. To Bette, dancers led a glamorous life but then she discovered the stage. She gave up dancing for acting. To her, it presented much more of a challenge.
She studied drama in New York City and made her debut on Broadway in 1929. In 1930, she moved to Hollywood where she hoped things would get better for her in the world of acting. They did, indeed.
Bette would become known as the actress that could play a variety of very strong and complex roles. She was first under contract to Universal Studios where she made her first film called WAY BACK HOME in 1931. After the unsuccessful film, BAD SISTER made the same year, she was fired which was wildly unpopular. She then moved on to Warner Brothers.
Her first film with them was SEED made in 1931. More fairly successful movies followed but it was the role of Mildred Rogers in OF HUMAN BONDAGE in 1934 that would give Bette major acclaim from the film critics. Warner Bros. felt their seven year deal with Bette was more than justified. They had a genuine star on their hands. With this success under her belt, she began pushing for stronger and more meaningful roles.
In 1935, she received her first Oscar nomination for her role in DANGEROUS as Joyce Heath.
In 1936, she was suspended without pay for turning down a role that she deemed unworthy of her talent. She went to England where she had planned to make movies but was stopped by Warner Bros. because she was still under contract to them. They did not want her to work anywhere. Although she sued to get out of her contract, she lost. Still they began to take her more seriously after that.
By 1938, Bette received a second Academy nomination for her work in JEZEBEL in a film opposite the, soon to be, legendary Henry Fonda. Bette would receive six more nominations including her role as Margo Channing in ALL ABOUT EVE (1950).
While she was a genuine star in the 30's and 40's, the 50's and early 60's saw her in the midst of films which all lost money. Then came WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? in 1962. This brought about a new round of super stardom for generations of fans who were not familiar with her work. She played a deranged, former child actress and a rather spooky one at that.
Two years later she starred in HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE. She was very convincing and strange in that role. In this, she played a rich woman whose married lover is murdered.
Bette
was married four times, her last to actor Gary Merrill which lasted ten years, longer than any of the
previous three. In 1985, her daughter, Barbara Davis Hyman, published a scandalous book about
Bette called "My Mother's Keeper". Sadly, Bette Davis died on October 6, 1989 of an undisclosed
illness.
Bette Davis Pics Below!
Bette Pic 1
Bette Pic 2
Bette Pic 3
Bette Pic 4
Bette Pic 5
Bette Pic 6
Click here to go to Joan Crawford
Thanks to Kyla McCall-Giles for pic no. 3. Also, thanks to Susan Pudlo for some corrections to this page.
© 1998 Denny C. Jackson dejackso@iglou.com
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