Trailblazers
February 2026
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Sanctuary celebrates one of Hollywood’s legendary leading ladies. Bette Davis was known for her tough, no-nonsense attitude and willingness to take roles other actresses wouldn’t. Always fearless and determined, she bucked Hollywood’s industry leaders and defied the gender expectations of her time. She chose her own future, paving the way for other women to follow in her footsteps. |
Bette Davis (1908-1989)
Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images "I have been uncompromising, peppery, intractable, monomaniacal, tactless, volatile, and offtimes disagreeable. I suppose I'm larger than life." ~ Bette Davis |
American actress Bette Davis was born on April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts. After a brief theater career, she became one of the biggest stars in the Hollywood, appearing in nearly 100 films before her death in 1989. Her work is revered to this day for her performances in such films as All About Eve and Dark Victory, as well as for her larger-than-life persona both on and off the silver screen.
As a teen, Bette began acting in school productions at the Cushing Academy in Massachusetts. After a stint in summer stock theater in Rochester, New York, she moved to New York City, where she attended the John Murray Anderson/Robert Milton School of Theatre and Dance. Bette received her first Academy Award nomination for her performance as the vulgar, cold-hearted waitress Mildred. Throughout the rest of her career, she would portray many other strong-willed, even unlikable, women who defied society's rules. In 1935, Bette won her first Academy Award for her role as a troubled young actress in Dangerous. After a rocky period at Warner Brothers, during which time she was suspended for turning down roles, she sued the studio and spent some time in England. When she returned to Hollywood, she was offered a higher salary and better choice of roles. Her second Oscar was for her performance as a rebellious Southern belle in 1938's Jezebel. In 1950, Bette gave one of her most indelible performances in All About Eve, starring as Margo Channing, a theater actress who fends off the insecurities of approaching middle age. In one of her many memorable lines, she quipped, "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." Despite health problems in her late years, including a fight against breast cancer, Bette continued acting. One of her final film roles was that of a blind woman in The Whales of August (1987). She also appeared on television, winning an Emmy Award for 1979's Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter. She received many awards in this latter part of her career, including the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1977 and the Kennedy Center Honors Award in 1987. She died in 1989, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, at the age of 81. At the time of her death, she was on her way home from a film festival in Spain, where she had just been honored for her work in film. |
Some interesting facts...
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Bette Davis Receives Kennedy Center Honors Award (1987)
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