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).

Filmography

• 2024A Family Affair — Leila Ford
• Matlock — Madeline 'Matty' Matlock, Executive Producer
• 2024Summer Camp — Ginny Moon
• 2024The Great Lillian Hall — Edith Wilson, Executive Producer
• 2023Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. — Sylvia Simon
• 2023The Miracle Club — Eileen Dunne
• 2021Home — Bernadette
• 2019Richard Jewell — Bobi Jewell
• 2019The Death & Life of John F. Donovan — Barbara Haggermaker
• 2019The Highwaymen — Ma Ferguson
• 2018Krystal — Vera
• 2018On the Basis of Sex — Dorothy Kenyon
• Disjointed — Ruth
• FEUD — Joan Blondell
• 2016Bad Santa 2 — Sunny Soke
• 2016Complete Unknown — Nina
• 2016The Boss — Ida Marquette
• 2015Boychoir — Headmistress
• 2015The Great Gilly Hopkins — Maime Trotter
• 2014Tammy — Lenore
• 2012Cadaver — Beth
• 2011A Little Bit of Heaven — Beverly Corbett
• American Horror Story — Delphine LaLaurie, Ethel Darling, Iris, Agnes Mary Winstead, Miriam Mead / Delphine LaLaurie
• Harry's Law — Harriet 'Harry' Korn
• 2011Midnight in Paris — Gertrude Stein
• 2011You May Not Kiss the Bride — Bryan's Mother
• Mike & Molly — Kay
• 2010Valentine's Day — Susan
• Alice — Queen of Hearts
• 2009Chéri — Madame Peloux
• 2009Personal Effects — Gloria
• 2009The Blind Side — Miss Sue
• 2009The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club — Pancho Barnes (Voice)
• 2008Revolutionary Road — Mrs. Helen Givings
• 2008The Day the Earth Stood Still — Regina Jackson
• 2008Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys — Charlotte Cartwright
• 2007Bee Movie — Janet Benson (voice)
• 2007Christmas Is Here Again — Miss Dowdy (voice)
• 2007Fred Claus — Mother Claus
• 2007Guilty Hearts — The Judge
• 2007P.S. I Love You — Patricia
• The Big Bang Theory — Mrs. Fowler
• 2007The Golden Compass — Hester (voice)
• 2006Bonneville — Margene Cunningham
• 2006Charlotte's Web — Bitsy the Cow (voice)
• 2006Failure to Launch — Sue
• 2006Relative Strangers — Agnes Menure
• 2005Ambulance Girl — Jane Stern, Director
• American Dad! — D.O. Rothy (voice)
• 2005Hansel and Gretel — Narrator (voice)
• 2005Rumor Has It... — Aunt Mitsy (uncredited)
• The Office — Jo Bennett
• 2005Warm Springs — Helena Mahoney
• 2004Around the World in 80 Days — Queen Victoria
• 2004Little Black Book — Kippie Kann
• 2004Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy — Siren / Sea Hag (voice)
• 2004The Bridge of San Luis Rey — The Marquesa
• 2004The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing — Narrator (voice)
• 2004Tupperware! — Narrator
• 2003Fargo — Director
• Two and a Half Men — Charlie Harper
• 2002About Schmidt — Roberta Hertzel
• 2002Dragonfly — Mrs. Belmont
• Everwood — Director
• 2002Love Liza — Mary Ann Bankhead
• 2002My Sister's Keeper — Christine Chapman
• 2002Unconditional Love — Grace Beasley
• 2001American Outlaws — Ma James
• 2001Rat Race — The Squirrel Lady (uncredited)
• Six Feet Under — Bettina, Director
• 2000Bruno — Mother Superior
• 2000Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood — Frances Marion (voice)
• 1999Annie — Miss Agatha Hannigan
• 1999Baby Steps — Mrs. Mellon
• 1999Dash and Lilly — Director
• 1998A Civil Action — Bankruptcy Judge (uncredited)
• 1998Primary Colors — Libby Holden
• 1998Swept from the Sea — Miss Swaffer
• 1998The Effects of Magic — Raphaella, the Magic Bunny
• 1998The Waterboy — Mama Boucher
• King of the Hill — Patrol Officer Jane Cooper (voice)
• Oz — Director
• 1997Titanic — Molly Brown
• 3rd Rock from the Sun — Charlotte Everly
• 1996Diabolique — Det. Shirley Vogel
• 1996The Late Shift — Helen Kushnick
• 1996The War at Home — Maurine Collier
• 1995Angus — Meg Bethune
• 1995Dolores Claiborne — Dolores Claiborne
• MADtv — Stuart's Grandma
• 1995Talking With — Big Eight (segment "Rodeo"), Director
• 1995The West Side Waltz — Mr. Goo
• 1994Curse of the Starving Class — Ella Tate
• 1994North — Alaskan Mom
• The Stand — Rae Flowers (uncredited)
• 1993A Home of Our Own — Frances Lacey
• Homicide: Life on the Street — Director
• 1993Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun — Lunar Mom
• NYPD Blue — Director
• 1992Hostages — Peggy Say
• 1992Prelude to a Kiss — Leah Blier
• Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories — Narrator (voice)
• 1992Used People — Bibby Berman
• 1991At Play in the Fields of the Lord — Hazel Quarrier
• 1991Fried Green Tomatoes — Evelyn Couch
• 1991Shadows and Fog — Prostitute
• 1991The Road to Mecca — Elsa Barlow
• 1990Dick Tracy — Mrs. Green
• 1990Men Don't Leave — Lisa Coleman
• 1990Misery — Annie Wilkes
• 1990White Palace — Rosemary
• 1989High Stakes — Jill
• 1989No Place Like Home — Bonnie Cooper
• 1989Roe vs. Wade — Jessie
• 1989Signs of Life — Mary Beth Alder
• American Experience — Narrator (voice)
• 1988Arthur 2: On the Rocks — Mrs. Canby
• China Beach
• 1987Murder Ordained — Bobbi Birk
• Murder Ordained — Bobbi Birk
• 1987My Best Friend Is a Vampire — Helen Blake
• 1987Summer Heat — Ruth
• 1986Johnny Bull — Katherine Kovacs
• L.A. Law — Charlotte Haley
• 1986The Morning After — Woman on Mateo Street
• 1983Two of a Kind — Furniture Man's Wife
• American Playhouse — Mary Beth Alder
• Cagney & Lacey
• 1982Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean — Stella Mae
• St. Elsewhere — Polly Miller
• 1978Straight Time — Selma Darin
• The Love Boat — Sally Allison
• 1971Taking Off — Audition Singer
• Hallmark Hall of Fame — Christine Chapman
• Scholastic Storybook Treasures: The Classic Collection
• The Smack — Babs

Appearances as themselves (34)

• 2025Rob Reiner – Scenes from a Life — Self
• Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter — Self
• 2023Titanic: Stories from the Heart — Self (archive footage)
• The Jennifer Hudson Show — Self
• 2021Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony — Self (archive footage)
• The Kelly Clarkson Show — Self
• Chelsea — Self
• Lip Sync Battle — Self
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self - Guest
• 2014Return to the 5 & Dime: An Interview with Ed Graczyk — Self – Stella Mae (archive footage)
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors — Self
• 2012Reflections on Titanic — Self
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen — Self - Guest
• Stand Up to Cancer — Self
• Chelsea Lately — Self (archive footage)
• 2005Six Feet Under: In Memoriam — Herself
• 2003Celebrity Naked Ambition — Self (archive footage)
• 2003Declaration of Independence — Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self - Guest
• 2003Misery Loves Company — Self
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show — Self
• 2002Making Rat Race — Herself
• 1998Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes — Self
• 1998Titanic: Breaking New Ground — Self
• 1997Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life — Self
• The View — Self
• The Daily Show — Self
• 1996The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful — Self
• Inside the Actors Studio — Self
• Great Performances — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
• The Oscars — Self
• The Emmy Awards — Self
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Nominee / Presenter, Self - Audience Member, Self - Winner