Kathy Bates

Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress and director. Her work spans over five decades, and her accolades include an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for a Tony Award and two BAFTA Awards.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Bates 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). She garnered a nomination for the Tony Award Best Lead Actress in a Play for the Marsha Norman play 'night, Mother (1983), and won an Obie Award for her role in Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1988).

Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying Annie Wilkes in the psychological thriller Misery (1990). She was further Oscar-nominated for her roles as a tough political operative in Primary Colors (1998), a free-spirited neighbor in About Schmidt (2002), and the mother of a bombing suspect in Richard Jewell (2019). She has also acted in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1995), Titanic (1997), The Waterboy (1998), Revolutionary Road (2008), The Blind Side (2009), Midnight in Paris (2011), and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023).

On television, Bates received Primetime Emmy Awards for her performance as the Ghost of Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men (2012) and for her portrayal of Delphine LaLaurie in American Horror Story: Coven (2013). She was also Emmy-nominated for her roles in The Late Shift (1996), Annie (1999), Six Feet Under (2003), Warm Springs (2005), Harry's Law (2011–2012), American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014), and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015). Since 2024, she has portrayed the titular lead in the CBS series Matlock, for which she was also nominated for an Emmy.

Outside of acting, Bates is also known for her advocacy. After undergoing a double mastectomy and developing lymphedema, Bates became a spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN).