Kathy Bates
Encyclopedia
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress and director.
After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery
(1990), for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress
and a Golden Globe
. She followed this with major roles in Fried Green Tomatoes
(1991) and Dolores Claiborne
(1995), before playing a featured role as Margaret "Molly" Brown
in Titanic
(1997). During this time, she began her directing career, primarily in television.
Bates received a Tony Award
nomination for her 1983 performance in the Broadway play 'night, Mother
. She won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in Primary Colors (1998), for which she also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress
. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for About Schmidt
(2002). Her television work has resulted in nine Emmy Award
nominations.
Diagnosed with ovarian cancer
in 2003, Bates has stated that she has made a full recovery.
, the youngest of three daughters of Bertye Kathleen (née
Talbert 1907-1997), a homemaker, and Langdon Doyle Bates (1900-?), a mechanical engineer. Her paternal grandfather was lawyer and author Finis L. Bates
. Her great-great-grandfather was an immigrant from Ireland
to New Orleans and served as President Andrew Jackson
's doctor. She graduated from White Station High School
, and later attended Southern Methodist University
, where she majored in theatre, was a member of Alpha Delta Pi
sorority, and graduated in 1969. She moved to New York City in 1970 to pursue an acting career.
appearances include Lanford Wilson
's Fifth of July
and the Robert Altman
-directed Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean opposite Karen Black
and Cher
. She received a Tony Award
nomination in 1983 for her stage role in the Pulitzer Prize
-winning play 'night, Mother
opposite Anne Pitoniak
. The production of 'night, Mother
ran for more than a year. One of her other successful New York stage productions was, Off Broadway, in Terrence McNally
's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
which ran 533 performances. McNally specifically wrote the play for Bates and F. Murray Abraham
, who had to drop out and was replaced by Kenneth Welsh
. The play was later filmed as Frankie and Johnny, starring Al Pacino
and Michelle Pfeiffer
. She also replaced Amy Irving
in the Off Broadway production of The Road to Mecca
in 1988.
Bates's first feature film was the 1971 Miloš Forman
comedy Taking Off
(credited as "Bobo Bates"), wherein she sings an original song "Even Horses Had Wings". Bates's next feature was the 1978 Dustin Hoffman
vehicle Straight Time. (In 1990, she would appear again with Hoffman in Warren Beatty
's Dick Tracy as a stenographer.) Bates continued to appear in little-seen films such as Summer Heat and The Morning After while guest-starring in television shows such as L.A. Law
before landing the role of obsessed fan Annie Wilkes
, who holds her favorite author (played by James Caan) captive, in the 1990 thriller Misery
, based on the novel by Stephen King
. Bates received her first Academy Award nomination for that role, winning Best Actress. Soon after, she starred with Jessica Tandy
in the acclaimed 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes
.
In 1977, she made her soap opera debut as Phyllis on NBC's soap opera The Doctors. From 1983 to 1984, she played prison inmate Belle Bodelle on All My Children
and from 1984 to 1985, she played Evelyn Maddox on One Life to Live
.
In 1995, she turned in another applauded portrayal as the title character in Dolores Claiborne
, a film adaption of another Stephen King novel, although she was not nominated for an Oscar. In 1997, Bates played Margaret "Molly" Brown
in James Cameron
's Titanic
. Based on the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, the film went on to earn more than $
1.8 billion in box-office receipts worldwide.
Bates also excelled in her role as the acid-tongued "dustbuster" political advisor Libby Holden in the 1998 drama "Primary Colors" which was adapted from the book in which political journalist Joe Klein
recounted his experiences on the Presidential campaign trail in 1991–1992. For this performance, she received her second Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress
. In 2002 she received her third nomination, for About Schmidt
. More recently, she and Terry Bradshaw
played the parents of Matthew McConaughey
's character in the 2006 film Failure to Launch
. Bates was also featured in an uncredited cameo in the miniseries of Stephen King
's The Stand
.
Bates has been nominated for an Emmy Award
eight times: Outstanding actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, for her performance as Jay Leno
's manager Helen Kushnick
in HBO's The Late Shift
(1996), and, twice again in the same category; as Miss Hannigan in Disney's remake of Annie
(1999) and for the HBO Franklin Roosevelt biopic Warm Springs
(2005). She was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for Lifetime Television
's Ambulance Girl
(2006), which she also directed and revieved a Supporting Actress nomination for Alice.
She appeared on 10 episodes of the HBO cable television
series Six Feet Under for which she received an Emmy Award
nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, as Bettina, in 2003. She also was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for 3rd Rock from the Sun
in 1999, the same year that she was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Movie for the Dashiell Hammett
-Lillian Hellman
biopic Dash & Lilly. She also had a recurring guest role on the American version of The Office as Jo Bennett
, the head executive of the company that buys Dunder Mifflin known as Sabre.
Starting in the 1990s, Bates forged a formidable career as a director. She has directed episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street
, NYPD Blue
, Oz
, Six Feet Under, and Everwood
. Bates has also directed the TV movies Dash and Lilly and the self-starring Ambulance Girl.
She directed and co-starred in Have Mercy (2006) with Melanie Griffith
. In 2008, she re-teamed with her Titanic
co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio
and Kate Winslet
in Revolutionary Road
.
Bates stars in David E. Kelley
's legal drama
Harry's Law
, which began airing on NBC
on January 17, 2011.
Board of Governors.
in 2003, but she did not reveal her illness to the general public until 2009. She stated that she has been "in total remission" for over five and a half years, as of January 2009.
After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery
Misery (film)
Misery is a 1990 American Psychological Horror Film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes...
(1990), for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
and a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
. She followed this with major roles in Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Green Tomatoes (film)
Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 comedy-drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title. Directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski, it stars Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy,...
(1991) and Dolores Claiborne
Dolores Claiborne (film)
Dolores Claiborne is a 1995 film based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, starring Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by Taylor Hackford.-Plot:...
(1995), before playing a featured role as Margaret "Molly" Brown
Margaret Brown
Margaret Brown was an American socialite, philanthropist, and activist who became famous due to her involvement with the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, after exhorting the crew of lifeboat 6 to return to look for survivors. It is unclear whether any survivors were found after life boat 6...
in Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
(1997). During this time, she began her directing career, primarily in television.
Bates received a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination for her 1983 performance in the Broadway play 'night, Mother
'night, Mother
'Night, Mother is a 1983 play by Marsha Norman about a daughter, Jessie, and her mother, Thelma . The play opens with Jessie calmly telling Mama that by morning she will be dead, as she plans to commit suicide that very evening...
. She won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in Primary Colors (1998), for which she also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for About Schmidt
About Schmidt
About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado...
(2002). Her television work has resulted in nine Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations.
Diagnosed with ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
in 2003, Bates has stated that she has made a full recovery.
Early life
Bates was born in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, the youngest of three daughters of Bertye Kathleen (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Talbert 1907-1997), a homemaker, and Langdon Doyle Bates (1900-?), a mechanical engineer. Her paternal grandfather was lawyer and author Finis L. Bates
Finis L. Bates
Finis Langdon Bates was a Memphis, Tennessee, lawyer and author of The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth . In this 309-page book, Bates claimed that John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, not only was not mortally wounded by Union Army Sergeant Thomas P...
. Her great-great-grandfather was an immigrant from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to New Orleans and served as President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
's doctor. She graduated from White Station High School
White Station High School
White Station High School is a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee, United States .White Station High is a member of the Memphis City Schools system. White Station is recognized as one of the best high schools in Memphis, as well as in all of Tennessee...
, and later attended Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, where she majored in theatre, was a member of Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
sorority, and graduated in 1969. She moved to New York City in 1970 to pursue an acting career.
Career
Her BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
appearances include Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson was an American playwright who helped to advance the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters...
's Fifth of July
Fifth of July
Fifth of July is a 1978 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson. Set in rural Missouri in 1977, it revolves around the Talley family and their friends, and focuses on the disillusionment with America in the wake of the Vietnam War...
and the Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
-directed Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean opposite Karen Black
Karen Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
and Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
. She received a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination in 1983 for her stage role in the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning play 'night, Mother
'night, Mother
'Night, Mother is a 1983 play by Marsha Norman about a daughter, Jessie, and her mother, Thelma . The play opens with Jessie calmly telling Mama that by morning she will be dead, as she plans to commit suicide that very evening...
opposite Anne Pitoniak
Anne Pitoniak
Anne Pitoniak was an American actress. She was nominated twice for Broadway's Tony Award: as Best Actress in 1983, for night, Mother, and as Best Actress in 1994, for a revival of William Inge's Picnic.-Early life:Pitoniak was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, the daughter of Sophie and John...
. The production of 'night, Mother
'night, Mother
'Night, Mother is a 1983 play by Marsha Norman about a daughter, Jessie, and her mother, Thelma . The play opens with Jessie calmly telling Mama that by morning she will be dead, as she plans to commit suicide that very evening...
ran for more than a year. One of her other successful New York stage productions was, Off Broadway, in Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally is an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, an Emmy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the...
's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is a two-character play by Terrence McNally.It focuses on two lonely, middle-aged people whose first date ends with them tumbling into bed. Johnny is certain he has found his soul mate in Frankie. She, on the other hand, is far more cautious and disinclined...
which ran 533 performances. McNally specifically wrote the play for Bates and F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham
Fahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
, who had to drop out and was replaced by Kenneth Welsh
Kenneth Welsh
Kenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his...
. The play was later filmed as Frankie and Johnny, starring Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
and Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
. She also replaced Amy Irving
Amy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
in the Off Broadway production of The Road to Mecca
The Road to Mecca
The Road to Mecca is a play by South Africa's Athol Fugard.It was inspired by the story of Helen Martins who lived in Nieu-Bethesda, Eastern Cape, South Africa and created The Owl House, now a national monument....
in 1988.
Bates's first feature film was the 1971 Miloš Forman
Miloš Forman
Jan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for...
comedy Taking Off
Taking Off (film)
Taking Off is a 1971 film comedy. It was Czech director Milos Forman's first American film. It tells the story of a group of parents whose children have run away from home...
(credited as "Bobo Bates"), wherein she sings an original song "Even Horses Had Wings". Bates's next feature was the 1978 Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
vehicle Straight Time. (In 1990, she would appear again with Hoffman in Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
's Dick Tracy as a stenographer.) Bates continued to appear in little-seen films such as Summer Heat and The Morning After while guest-starring in television shows such as L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
before landing the role of obsessed fan Annie Wilkes
Annie Wilkes
Anne Marie Wilkes Dugan, usually known as Annie Wilkes, is a fictional character and the antagonist/main villain in the 1987 novel Misery, by Stephen King. In the 1990 film adaptation of the novel, Annie Wilkes was portrayed by Kathy Bates, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal...
, who holds her favorite author (played by James Caan) captive, in the 1990 thriller Misery
Misery (film)
Misery is a 1990 American Psychological Horror Film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes...
, based on the novel by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. Bates received her first Academy Award nomination for that role, winning Best Actress. Soon after, she starred with Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
in the acclaimed 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Green Tomatoes (film)
Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 comedy-drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title. Directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski, it stars Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy,...
.
In 1977, she made her soap opera debut as Phyllis on NBC's soap opera The Doctors. From 1983 to 1984, she played prison inmate Belle Bodelle on All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
and from 1984 to 1985, she played Evelyn Maddox on One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
.
In 1995, she turned in another applauded portrayal as the title character in Dolores Claiborne
Dolores Claiborne (film)
Dolores Claiborne is a 1995 film based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, starring Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by Taylor Hackford.-Plot:...
, a film adaption of another Stephen King novel, although she was not nominated for an Oscar. In 1997, Bates played Margaret "Molly" Brown
Margaret Brown
Margaret Brown was an American socialite, philanthropist, and activist who became famous due to her involvement with the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, after exhorting the crew of lifeboat 6 to return to look for survivors. It is unclear whether any survivors were found after life boat 6...
in James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
. Based on the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, the film went on to earn more than $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.8 billion in box-office receipts worldwide.
Bates also excelled in her role as the acid-tongued "dustbuster" political advisor Libby Holden in the 1998 drama "Primary Colors" which was adapted from the book in which political journalist Joe Klein
Joe Klein
Joe Klein is a longtime Washington, D.C. and New York journalist and columnist, known for his novel Primary Colors, an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. Klein is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former Guggenheim...
recounted his experiences on the Presidential campaign trail in 1991–1992. For this performance, she received her second Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. In 2002 she received her third nomination, for About Schmidt
About Schmidt
About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado...
. More recently, she and Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
played the parents of Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
's character in the 2006 film Failure to Launch
Failure to Launch
Failure to Launch is a 2006 American romantic comedy film. In the movie a 35-year-old man lives in the home of his parents and shows no interest in leaving the comfortable life his parents, especially his mother, have made for him there.-Plot:...
. Bates was also featured in an uncredited cameo in the miniseries of Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's The Stand
The Stand (TV miniseries)
# Project Blue [1:33]# The Dream Begins [2:08]# On the Road to Kansas [3:57]# The Trashmen in Vegas [1:58]# Headin' West [1:56]# Larry & Nadine [2:38]# Mother Abigail [3:10]# 'Sorry Mister, I Don't Understand' [2:54]# Mid Country [3:22]...
.
Bates has been nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
eight times: Outstanding actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, for her performance as Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
's manager Helen Kushnick
Helen Kushnick
Helen Kushnick , born Helen Gorman in New York, was the agent of comedians Jimmie Walker, Elayne Boosler and Jay Leno for much of her early career...
in HBO's The Late Shift
The Late Shift (film)
The Late Shift is a 1996 American TV movie produced by HBO. It is directed by Betty Thomas and based on the book of the same name by The New York Times media reporter Bill Carter.-Plot synopsis:...
(1996), and, twice again in the same category; as Miss Hannigan in Disney's remake of Annie
Annie (film)
Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...
(1999) and for the HBO Franklin Roosevelt biopic Warm Springs
Warm Springs (film)
Warm Springs is a 2005 television film about American President Franklin D. Roosevelt's struggle with polio, his discovery of the Warm Springs, Georgia spa resort and his work to turn it into a center for the aid of polio victims, and his resumption of his political career...
(2005). She was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
's Ambulance Girl
Ambulance Girl
Ambulance Girl is a 2005 made for television movie. It premiered in the United States on September 12, 2005 on the Lifetime network. The film stars Kathy Bates and Robin Thomas....
(2006), which she also directed and revieved a Supporting Actress nomination for Alice.
She appeared on 10 episodes of the HBO cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
series Six Feet Under for which she received an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, as Bettina, in 2003. She also was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for 3rd Rock from the Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet...
in 1999, the same year that she was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Movie for the Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
-Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
biopic Dash & Lilly. She also had a recurring guest role on the American version of The Office as Jo Bennett
Jo Bennett
Joleen MaryAnn "Jo" Bennett is a fictional character from the US comedy television series The Office, who first appeared in Season 6. She is the CEO of Sabre, who purchased Dunder Mifflin, and is played by Kathy Bates.-Biography:...
, the head executive of the company that buys Dunder Mifflin known as Sabre.
Starting in the 1990s, Bates forged a formidable career as a director. She has directed episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
, NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
, Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
, Six Feet Under, and Everwood
Everwood
Everwood is an American drama television series that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado, and was filmed in Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Draper, Utah, except the series pilot which was filmed in Canmore, Alberta,...
. Bates has also directed the TV movies Dash and Lilly and the self-starring Ambulance Girl.
She directed and co-starred in Have Mercy (2006) with Melanie Griffith
Melanie Griffith
Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
. In 2008, she re-teamed with her Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
and Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
in Revolutionary Road
Revolutionary Road (film)
Revolutionary Road is a 2008 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes, from screenplay by Justin Haythe, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates....
.
Bates stars in David E. Kelley
David E. Kelley
David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
's legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
Harry's Law
Harry's Law
Harry's Law is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley. which premiered on January 17, 2011.On May 12, 2011, NBC renewed the show for a second season, which premiered Wednesday September 21, 2011...
, which began airing on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on January 17, 2011.
Affiliations
Bates is the Executive Committee Chair of the Actors Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
Board of Governors.
Personal life
Bates was diagnosed with ovarian cancerOvarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
in 2003, but she did not reveal her illness to the general public until 2009. She stated that she has been "in total remission" for over five and a half years, as of January 2009.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Taking Off Taking Off (film) Taking Off is a 1971 film comedy. It was Czech director Milos Forman's first American film. It tells the story of a group of parents whose children have run away from home... |
Audition Singer: "Even the Horses Had Wings" | as Bobo Bates |
| 1977 | Phyllis | several episodes | |
| 1978 | Sally Allison | Episodes: "Family Reunion", "Too Hot to Handle" and "Cinderella Story" | |
| 1978 | Straight Time Straight Time Straight Time is a 1978 film directed by Ulu Grosbard, starring Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh, and Kathy Bates.-Plot summary:... |
Selma Darin | |
| 1982 | Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean | Stella Mae | |
| 1983 | Two of a Kind Two of a Kind (1983 film) Two of a Kind is a 1983 American romantic comedy film directed by John Herzfeld and starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The original music score was composed by Patrick Williams. The film has Travolta as an inventor and Newton-John as a bank teller. It is up to both criminally-minded... |
Furniture man's wife | |
| 1984 | All My Children All My Children All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most... |
Belle Bodelle | several episodes |
| 1986 | Johnny Bull | Katherine Kovacs | TV film |
| 1986 | Cagney & Lacey Cagney & Lacey Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988... |
Brenda Harris | Episode: "Revenge" |
| 1986 | Woman on Mateo Street | ||
| 1986–87 | St. Elsewhere St. Elsewhere St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood... |
Polly | Episodes: "Up and Down" and "Visiting Daze" |
| 1987 | Murder Ordained Murder Ordained Murder Ordained is 1987 Emmy-nominated CBS miniseries starring JoBeth Williams, Kathy Bates, and Keith Carradine. The telefilm, directed and co-written by Mike Robe, was inspired by real events that occurred in Emporia, Kansas. Much of the principal photography and filming occurred on location in... |
Bobbi Birk | TV miniseries |
| 1987 | Summer Heat Summer Heat Summer Heat is a film directed by Michie Gleason, with a screenplay by Michie Gleason based on the novel Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail by Louise Shivers.-Cast:*Lori Singer as Roxy*Anthony Edwards as Aaron*Bruce Abbott as Jack Ruffin... |
Ruth | |
| 1987 | My Best Friend Is a Vampire My Best Friend Is a Vampire My Best Friend Is a Vampire is a 1987 American horror-comedy film about a newly made vampire who is trying to live as a "good" vampire and not feed on humans. Jeremy is played by Robert Sean Leonard and Rene Auberjonois also stars as Jeremy's vampire guidance counsel... |
Helen Blake | as Kathy D. Bates |
| 1988 | Arthur 2: On the Rocks Arthur 2: On the Rocks Arthur 2: On the Rocks is the 1988 sequel to the 1981 film Arthur. Lead actors Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli reprised their roles.John Gielgud, who won an Academy Award for his role in the original film, reappears briefly in a drunken hallucination on Arthur's part.The film co-stars Kathy Bates as... |
Mrs. Canby | |
| 1989 | China Beach China Beach China Beach is an American dramatic television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Vietnam, which was nicknamed "China Beach" by unknown foreigners, most likely Americans... |
Jan | Episode: "The World: Part 2" |
| 1989 | Signs of Life Signs of Life (1989 film) Signs of Life, also known as One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, is a film by American director John David Coles, released May 5, 1989. The film stars Beau Bridges, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Arthur Kennedy... |
Mary Beth Alder | |
| 1989 | High Stakes | Jill | |
| 1989 | Roe vs. Wade | TV film | |
| 1989 | L.A. Law L.A. Law L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,... |
Charlotte Haley | Episode: "One Rat, One Ranger" |
| 1989 | No Place Like Home | TV film | |
| 1990 | Men Don't Leave Men Don't Leave Men Don't Leave is a 1990 comedy-drama film that stars Jessica Lange as a housewife who, after the death of her husband, moves with her two sons to Baltimore. Chris O'Donnell, Joan Cusack, and Kathy Bates also co-star in this film.... |
Lisa Coleman | |
| 1990 | Dick Tracy | Mrs. Green | |
| 1990 | White Palace | Rosemary | |
| 1990 | Misery Misery (film) Misery is a 1990 American Psychological Horror Film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes... |
Annie Wilkes Annie Wilkes Anne Marie Wilkes Dugan, usually known as Annie Wilkes, is a fictional character and the antagonist/main villain in the 1987 novel Misery, by Stephen King. In the 1990 film adaptation of the novel, Annie Wilkes was portrayed by Kathy Bates, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal... |
Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:... Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951... Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress |
| 1991 | Shadows and Fog Shadows and Fog Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white film directed by Woody Allen and based on his one-act play Death. It stars Allen, Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Madonna, and Kenneth Mars. It was filmed on a set at Kaufman Astoria Studios, which holds the distinction of being the biggest set ever... |
Prostitute | |
| 1991 | At Play in the Fields of the Lord At Play in the Fields of the Lord At Play in the Fields of the Lord is a drama film directed by Héctor Babenco adapted from the 1965 novel of the same name by American author Peter Matthiessen. The screenplay was written by Babenco and Jean-Claude Carrière... |
Hazel Quarrier | |
| 1991 | Fried Green Tomatoes Fried Green Tomatoes (film) Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 comedy-drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title. Directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski, it stars Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy,... |
Evelyn Couch | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film... Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1992 | Elsa Barlow | ||
| 1992 | Prelude to a Kiss Prelude to a Kiss (film) Prelude to a Kiss is a 1992 American romantic fantasy film directed by Norman René and starring Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan and Sydney Walker. The screenplay by Craig Lucas is based on his 1988 play of the same title.-Plot synopsis:... |
Leah Blier | |
| 1992 | Used People Used People Used People is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron. The screenplay by Todd Graff, adapted from his 1988 off-Broadway play The Grandma Plays , takes a humorous look at a highly dysfunctional family living in the New York City borough of Queens circa 1969... |
Bibby Berman | |
| 1993 | Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun | Lunar Mom | Direct-to-video Direct-to-video Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television... |
| 1993 | Hostages | Peggy Say | TV film |
| 1993 | Frances Lacey | ||
| 1993 2004 |
Narrator | Episodes: "Amelia Earhart: The Price of Courage" "Tupperware!" |
|
| 1994 | Rae Flowers | Episode: "The Plague" uncredited |
|
| 1994 | North North (film) North is an American 1994 comedy film directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dan Aykroyd, Reba McEntire, and Alan Arkin... |
Alaskan mom | Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress |
| 1994 | Curse of the Starving Class Curse of the Starving Class Curse of the Starving Class is a play by Sam Shepard which, along with Buried Child, A Lie of the Mind and True West, comprises the playwright's family tragedies.-Production history:... |
Ella Tate | |
| 1995 | Dolores Claiborne Dolores Claiborne (film) Dolores Claiborne is a 1995 film based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, starring Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by Taylor Hackford.-Plot:... |
Dolores Claiborne | Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:... Nominated — Chlotrudis Award Chlotrudis Awards 1997 The 3rd Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented in 1997 by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film.-Best Movie:Sling Blade* Beautiful Thing* Big Night* Fargo* Marvin's Room* Secrets & Lies-Best Director:... for Best Actress Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress |
| 1995 | Mr. Goo | TV film | |
| 1995 | Angus | Meg Bethune | |
| 1996 | Diabolique Diabolique (1996 film) Diabolique is an American film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Don Roos. The film stars Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani... |
Det. Shirley Vogel | |
| 1996 | Maurine Collier | ||
| 1996 | Helen Kushnick Helen Kushnick Helen Kushnick , born Helen Gorman in New York, was the agent of comedians Jimmie Walker, Elayne Boosler and Jay Leno for much of her early career... |
TV film American Comedy Award for Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
|
| 1997 | Swept from the Sea Swept from the Sea Swept from the Sea is a 1997 American drama film based on a 1903 short story, "Amy Foster" by Joseph Conrad. It stars Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates, Zoë Wanamaker and Tom Bell and was directed by Beeban Kidron.... |
Miss Swaffer | |
| 1997 | Titanic Titanic (1997 film) Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal... |
Molly Brown Margaret Brown Margaret Brown was an American socialite, philanthropist, and activist who became famous due to her involvement with the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, after exhorting the crew of lifeboat 6 to return to look for survivors. It is unclear whether any survivors were found after life boat 6... |
Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 1998 | Primary Colors | Libby Holden | American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:... Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress The Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Supporting Actress is an award given by the Las Vegas Film Critics Society to honor the best actress of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress The San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award given by the San Diego Film Critics Society to honor the finest female acting achievementes in filmmaking.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film... Nominated — Chlotrudis Award Chlotrudis Awards 1999 The 5th Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented in 1999 by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film.-Best Movie:Gods and Monsters* Elizabeth* Happiness* High Art* Life Is Beautiful* The Opposite of Sex-Best Director:... for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year.... Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best supporting actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 1998 | Raphaella, the Magic Bunny | voice | |
| 1998 | Helen 'Mama' Boucher | Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Comedy | |
| 1998 | Bankruptcy judge | uncredited | |
| 1999 | Annie Annie (1999 film) Annie is a 1999 American made-for-television musical-comedy film from The Wonderful World of Disney, based on the 1977 stage musical Annie and its 1982 film adaptation, which themselves were based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray.The film stars Kathy Bates, Victor Garber,... |
Miss Agatha Hannigan | TV film American Comedy Award for Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
| 1999 | Baby Steps | Mrs. Mellon | short film |
| 1999 | 3rd Rock from the Sun 3rd Rock from the Sun 3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet... |
Charlotte Everly | Episode: "Alien Hunter" Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Comedy Series |
| 1999 | Dash and Lily | Director | Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special This is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special.- Chronology of categories :... |
| 2000 | Bruno Bruno (2000 film) Bruno is a 2000 American film starring Alex D. Linz and Shirley MacLaine. The film is the first and, as of 2009, the only film ever directed by MacLaine.... |
Mother Superior | |
| 2000 | MADtv MADtv MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first... |
Stuart's Grandma | Season 6 episode 602 |
| 2001 | Rat Race | The Squirrel Lady | uncredited |
| 2001 | American Outlaws American Outlaws American Outlaws is a 2001 Western film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, and Ali Larter.-Plot:The southern army is trying to track down the Yankee army during the civil war... |
Ma James | |
| 2001 | King of the Hill King of the Hill King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas... |
Police Officer | Episode: "Lupe's Revenge" |
| 2002 | Love Liza Love Liza Love Liza is a 2002 tragicomedy film directed by Todd Louiso and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Jack Kehler, Wayne Duvall, Sarah Koskoff and Stephen Tobolowsky. The film inspired the song "Benzin" by Rammstein.-Plot summary:... |
Mary Ann Bankhead | |
| 2002 | Dragonfly | Mrs. Belmont | |
| 2002 | About Schmidt About Schmidt About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado... |
Roberta Hertzel | Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award given by the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association to honor the best achievements in filmmaking.-2000s:-2010s:-References:... National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress is one of the annual film awards given by the National Board of Review.-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:... Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year.... Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best supporting actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is an award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society to honor the finest achievements in acting.-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role |
| 2002 | Unconditional Love | Grace Beasley | |
| 2002 | My Sister's Keeper | Christine Chapman | TV film Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
| 2003 | Six Feet Under | Bettina | 10 episodes Nominated — Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Drama Series Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Drama Series The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series - Night is one of the annual awards given by the Directors Guild of America.-1970s:*1971: Daniel Petrie - The Man and the City for "Hands of Love"... (for episode "Twilight") Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Drama Series |
| 2004 | Around the World in 80 Days Around the World in 80 Days (2004 film) Around the World in 80 Days is a 2004 American comedy adventure film based on Jules Verne's novel of the same name. It stars Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Cécile de France. The film is set in 19th-century Britain and centers on Phileas Fogg , here reimagined as an eccentric inventor, and his... |
Queen Victoria | |
| 2004 | Little Black Book Little Black Book Little Black Book is a 2004 satirical comedy film directed by Nick Hurran.-Plot:Stacy Holt , an associate producer on a daytime talk show , is convinced that her boyfriend Derek is the right man for her, though he has an apparent phobia of commitment, and he's vague about his past relationships... |
Kippie Kann | |
| 2004 | Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy is a 2004 computer-animated direct-to-video film produced by Mainframe Entertainment for Lions Gate Entertainment... |
Sea Hag Sea Hag The Sea Hag is a fictional character owned by King Features Syndicate. She is a tall, masculine looking witch featured in comics/cartoons as a nemesis to the character Popeye. The Sea Hag was created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929 as part of the Thimble Theater comic strip.-Character history:The... |
voice |
| 2004 | The Judge | short film | |
| 2004 | The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing is a 2004 documentary film directed by filmmaker Wendy Apple. The film is about the art of film editing... |
Narrator | documentary |
| 2004 | The Marquesa | ||
| 2005 | Hansel and Gretel | Narrator | direct-to-video |
| 2005 | Ambulance Girl Ambulance Girl Ambulance Girl is a 2005 made for television movie. It premiered in the United States on September 12, 2005 on the Lifetime network. The film stars Kathy Bates and Robin Thomas.... |
Jane Stern Jane and Michael Stern Jane Grossman Stern and Michael Stern are American writers who specialize in books about travel, food, and popular culture... |
TV film Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Prism Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries |
| 2005 | Guilty Hearts | The Judge | |
| 2005 | Rumor Has It... Rumor Has It... Rumor Has It... is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Rob Reiner, starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine and Mark Ruffalo... |
Aunt Mitsy | uncredited |
| 2005 | Warm Springs Warm Springs (film) Warm Springs is a 2005 television film about American President Franklin D. Roosevelt's struggle with polio, his discovery of the Warm Springs, Georgia spa resort and his work to turn it into a center for the aid of polio victims, and his resumption of his political career... |
Helena Mahoney | TV film Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 2006 | Failure to Launch Failure to Launch Failure to Launch is a 2006 American romantic comedy film. In the movie a 35-year-old man lives in the home of his parents and shows no interest in leaving the comfortable life his parents, especially his mother, have made for him there.-Plot:... |
Sue | |
| 2006 | Have Mercy | ||
| 2006 | Solace | Marrow's wife | |
| 2006 | Relative Strangers Relative Strangers -Plot:Thirty-four year old psychologist, Richard Clayton parents reveal to him that he was adopted. He then sets out to find out who his biological parents are, but disaster ensues when it turns out that his parents, Frank and Agnes Menure , are crude, lower class carnies... |
Agnes Menure | |
| 2006 | Bonneville Bonneville (film) Bonneville is a 2006 American dramedy film directed by Christopher N. Rowley. The screenplay by Daniel D. Davis is based on a story by Davis and Rowley.-Plot:... |
Margene | |
| 2006 | Charlotte's Web Charlotte's Web (2006 film) Charlotte's Web is a 2006 American live-action/computer-animated feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E. B. White. It is directed by Gary Winick and produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, The K Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies... |
Bitsy the Cow | voice |
| 2007 | Bee Movie Bee Movie Bee Movie is a 2007 computer animated family comedy film starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, and Patrick Warburton. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, it is directed by Simon J... |
Janet Benson | voice |
| 2007 | Fred Claus Fred Claus Fred Claus is a 2007 Christmas family-comedy film produced and directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.-Plot:... |
Mother Claus | |
| 2007 | Hester | voice | |
| 2007 | P.S. I Love You P.S. I Love You (film) P.S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama film directed by Richard LaGravenese. The screenplay by LaGravenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. The film is dedicated to the memory of producer Molly Smith's sister Windland Smith Rice.-Plot:Holly and Gerry... |
Patricia | |
| 2007 | Christmas Is Here Again Christmas Is Here Again Christmas Is Here Again is a 2007 animated Christmas film released on DVD by Screen Media Films. The first feature production from the Renegade Animation studio, it was co-written, co-produced and directed by Robert Zappia... |
Miss Dowdy | voice |
| 2008 | Charlotte Cartwright | ||
| 2008 | Secretary of Defense, Dr. Regina Jackson | ||
| 2008 | Revolutionary Road Revolutionary Road (film) Revolutionary Road is a 2008 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes, from screenplay by Justin Haythe, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates.... |
Mrs. Helen Givings | Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. It was started in 1989 and is held annually in January... Ensemble Performance Award Nominated — Detroit Film Critics Society Detroit Film Critics Society The Detroit Film Critics Society is a film critic organization in Detroit, Michigan, United States.-2007 Awards:The nominees for the Detroit Film Critics Society Awards 2007 were announced on 15 December and the winners were announced on 21 December 2007.-Best Actor:**George Clooney - Michael... Award for Best Cast |
| 2009 | Cheri Cheri (film) Chéri is a 2009 drama film directed by Stephen Frears. Starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend, it is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by French author Colette... |
Madame Charlotte Peloux | |
| 2009 | Alice Alice (TV miniseries) Alice is a 2009 television mini-series that was originally broadcast on Canadian cable television channel Showcase and an hour later on American cable television channel Syfy... |
Queen of Hearts Queen of Hearts (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) The Queen of Hearts is a character from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by the writer and mathematician Lewis Carroll. She is a foul-tempered monarch, that Carroll himself pictured as "a blind fury", and who is quick to decree death sentences at the slightest offense... |
Miniseries Miniseries A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term... Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 2009 | Personal Effects Personal Effects Personal Effects is a 2009 American drama film directed by David Hollander and starring Kathy Bates, Ashton Kutcher, and Michelle Pfeiffer. It is based on Rick Moody's story Mansion on the Hill . This movie was premiered in Iowa City, Iowa on December 12, 2008 as part of a fundraiser for Iowa Flood... |
Gloria | |
| 2009 | Miss Sue | ||
| 2010 | Valentine's Day Valentine's Day (film) Valentine's Day is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and based on the novel by Michael Connelly. The screenplay and the story was written by Katherine Fugate, Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, Akiva Goldsman, Rob Reiner, P. J... |
Susan Milton | |
| 2010–11 | Jo Bennett | Season 6, Episode 15 "Sabre Sabre (The Office) "Sabre" is the 15th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 115th episode overall. It was written by Jennifer Celotta and directed by John Krasinski, which marks his television directorial debut... " – Present |
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| 2011–present | Harry's Law Harry's Law Harry's Law is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley. which premiered on January 17, 2011.On May 12, 2011, NBC renewed the show for a second season, which premiered Wednesday September 21, 2011... |
Harriet Korn | Main cast Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series |
| 2011 | Midnight in Paris Midnight in Paris Midnight in Paris is a 2011 romantic comedy-fantasy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The plot centers on a small group of Americans visiting the French capital for business and pleasure... |
Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:... |
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| 2011 | You May Not Kiss the Bride You May Not Kiss the Bride You May Not Kiss the Bride is an American romantic comedy film, directed by Rob Hedden. The film stars Dave Annable, Katharine McPhee, Mena Suvari, Kathy Bates, and Rob Schneider.-Synopsis:... |
Bryan's Mother | |
| 2011 | Beverly Corbett | direct-to-video |