Honored numerous times for her work, Kathy Bates is an undeniable force on stage, screen and television. Bates won an Academy Award® and a Golden Globe® for her portrayal of obsessed fan, Annie Wilkes, in Rob Reiner’s 1990 hit Misery, based on Stephen King’s novel.
Bates can currently be seen starring in the critically acclaimed CBS Matlock. Bates has received rave reviews for her performance as “Madeline Matlock” bringing a fresh and unexpected take on a legal drama. Bates serves as an executive producer on the show, which has already been picked up for a second season.
Bates can also be seen in Michael Cristofer’s The Great Lillian Hall opposite Jessica Lange, Pierce Brosnan and Lily Rabe. The film is currently streaming on Max and features incredible performances from the entire cast. Additionally, Bates was recently seen in the Lionsgate feature adaption of Judy Blume’s classic novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret alongside, Rachel McAdams; Castille Landon’s comedy Summer Camp opposite Diane Keaton and Alfre Woodard as well as the Netflix Rom-Com A Family Affair with Nicole Kidman, Joey King and Zac Effron.
Bates received the National Board of Review Award, as well as an Oscar® and Golden Globe® nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Bobi Jewell in Clint Eastwood’s, Richard Jewell. Starring alongside Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde and Jon Hamm, the WB film is based on the 1997 article “American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell” by Marie Brenner published in Vanity Fair.
In 1999, for her performance in Mike Nichols’ Primary Colors, Bates received Oscar®, Golden Globe® and BAFTA nominations and won a Screen Actors Guild Award® and a Critics Choice Award. Bates earned her third Oscar® nomination for her role in Alexander Payne’s About Schmidt, for which she won a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as Golden Globe® and SAG Award® nominations.
Her film work has also been recognized with Golden Globe® and BAFTA Award nominations for Jon Avnet’s film of Fanny Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes, and she also shared a SAG Award® nomination with the ensemble cast of James Cameron’s all-time, top-grossing blockbuster Titanic, as well as a nomination for the ensemble of Woody Allen’s biggest success, Midnight in Paris.
Bates received her star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 20, 2016.
Additional film credits include: Dolores Claiborne with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Christopher Plummer; The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock; Stephen Frears’ period drama Cheri, in which she starred with Michelle Pfeiffer; Sam Mendes’ drama Revolutionary Road, which reunited her with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet; Adam Sandler’s The Waterboy; Robert Altman’s Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean; Straight Time with Dustin Hoffman and Milos Forman’s Taking Off.
On television, Bates has received 14 Emmy® nominations, winning her first in 2003 playing the Ghost of Charlie Harper in Chuck Lorre’s Two and a Half Men. Bates won rave reviews and her second Emmy® as the deliciously evil Madame LaLaurie in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: Coven on FX. She received two more Emmy® nods for Ethel in American Horror Story: Freak Show and Irisin American Horror Story: Hotel.
For the 1996 HBO film, The Late Shift, Bates won a Golden Globe® and a SAG Award® as well as an Emmy® nomination. Her television honors also include Emmy®, Golden Globe® and SAG Award® nominations for her performance as Miss Hannigan in The Wonderful World of Disney musical Annie.
Bates has also been honored for her work behind the camera as a director. She helmed the A&E telefilm Dash and Lily, starring Sam Shepard and Judy Davis, which earned nine Emmy® nominations, including one for Bates as Best Director. She also directed five episodes of the acclaimed HBO series Six Feet Under, earning a Directors Guild of America Award® nomination for the episode entitled “Twilight.” Her directing credits also include episodes of such series as Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street and PBS: Great Performances.
Bates first gained the attention of critics and audiences on the New York stage starring as Joanne in Jack Heifner’s Vanities – one of the longest-running plays in Off-Broadway history. She was nominated for a Tony® Award for her portrayal of the suicidal daughter in the original Broadway production of Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play ‘night, Mother. She has been honored with an Obie® Award for her performance as Frankie in the original Off-Broadway production of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. She portrayed Elsa Barlow in Athol Fugard’s The Road to Mecca and starred with Fugard and Yvonne Bryceland in the film.
For the past several years, Bates has served as the National Spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network (LE&RN). LE&RN is an internationally recognized non-profit organization founded in 1998 to fight lymphatic diseases and lymphedema through education, research and advocacy. With chapters throughout the world, LE&RN seeks to accelerate the prevention, treatment and cure of these diseases while bringing patients and medical professionals together to address the unmet needs surrounding lymphatic diseases, which include lymphedema and lipedema.
Bates currently resides in Los Angeles.