Born Kathleen Doyle Bates in Memphis, Tennessee on June 28, 1948, the third child of a mechanical engineer and a homemaker, Kathy Bates’ paternal grandfather was writer Finis Bates. A great-great grandfather was Andrew Jackson’s physician in New Orleans.
Majoring in theatre at Southern Methodist University from which she graduated in 1969, Bates immediately moved to New York to pursue an acting career. She made her film debut as “Bobo” Bates in Milos Forman’s 1971 film, Taking Off in which she made a strong impression introducing the song “And Even the Horses Had Wings”, but it was a false start to her career. The film, though well received by critics, failed to stir the box-office and she struggled for years in minor stage roles, not making another film until 1978’s Straight Time. That film was also liked by critics but ignored by audiences. Audiences did notice her in the 1982 cult hit, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean in which she repeated the role she originated on Broadway, but only a few minor film and TV roles followed until 1990 when she made strong impressions in support of Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon, respectively, in Men Don’t Leave and White Palace. She closed out the year with her first starring role in Misery for which she won a surprise Oscar.
Bates had been passed over for the starring roles in the film version of her most famous Broadway role in ’night, Mother when it was filmed in 1986 with Sissy Spacek instead. Now better known, she hoped to star in the film version of her off-Broadway hit, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, but was replaced by a deglamorized Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1991 film version with the shortened title of Frankie and Johnny. She did, however, rebound with a co-starring role opposite Jessica Tandy in 1991’s Fried Green Tomatoes. She played well-received leads in 1993’s A Home of Our Own and 1995’s Dolores Claiborne, but her post-Oscar career has mostly been in supporting roles, albeit showier ones than pre-Oscar. In 1997 she played the unsinkable Molly Brown in the box-office phenomenon, Titanic and received further Oscar nominations for her supporting work in 1998’s Primary Colors and 2001’s About Schmidt.
The actress has made many successful appearances on TV, most notably as Miss Hannigan in the 1999 version of Annie and as different characters in four seasons of American Horror Story. Nominated for an Emmy twelve times, she won twice for a 2012 guest appearance on Two and a Half Men and for the 2014 iteration of American Horror Story, subtitled Coven.
Bates received a surprise Oscar nomination as the mother of the titled suspected bomber in 2019’s Richard Jewell. She received strong notices for her roles in two 2023 films, Are You There God?, It’s Me, Margaret and The Miracle Club and rose to new heights as the geriatric lawyer in the 1924 hit TV series, Matlock.
Coming up for the actress are more episodes of Matlock, another American Horror Story, and a new film, The Smack with Teyana Taylor and fellow Oscar winners Sam Rockwell, Casey Affleck, and Maria Tomei.
Kathy Bates is riding high at 77.
ESSENTIAL FILMS
MISERY (1990), directed by Rob Reiner
The Oscar front-runners for Best Actress of 1990 were considered to be former winners Joanne Woodward in Mr. & Mrs. Bridge and Anjelica Huston in The Grifters, but then along came the Golden Globes and 42-year-old sudden movie star Kathy Bates came seemingly out of nowhere to win for her portrayal of novelist James Caan’s No. 1 fan turned torturer in the film version of Stephen King’s novel with a screenplay by two-time Oscar winner William Goldman. Bates also excelled this year in key supporting roles in Men Don’t Leave and White Palace.
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1991), directed by Jon Avnet
This film version of Fannie Flagg’s novel earned 1989 Best Actress Oscar winner Jessica Tandy an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The Golden Globes and BAFTA nominated both Oscar winners, the Globes nominating Bates for Best Actress and Tandy for Best Supporting Actress while BAFTA nominated Tandy for Best Actress and Bates for Best Supporting Actress. The film’s narrative tells the tale of different generations of women, in the present with Tandy and Bates, and in the past with Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker. Bates’ parking lot confrontation with two younger women is a classic comic moment.
DOLORES CLAIBORNE (1995), directed by Taylor Hackford
Bates may have won her Oscar for Misery, but this is by far the better screen version of a Stephen King novel, this one with a screenplay by Tony Gilroy (Nightcrawler) that provided the actress with all she needed to give a tour-de-force performance as a woman arrested for the murder of an older woman. Bates is extraordinary as the character both in the present and in flashbacks with marvelous assist from Jennifer Jason Leigh as her daughter, David Strathairn as her evil husband and especially Judy Parfait as the murdered woman. Bates and Leigh were nominated for Saturn awards for their performances.
ABOUT SCHMIDT (2001), directed by Alexander Payne
Writer/director Payne’s film from Louis Begley’s novel opens with businessman Jack Nicholson retiring from his job and then losing his wife (June Squibb) who dies in her sleep. All alone now, he decides to go on a journey to attend estranged daughter Hope Davis’s wedding to simpleton Durmot Mulroney where he lives with his overbearing mother (Kathy Bates). Nicholson’s performance earned him his twelfth Oscar nomination, his last in his brilliant career as the reluctant father of the bride. Bates earned her third Oscar nomination, due in large part to her infamous nude scene in a hot tub with a shocked Nicolson.
THE MIRACLE CLUB (2023), directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan
This was Maggie Smith’s last film. The late great actress, still at the peak of her talent, was top-billed over Laura Linney and Bates but all three really shine in this nicely done comedy-drama about a group of women from the small Irish town of Ballygar who take a long planned trip to Lourdes. Joining them is Agnes O’Casey who all but steals the film from the veteran stars as the emotionally torn mother of a mute child (Eric Smith) who is also quite effective as are Mark McKenna as O’Casey’s husband and Stephen Rea as Bates’ husband. Brenda Fricker voices the dead woman whose funeral kicks off the drama.
KATHY BATES AND OSCAR
Misery (1990) – Oscar – Best Actress
Primary Colors (1998) – nominated – Best Supporting Actress
About Schmidt (2001) – nominated – Best Supporting Actress
Richard Jewell (2019) – nominated – Best Supporting Actress
