Kathy Bates

Kathy Bates (birthname: Kathleen Doyle Bates), one of the only nominees for the so-called “Triple Crown of Acting” (Tony, Oscar, Emmy), presents a dramatic example of a gifted, determined actor who struggled for over twenty years to make a name for herself as a top-line movie actor, after several minor and supporting roles in several major films including Milos Forman’s Taking Off (1971), Ulu Grosbard’s Straight Time (1978), Robert Altman’s Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean. Jimmy Dean (1982), Sidney Lumet’s The Morning After (1986), the Bud Yorkin-directed sequel, Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), co-writer/director Paul Brickman’s Men Don’t Leave (1990), Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990), and White Palace (1990), directed by Luis Mandoki and co-written by Ted Tally and Alvin Sargent.

Bates’ startling breakthrough arrived with her Best Actress Oscar-winning performance in the big-screen version of Stephen King’s Misery (1990), co-starring James Caan, with Frances Sternhagen, Richard Farnsworth, and Lauren Bacall, under Rob Reiner’s direction, and grossing $61.3 million globally for Columbia Pictures.

Bates joined the ensemble of Woody Allen’s black-and-white Shadows and Fog (1991), with Allen, John Cusack, Mia Farrow, Jodie Foster, Fred Gwynne, Julie Kavner, Madonna, John Malkovich, Kenneth Mars, Kate Nelligan, Donald Pleasence, and Lily Tomlin, and which lost money for distributors Orion Pictures and Columbia Pictures with a poor $2.7 million. Bates played with another ensemble in co-writer/director Hector Babenco’s screen version of Peter Matthiessen’s novel, At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991), co-starring Tom Berenger, John Lithgow, Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn, and Tom Waits, but which was a box-office bomb with a $1.3 million return on a $36 million budget for Universal Pictures.

Kathy Bates nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for best actress for her lead performance in the comedy-drama, Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), co-starring Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, and Cicely Tyson, and grossing a healthy $119.4 million. Bates performed with South African playwright-director-actor Athol Fugard in The Road to Mecca (1991). Bates co-starred in another stage-to-screen adaptation of Craig Lucas’s Prelude to a Kiss (1992), with Meg Ryan, Alec Baldwin, Ned Beatty, and Patty Duke, which turned a solid gross of $22.7 million for 20^th Century Fox.

Bates continued her involvement in big-screen theater adaptations as a co-star in Used People (1992), the Beeban Kidron-directed version of Todd Graff’s 1988 play, The Grandma Plays, co-starring Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Tandy, Marcello Mastroianni, Marcia Gay Harden, Sylvia Sidney, and Joe Pantoliano, and returning a $28 million gross for 20^th Century Fox. Bates then starred under Tony Bill’s direction in the family drama, A Home of Our Own (1993), with Edward Furlong, Soon-Tek Oh, and Sarah Schaub, distributed by Gramercy Pictures and produced by A&M Films and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.

Kathy Bates reunited with director-producer Rob Reiner for the globe-trotting comedy-drama, North (1994), co-starring Elijah Wood, Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Graham Greene, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Reba McIntyre, John Ritter, and Bruce Willis, and proving to be a money-loser ($12 million return on $50 million costs) for Columbia Pictures/Castle Rock Entertainment/New Line Cinema. Bates racked up another of her several stage-to-screen performances as a co-star in the J. Michael McClary-directed film version of Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class (1994), with James Woods, Randy Quaid, Henry Thomas, and Louis Gossett Jr.

Bates took on the title role (in what she has declared her favorite of her film performances) in director-producer Taylor Hackford’s movie version of Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne (1995), with Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Strathairn, John C. Reilly, Eric Bogosian, and Christopher Plummer, and scoring at the box office with a robust $46.4 million for Columbia Pictures. Bates played opposite George C. Scott in the coming-of-age comedy, Angus (1995), directed by Patrick Read Johnson and earning a solid $5 million global gross for New Line Cinema and Entertainment Film Distributors.

Kathy Bates played opposite Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani in the Hollywood remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1955 French thriller, Diabolique (1996), co-starring Chazz Palminteri, Spalding Gray, and Allen Garfield, produced by Morgan Creek Productions and released by Warner Bros. Bates—after starring in The War at Home (1996), the little-seen Vietnam War-era drama co-starring Martin Sheen under son Emilio Estevez’s direction—reunited with director Beeban Kidron in the Joseph Conrad adaptation, Swept from the Sea (1997), with Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellan, and Joss Ackland, and was released by Sony/TriStar after a Toronto film festival premiere.

Bates joined the large cast of James Cameron’s box-office champion, Titanic (1997), starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet, with Billy Zane, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, David Warner, and Bill Paxton, and earning a record-breaking $2.2 billion worldwide as well as winning eleven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. Bates earned another Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actress) for her colorful turn in Mike Nichols’ and Elaine May’s version of Joe Klein’s political memoir, Primary Colors (1998), starring John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Adrian Lester, Maura Tierney, Paul Guilfoyle, and Larry Hagman, grossing a mediocre $52 million for Universal Pictures.

Kathy Bates co-starred in one of the most commercially successful movies in her filmography with the Adam Sandler comedy vehicle, The Waterboy (1998), with Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed, and Henry Winkler, co-written by star Sandler and directed by Frank Coraci, and grossing a global take of $190 million for Touchstone/Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Bates reunited as co-star with director-star Shirley MacLaine for the comedy, The Dress Code (2000), and then Bates played support in her first Western, American Outlaws (2001), with Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, Ali Larter, Harris Yulin, and Timothy Dalton under Les Mayfield’s direction, and losing money for Warner Bros. with a poor $13.6 million against $35 million costs.

Bates joined Philip Seymour Hoffman as leads in the American indie tragicomedy directed by Todd Louiso, Love Liza (2002), with J.D. Walsh and Stephen Tobolowsky, and winning the best screenplay prize at the Sundance Film Festival for writer Gordy Hoffman. Bates played support in the Tom Shadyac-directed Dragonfly (2002), starring Kevin Costner, Joe Morton, Ron Rifkin, and Linda Hunt, grossing a feeble $52 million for Universal Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment.

Kathy Bates earned another Best Supporting Actress nomination for her superb performance in Alexander Payne’s fine comedy-drama starring Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt (2022), loosely based on Louis Begley’s novel, and featuring Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, June Squibb, Howard Hesseman, and Len Cariou, and earning a global gross of $105.8 million after premiering at the Cannes film festival.

Bates jumped The Pond to Britain to co-star with Rupert Everett in co-writer/director P.J. Hogan’s comedy, Unconditional Love (2002), followed by another British turn as Queen Victoria in the Frank Coraci-directed remake of Around the World in 80 Days (2004), starring Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cecile de France, Jim Broadbent, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Cleese, Will Forte, Sammy Hung, Rob Schneider, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson.

Bates continued in the comedy vein with a supporting role in Columbia Pictures/Sony’s Little Black Book (2004), starring Brittany Murphy, Holly Hunter, and Ron Livingston, followed by Bates swerving to high costume drama in the poorly-received French-Spanish-British screen version of Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004), co-starring Robert De Niro, Gabriel Byrne, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, and Geraldine Chaplin, underwriter Mary McGuckian’s direction.

Kathy Bates returned to comedy as part of the cast of Paramount’s successful $130 million-grossing rom-com, Failure to Launch (2006), with Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, and Terry Bradshaw. Then Bates jumped aboard co-writer/director Glen Glienna’s comedy, Relative Strangers (2006), starring Danny DeVito, Ron Livingston, and Neve Campbell, produced by Jersey Films and released by First Look Studios.

Bates joined with Jessica Lange and Joan Allen in co-writer/director Christopher N. Rowley’s comedy-drama, Bonneville (2006), premiering at the Toronto Film Festival and grossing a poor $1.3 million global return. Bates voiced Bitsy in the big-screen version of the beloved children’s tale, Charlotte’s Web (2006), with the voices of Julia Roberts, Dakota Fanning, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric the Entertainer, Reba McIntyre, Robert Redford, Thomas Haden Church, and André Benjamin under Gary Winick’s direction, earning a mediocre $150 million theatrically (against $85 million costs for Paramount Pictures.

Kathy Bates voiced roles in two additional features the following year: in DreamWorks Animation’s Bee Movie (2007); and in writer-director Chris Weitz’s fantasy adventure, The Golden Compass (2007), starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, and Ian McKellan. Bates, in live-action mode, played Mrs. Claus in the poorly-received holiday comedy, Fred Claus (2007), starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, and Kevin Spacey, but which lost money ($97 million gross against $100 million costs) for Silver Pictures/Warner Bros.

Bates played Holly Hunter’s mom in director-writer Richard LaGravenese’s hit screen version of Cecelia Ahem’s comedy-drama, P.S. I Love You (2007), with Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Harry Connick Jr., Gina Gershon, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, amassing a strong $157 million gross (on a $30 million budget) for Warner Bros./Summit Entertainment distributors. Bates teamed with filmmaker Tyler Perry and co-star Alfre Woodard for the comedy-drama, The Family That Preys (2008), with Sanaa Lathan, Cole Hauser, Robin Givens, Taraji P. Henson, and Perry, and grossing $37 million for distributor Lionsgate.

Kathy Bates added to her roster of diverse characters with her role as Secretary of Defense in the 20^th Century Fox remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), with Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, and Jon Hamm under Scott Derrickson’s direction, grossing a solid $233 million global return. Bates reunited with cast mates Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet in the fine screen version of Richard Yates’s modern classic novel, Revolutionary Road (2008), directed and co-produced by Sam Mendes, and earning Oscar and Globe nominations and rave reviews despite a poor $80 million box office for Paramount Pictures.

Bates co-starred with Michelle Pfeiffer and Ashton Kutcher in writer-director David Hollander’s drama, Personal Effects (2008), based on Rick Moody’s story, “Mansion on the Hill,” and then Bates and Pfeiffer joined up again for the cast of Chéri (2009), directed by Stephen Frears and written by Christopher Hampton, with Rupert Friend and Felicity Jones, and which premiered at the Berlin film festival before a disappointing global release returning $9.4 million. Bates played with Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, and Quinton Aaron in director-writer John Lee Hancock’s hit drama, The Blind Side (2009), based on Michael Lewis’s 2006 book, gaining a powerhouse $309 million global gross for Warner Bros.

Kathy Bates joined the large comedy ensemble of director Garry Marshall’s panned but commercially successful ($216.5 million gross) Valentine’s Day (2010), co-starring Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, and Taylor Swift. Bates reunited with filmmaker Woody Allen as part of the ensemble of Midnight in Paris (2011), including Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, and Owen Wilson, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before grossing a hefty $151.7 million for Sony Pictures Classics and several other distributors worldwide.

Bates appeared in a few little-seen movies such as You May Not Kiss the Bride (2011) and A Little Bit of Heaven (2011) before playing support in the Melissa McCarthy comedy, Tammy (2014), with Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, Mark Duplass, Gary Cole, Toni Collette, Sandra Oh, under co-writer Ben Falcone’s direction, and grossing a solid $100.3 million globally for Warner Bros./New Line Cinema. Bates voiced a role in the English dub version of Studio Ghibli’s animated drama, When Marnie Was There (2014), co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, and then Bates co-starred with Dustin Hoffman in the Francois Girard-directed drama, Boychoir (2014), with Debra Winger, Garrett Wareing, Eddie Izzard, Kevin McHale, and Josh Lucas, and released by Mongrel Media after premiering at the Toronto film festival.

Kathy Bates co-starred in the Stephen Herek-directed comedy-drama, The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015), with Octavia Spencer, Glenn Close, and Julia Stiles, and then Bates rejoined Melissa McCarthy for another McCarthy-Ben Falcone-written-and-directed comedy, The Boss (2016), with Kristen Bell and Peter Dinklage, and grossing a good $79 million global gross for Universal Pictures. Bates soon co-starred with Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon, and Danny Glover in filmmaker Joshua Marston’s mystery, Complete Unknown (2016), premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and released by IFC Films/Amazon Studios.

Bates co-starred in her second Santa Claus-themed comedy and sequel, Bad Santa 2 (2016), starring Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, and Christina Hendricks, under Mark Waters’ direction, but failed to deliver at the box office with only $24 million returns (on a $26 million budget). Bates co-starred with Rosario Dawson, Nick Robinson, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy (who also directed), Rick Fox, and William Fichtner in the coming-of-age comedy-drama, Krystal (2017), followed by Bates taking on a supporting role in Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan’s first English-language film, The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018), with Kit Harrington, Natalie Portman, Jacob Tremblay, and Susan Sarandon, and after premiering at the Toronto film festival returned poor box office returns of $3.3 million globally.

Kathy Bates played a major supporting role in the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic, based on Sex (2018), with Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, and Sam Waterston under Mimi Leder’s direction, and earning a fair $39 million global gross for Focus Features. Bates then joined co-stars Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson for the period crime drama surrounding the Bonnie & Clyde crime spree, The Highwaymen (2019), written by John Fusco and directed by John Lee Hancock, and released in limited theatrical by Netflix.

Bates was once again nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar (and won the National Board of Review prize) for her performance in Clint Eastwood’s drama, Richard Jewell (2019), written by Billy Ray and co-starring Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde, and grossed $44 million for Warner Bros. Pictures after premiering at AFI Fest.

Bates co-starred under co-writer Franka Potente’s direction in the German-French-Dutch co-production, Home (2020), and went on to co-star in the widely acclaimed movie adaptation of Judy Blume’s book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023), written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig and co-starring Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, and Benny Safdie, but grossing a poor $21.5 million for Lionsgate despite rave reviews.

Kathy Bates co-starred with Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, and Stephen Rea in the Thaddeus O’Sullivan-directed Irish-U.K co-production, The Miracle Club (2023), which premiered at the Tribeca film festival before a Lionsgate UK release with $6 million returns. Bates co-starred for the first time with Diane Keaton (and a second with Alfre Woodard) in the comedy, Summer Camp (2024), with writer Castille Landon directing a cast including Beverly D’Angelo, Nicole Richie, Josh Peck, Dennis Haysbert, and Eugene Levy.

Bates reunited with Jessica Lange, starring in The Great Lillian Hall (2024) title role, written by Elisabeth Seldes Annacone and directed by Michael Cristofer, with Pierce Brosnan, Lily Rabe, and Jesse Williams. Bates took on the title role of the Ken Kwapis-directed biopic drama, Thelma (date to be announced), based on the life of the mother of late novelist John Kennedy Toole, co-starring Lewis Pullman, Tim Blake Nelson, Anna Sophia Robb, John Malkovich, and Stephen Root.