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Bette Davis was one of the most famous and talented actresses of Hollywood’s golden age. Born in 1908, she had a long and illustrious career that spanned over 50 years.
She burst onto the silver screen in the 1930s, quickly making a name for herself with her strong personality, piercing eyes, and undeniable talent. Some of Bette’s most iconic films include Jezebel, All About Eve, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. In these movies, she delivered some of the most memorable performances in cinema history, earning herself two Academy Awards for Best Actress.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, directed by Robert Aldrich, is a vintage piece of horror that went on to become a critical and commercial hit. Davis earned her tenth and final Academy Award nomination for her role in the movie.
The film capitalized on the grotesque and the glamorous. Playing opposite her longtime rival, Joan Crawford, Davis embraced the role of Baby Jane Hudson, an unhinged former child star whose descent into madness and jealousy towards her sister leads to a tragic confrontation. As the film unfolds, we see Jane clinging desperately to her faded glory.
Bette Davis reinvents herself
At 54, Davis was playing a character who was supposed to be much older. Baby Jane was a washed-up, delusional old woman, complete with caked-on makeup, frilly dresses, and a face that looked like it had seen better days. But that’s the magic of Bette Davis – she completely embodied the character, bringing a sense of pathos and desperation to the role that made it impossible to look away.
The film was a bit of a gamble for Davis. At the time, she and Crawford were considered “old Hollywood” and their careers were on the decline. However, the film’s success proved that Bette could now establish herself in the horror genre. In fact, she did exactly that by taking on some other intense roles in movies like Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) and The Nanny (1965).
Bette continued acting in films, television, and theater until the late 1980s. She had a few flops, and a few projects that didn’t quite live up to expectations. But that never stopped her from giving it her all. One of her last, really memorable roles was in the 1987 movie The Whales of August, where she starred opposite another Hollywood legend, Lillian Gish. Bette was in her late 70s at the time.
She kept working right up until the very end. Her last film appearance was in the 1989 movie Wicked Stepmother (comedy/horror), where she played – you guessed it – a wicked stepmother. Sadly, Bette passed away later that year at the age of 81.
Her legacy still lives on as she has not only challenged Hollywood’s norms but also set a new standard for character portrayal that actors of all ages could aspire to.