Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948)[1] is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award and two BAFTA Awards.
For the songwriter, see Katharine Lee Bates.
Kathy Bates
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she studied theater at 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 role was in the play Vanities (1976). Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s she continued to perform on screen and on stage, and garnered a nomination for the Tony Award Best Lead Actress in a Play for 'night, Mother (1983), and won an Obie Award for her role in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1988).
She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes in the thriller Misery (1990). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in Primary Colors (1998), About Schmidt (2002), and Richard Jewell (2019). Her other notable films include Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1995), Titanic (1997), The Waterboy (1998), Revolutionary Road (2008), The Blind Side (2009), and Midnight in Paris (2011).
Bates is also known for her extensive work on television. She won her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the ninth season of Two and a Half Men (2012) and her second for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her portrayal of Delphine LaLaurie in American Horror Story: Coven (2013). Her other Emmy-nominated roles were in The Late Shift (1996), Annie (1999), Six Feet Under (2003), Warm Springs (2005), Harry's Law (2011–12), American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014), and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015).
Early life[edit]
Bates was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the youngest of three daughters of mechanical engineer Langdon Doyle Bates and homemaker Bertye Kathleen (née Talbert). Her paternal grandfather was lawyer and author Finis L. Bates. Her great-great-grandfather, an Irish immigrant to New Orleans, Louisiana, served as President Andrew Jackson's doctor.[2] She graduated early from White Station High School (1965) and from Southern Methodist University (1969), where she studied theater and became a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.[3] She moved to New York City in 1970 to pursue an acting career.[4] Bates is an alumna of the William Esper Studio for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York City.[5]
Reception and acting style[edit]
Since her universally acclaimed breakout role in Misery (1990), Bates has often been referred to by the media as one of America's most respected actresses.[46][47][48]
She has been praised for her ability to portray a wide range of characters across genres and performing media.[49][50] Bates ascribes this to her perceived lack of conventional beauty, which has allowed her to take on unconventional and interesting roles from the very beginning of her career.[51] Derek Malcolm of The Guardian noted that Bates emerged as a new kind of a film actress unrestrained by the necessity to be glamorous, a standard that had hitherto been expected of female screen stars. Referring to her acting talent, Malcolm added that, "[Bates] is a fine actress who knows that less in the way of a ‘performance’ is often more and that strong moments have to be severely rationed."[52] Roger Ebert suggested that her role of Annie Wilkes is a prime example of Bates' exceptional talent for versatility, commenting that she is "uncanny in her ability to switch, in an instant, from sweet solicitude to savage scorn".[53]
In addition to commending Bates for her versatility, critics have pointed to her remarkable talent for making her characters believable, no matter how strange or unconventional their personality may be.[54][55][56] Jacob Trussell of Film School Rejects notes how "truthful" Bates' performances are, observing that her ability to access a character's inner life enables her to "approach [them] from unique angles that can surprise even the writers who created them".[57]
Due to being theatrically trained, Bates tends to invest considerable time in studying the script, examining her given character's background, and rehearsing.[58][59]
Activism[edit]
In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; in the video, Bates and others told the stories of the people murdered there.[70][71]