Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress and director. She has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she studied theatre at the Southern Methodist University before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career. She landed minor stage roles before being cast in her first on screen role in Taking Off (1971). Her first Off-Broadway stage performance was in the 1976 production of Vanities. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, she continued to perform on screen and on stage, and garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play in 1983 for her performance in 'night, Mother, and won an Obie Award in 1988 for her performance in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.
Bates' performance as Annie Wilkes in the tense psychological thriller Misery (1990) marked her Hollywood breakthrough, winning her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Further acclaim came for her starring role in Dolores Claiborne (1995), The Waterboy (1998), and supporting roles in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Titanic (1997). Bates received subsequent Oscar nods in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work in Primary Colors (1998), About Schmidt (2002), and Richard Jewell (2019).
Bates' television work has resulted in 14 Emmy Award nominations, including two for her leading role on the NBC series Harry's Law (2011–12). She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance on the ninth season of Two and a Half Men (2012) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her portrayal of Delphine LaLaurie on the third season of American Horror Story (2013). She also received accolades for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in the 1999 television adaptation of Annie. Her directing credits include several episodes of the HBO television series Six Feet Under (2001–03) and the television film Ambulance Girl (2005).
as Babs
as Madeline 'Matty' Matlock(35 eps)
as Edith Wilson
as Leila Ford
as Ginny Moon
as Self(1 ep)
as Self (archive footage)
as Eileen Dunne
as Sylvia Simon
as Self(1 ep)
as Bernadette
as Self (archive footage)
as Bobi Jewell
as Self(1 ep)
as Ma Ferguson
as Barbara Haggermaker
as Dorothy Kenyon
as Vera
as Ruth(20 eps)
as Joan Blondell(5 eps)
as Sunny Soke
as Nina
as Self(1 ep)
as Ida Marquette
as Maime Trotter
as Self - Guest(1 ep)
as Self(1 ep)
as Headmistress
as Self(1 ep)
as Self – Stella Mae (archive footage)
as Lenore
as Beth
as Self
as Delphine LaLaurie(26 eps)
as Ethel Darling(13 eps)
as Iris(12 eps)
as Agnes Mary Winstead(10 eps)
as Miriam Mead / Delphine LaLaurie(10 eps)
as Gertrude Stein
as Bryan's Mother
as Beverly Corbett
as Harriet 'Harry' Korn(34 eps)
as Kay(1 ep)
as Susan
as Pancho Barnes (Voice)
as Queen of Hearts(2 eps)
as Miss Sue
as Self - Guest(1 ep)
as Madame Peloux
as Gloria
as Mrs. Helen Givings
as Regina Jackson
as Charlotte Cartwright
as Self(1 ep)
as Hester (voice)
as Patricia
as Mother Claus
as Janet Benson (voice)
as Miss Dowdy (voice)
as Mrs. Fowler(3 eps)
as The Judge
as Self (archive footage)(1 ep)
as Bitsy the Cow (voice)
as Margene Cunningham
as Agnes Menure
as Sue
as Aunt Mitsy (uncredited)
as Herself
as Jane Stern
as Helena Mahoney
as Jo Bennett(8 eps)
as D.O. Rothy (voice)(1 ep)
as Narrator (voice)
as The Marquesa
as Narrator (voice)
as Siren / Sea Hag (voice)
as Kippie Kann
as Queen Victoria
as Narrator
as Charlie Harper(1 ep)
as Self(1 ep)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self
as Self - Guest(1 ep)
as Self
as Mary Ann Bankhead
as Roberta Hertzel
as Grace Beasley
as Mrs. Belmont
as Herself
as Christine Chapman
as Ma James
as The Squirrel Lady (uncredited)
as Bettina(11 eps)
as Frances Marion (voice)
as Mother Superior
as Miss Agatha Hannigan
as Mrs. Mellon
as Bankruptcy Judge (uncredited)
as Mama Boucher
as Raphaella, the Magic Bunny
as Self
as Libby Holden
as Miss Swaffer
as Molly Brown
as Self(2 eps)
as Patrol Officer Jane Cooper (voice)(1 ep)
as Maurine Collier
as Self(1 ep)
as Det. Shirley Vogel
as Helen Kushnick
as Charlotte Everly(1 ep)
as Mr. Goo
as Stuart's Grandma(1 ep)
as Meg Bethune
as Big Eight (segment "Rodeo")
as Dolores Claiborne
as Ella Tate
as Self(1 ep)
as Alaskan Mom
as Rae Flowers (uncredited)(1 ep)
as Frances Lacey
as Bibby Berman
as Peggy Say
as Leah Blier
as Narrator (voice)(1 ep)
as Evelyn Couch
as Hazel Quarrier
as Prostitute
as Elsa Barlow
as Annie Wilkes
as Rosemary
as Mrs. Green
as Lisa Coleman
as Bonnie Cooper
as Jill
as Jessie
as Mary Beth Alder
as Narrator (voice)(1 ep)
as Narrator(1 ep)
as Mrs. Canby
as Helen Blake
as Ruth
as Bobbi Birk
as Bobbi Birk(2 eps)
as Woman on Mateo Street
as Charlotte Haley(1 ep)
as Katherine Kovacs
as Furniture Man's Wife
as Stella Mae
as Polly Miller(2 eps)
as Mary Beth Alder(1 ep)
as Selma Darin
as Sally Allison(1 ep)
as Audition Singer
as Self(1 ep)
as Self(2 eps)
as Self(5 eps)
as Christine Chapman(1 ep)
as Self(1 ep)
as Self - Nominee / Presenter(2 eps)
as Self(1 ep)
as Self - Nominee(1 ep)
as Self - Audience Member(1 ep)
as Self - Winner(1 ep)