Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress and director. 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 Miloš Forman‘s 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. She also appeared in Robert Altman‘s Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), starring Sandy Dennis, Cher and Karen Black.
Other early roles include The Morning After (1986), with Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges and Raúl Juliá; Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), with Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, and John Gielgud; and Signs of Life (1989), with Beau Bridges, Vincent D’Onofrio, Arthur Kennedy, Mary-Louise Parker, Will Patton, and Kate Reid; Dick Tracy (1990), with Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Madonna, Glenne Headly, and Charlie Korsmo; and White Palace (1990), with Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Steven Hill, Jeremy Piven, and Renee Taylor.
Her performance as Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner‘s horror film Misery (1990), with James Caan; 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 James Cameron‘s Titanic (1997) with Kate Winslett and Leonardo DiCaprio; the latter, in which she portrayed Molly Brown, became the highest-grossing film to that point. Bates received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Primary Colors (1998), with John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Maura Tierney, Larry Hagman and Adrian Lester; Alexander Payne’s About Schmidt (2002), with Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, and Dermont Mulroney; and Clint Eastwood‘s Richard Jewell (2019), with Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde.
Her 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 (2014). 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).
Other notable roles include Woody Allen‘s Shadows and Fog (1991), with Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Kenneth Mars, Donald Pleasance, and Lily Tomlin; Angus (1995), with Charlie Talbert, George C. Scott, James Van Der Beek, Chris Owen, Ariana Richards, and Rita Moreno; Diabolique (1995), with Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani, and Chazz Palminteri; Love Liza (2002), with Philip Seymour Hoffman; Unconditional Love (2002), with Rupert Everett, Meredith Eaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Dan Aykroyd, and Jonathan Pryce; The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004), with F. Murray Abraham, Gabriel Byrne, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and Pilar López de Ayala; Little Black Book (2004), with Brittany Murphy, Ron Livingston, Holly Hunter, Julianne Nicholson, Josie Maran, and Rashida Jones; and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), with Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, and Hamm.
Later film roles include Midnight in Paris (2011), with Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Tom Hiddleston, Marion Cotillard, and Michael Sheen; Tammy (2014), with Melissa McCarthy, Sarandon, Allison Janney, Gary Cole, Mark Duplass, Aykroyd, and Sandra Oh; The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015), with Sophie Nélisse, Julia Stiles, Bill Cobbs, Billy Magnussen, Octavia Spencer, and Glenn Close; The Boss (2016), with McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Ella Anderson, Tyler Labine, Annie Mumolo, Timothy Simons, and Peter Dinklage; Complete Unknown (2016), with Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon, and Danny Glover; Bad Santa 2 (2016), with Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, and Christina Hendricks; The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018), with Kit Harington, Jacob Tremblay, Natalie Portman, Sarandon, Thandie Newton, Ben Schnetzer, and Jared Keeso; On the Basis of Sex (2018), with Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Jack Reynor, Cailee Spaeny, and Sam Waterston; and The Highwaymen (2019), Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, John Carroll Lynch, Kim Dickens, Thomas Mann, and William Sadler.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Taking Off (1971) – directed by Miloš Forman – credited as Bobo Bates
- Vanities (1977) – directed by Leonard Stern – TV short
- Straight Time (1978) – directed by Ulu Grosbard
- Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) – directed by Robert Altman
- Two of a Kind (1983) – directed by John Herzfeld
- Johnny Bull (1986) – directed by Claudia Weill
- The Morning After (1986) – directed by Sidney Lumet
- Murder Ordained (1987) – directed by Mike Robe – TV movie
- Summer Heat (1987) – directed by Michie Gleason
- My Best Friend Is a Vampire (1987) – directed by Jimmy Huston
- Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988) – directed by Bud Yorkin
- Signs of Life (1989) – directed by John David Coles
- High Stakes (1989) – directed by Amos Kollek
- No Place Like Home (1989) – directed by Lee Grant – TV movie
- Men Don’t Leave (1990) – directed by Paul Brickman
- Dick Tracy – directed by Warren Beatty
- White Palace (1990) – directed by Luis Mandoki
- Misery (1990) – directed by Rob Reiner
- Shadows and Fog (1991) – directed by Woody Allen
- At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991) – directed by Héctor Babenco
- Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) – directed by Jon Avnet
- The Road to Mecca (1992) – Athol Fugard & Peter Goldsmid
- Prelude to a Kiss (1992) – directed by Norman René
- Used People (1992) – directed by Beeban Kidron
- Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun (1993) – directed by Rob Mikuriya – straight to video
- A Home of Our Own (1993) – directed by Tony Bill
- North (1994) – directed by Rob Reiner
- Curse of the Starving Class (1994) – directed by J. Michael McClary
- Dolores Claiborne (1995) – directed by Taylor Hackford
- Angus (1995) – directed by Patrick Read Johnson
- The West Side Waltz (1995) – directed by Ernest Thompson – TV movie
- The Late Shift (1996) – directed by Betty Thomas – TV movie
- Diabolique (1996) – directed by Jeremiah Chechik
- The War at Home (1996) – directed by Emilio Estevez
- Swept from the Sea (1997) – directed by Beeban Kidron
- Titanic (1997) – directed by James Cameron
- Primary Colors (1998) – directed by Mike Nichols
- The Effects of Magic (1998) – directed by Charlie Martínez
- The Waterboy (1998) – directed by Frank Coraci
- A Civil Action (1998) – directed by Steven Zaillian – uncredited
- Baby Steps (1999) – directed by Geoffrey Nauffts – short
- Annie (1999) – directed by Rob Marshall – TV movie
- Bruno (2000) – directed by Shirley MacLaine
- Possessed (2000) – directed by Steven E. de Souza
- Rat Race (2001)* – directed by Jerry Zucker – uncredited
- American Outlaws (2001) – directed by Les Mayfield
- Love Liza (2002) – directed by Todd Louiso
- My Sister’s Keeper (2002) – directed by Ron Lagomarsino
- Dragonfly (2002) – directed by Tom Shadyac
- About Schmidt (2002) – directed by Alexander Payne
- Unconditional Love (2002) – directed by P.J. Hogan
- The Ingrate (2004) – directed by Krystoff Przykucki
- Around the World in 80 Days (2004) – directed by Frank Coraci
- Little Black Book (2004)* – directed by Nick Hurran
- Popeye’s Voyage: The Quest for Pappy (2004) – directed by Ezekiel Norton
- The Ingrate (2004) – short
- The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004) – documentary – narrator
- The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004) – directed by Mary McGuckian
- Ambulance Girl (2005) – also director
- Rumor Has It… (2006) – directed by Rob Reiner – uncredited
- Solace (2006) – directed by Jonah Salander – short
- Failure to Launch (2006) – directed by Tom Dey
- Relative Strangers (2006) – directed by Greg Glienna
- Bonneville (2006) – directed by Christopher N. Rowley
- Charlotte’s Web (2006) – irected by Gary Winick
- Have Mercy (2006) – also director
- Guilty Hearts (2006) – directed by George Gargurevich Krystoff Pizykucki, Paul Black, Phil DornfieldRavi Kumar, Savina Dellicour, & Benjamin Ross – anthology
- Bee Movie (2007) – directed by Simon J. Smith & Steve Hickner
- Christmas Is Here Again (2007) – directed by Robert Zappia & Darrell Van Citters
- Fred Claus (2007) – directed by David Dobkin
- The Golden Compass (2007) – directed by Chris Weitz
- P.S. I Love You (2007) – directed by Richard LaGravenese
- The Family That Preys (2008) – directed by Tyler Perry
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) – directed by Scott Derrickson
- Revolutionary Road (2008) – directed by Sam Mendes
- Personal Effects (2008) – directed by David Hollander
- Chéri (2009) – directed by Stephen Frears
- The Blind Side (2009) – directed by John Lee Hancock
- The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club (2009) – directed by Amanda Pope – documentary – narrator
- Alice (2010) – directed by Nick Willing – miniseries
- Valentine’s Day (2010) – directed by Garry Marshall
- Midnight in Paris (2011) – directed by Woody Allen
- A Little Bit of Heaven (2011) – directed by Nicole Kassell
- You May Not Kiss the Bride (2011) – directed by Rob Hedden
- Cadaver (2012) – directed by John D. Ansell – short
- Tammy (2014) – directed by Ben Falcone
- When Marnie Was There (2014) – directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi
- Boychoir (2015) – directed by François Girard
- The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015) – directed by Stephen Herek
- Complete Unknown (2016) – directed by Joshua Marston
- The Boss (2016) – directed by Ben Falcone
- Bad Santa 2 (2016) – directed by Mark Waters
- Krystal (2017) – directed by William H. Macy
- Moose (2018) – directed by John D. Ansell – short
- The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018) – directed by Xavier Dolan
- On the Basis of Sex (2018) – directed by Mimi Leder
- The Highwaymen (2019) – directed by John Lee Hancock
- Richard Jewell (2019) – directed by Clint Eastwood
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