Davis, Bette (Ruth Elizabeth) (1908-1989)

US actor. She established a reputation as a forceful dramatic actor with Of Human Bondage (1934). Other films include Jezebel (1938, Academy Award), Now, Voyager (1942), and All About Eve (1950). Her screen trademarks were a clipped, precise diction and a flamboyant use of cigarettes.

She also appeared in Dangerous (1935, Academy Award), The Petrified Forest (1936), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Letter (1940), Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), and many others.

Her appeal to female audiences came from her portrayal of wilful, fiercely independent women who survived despite the adversities thrown at them. She published an autobiography, The Lonely Life in 1962. She was the recipient of the American Film Institute's life achievement award in 1977, and continued to make films throughout the 1980s.