Bette Davis

This article is about Bette Davis the actress; there is also a singer named Betty Davis.

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Ruth Elizabeth Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989), was an American actress of stage, screen and television.

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April 5 - 1908 - October 6 - 1989 - American - Actress - Stage - Screen - Television

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Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, she is better known as Bette Davis, this superstar was renowned for her intense, forceful persona and her artistic versitility during career that spanned six decades and over one hundred films. Founder of the Hollywood Canteen and one of the most beloved divas of cinema's Golden Age, Davis is most remembered as a symbol of feminist strength, stemming from her portrayals of ruthless, hysterical or unsympathetic women and her equally turbulent offscreen life that included several stormy marriages and legendary battles with male studio heads.

Related Topics:
Lowell, Massachusetts - Superstar - Hollywood Canteen

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Alternately referred to as the "Queen of Hollywood" or the "First Lady of the Screen," Davis for a time held the record most Oscar nominations (11) for Best Actress, since broken by Katharine Hepburn (12). To this day, Davis remains one of the most lauded and idolized stars in film history, having been the subject of one of the most successful #1 songs of pop history, "Bette Davis Eyes" (1981), as well as becoming the first woman to serve as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She was the first actress to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award (1979) from the American Film Institute, which in 1999 voted her the second greatest female film legend of all-time.

Related Topics:
Oscar - Best Actress - Katharine Hepburn - Bette Davis Eyes - 1981 - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - American Film Institute

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In 2004, Davis became the most represented actress on AFI's ballot of 100 Greatest Film Roles and in 2005 joined three others as the most represented actress on their ballot of 100 Greatest Film Quotes. Offscreen, Davis was the source of several now-famous quips about womanhood, acting, and Hollywood, often offered with biting wit. Villified by her critics as a histrionic, mannered overactor, she also suffered a reputation for being somewhat combative and difficult to work with. Despite this, according to respected film historian and critic Leonard Maltin "by the time she died Davis had won a status enjoyed by no other Hollywood actress" and many fans and film professionals still consider her the best screen actress of all time.

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