Profile photo of Kathy Bates

Kathy Bates

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).

Filmography

2024
A Family Affair

as Leila Ford

Movie
2019
Richard Jewell

as Bobi Jewell

Movie
2016
Bad Santa 2

as Sunny Soke

Movie
2009
The Blind Side

as Miss Sue

Movie
2008
Revolutionary Road

as Mrs. Helen Givings

Movie
2008
The Day the Earth Stood Still

as Regina Jackson

Movie
2008
Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys

as Charlotte Cartwright

Movie
2006
Failure to Launch

as Sue

Movie
2004
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

as Narrator (voice)

Movie
2004
Around the World in 80 Days

as Queen Victoria

Movie
1997
Titanic

as Molly Brown

Movie
1990
Misery

as Annie Wilkes

Movie
2024
Matlock

as Madeline 'Matty' Matlock

TV Show
2011
American Horror Story

as Ethel Darling

TV Show