Kathy Bates Inspiring Woman

Kathy Bates Sweetrocks Inspiring Woman

Kathleen Bates is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three American Comedy Awards, two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, an Obie Award, and two Screen Actors Guild 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, appearing in a variety of films, television series, and plays. She 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 in the 1990 horror film Misery, based on the book of the same name by Stephen King, marked her Hollywood breakthrough. Her role as Annie Wilkes was met with widespread critical acclaim and she subsequently won the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama the following year.

She next starred in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination, and Dolores Claiborne (1995), another well-received Stephen King adaptation. She portrayed Molly Brown in James Cameron’s epic romance and disaster film Titanic (1997), which became the highest-grossing film ever at the time. She received her second and third Academy Award nominations for her work in Primary Colors (1998) and About Schmidt (2002), both in the category of Best Supporting Actress.

Bates’ television work has resulted in 14 Emmy Award nominations, including two for her role as Harriet “Harry” Korn 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 her portrayal of Delphine LaLaurie on the third season of American Horror Story (2014). 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).

Bates has successfully battled ovarian cancer since her diagnosis in 2003. In September 2012, she revealed via Twitter that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer two months earlier and had undergone a double mastectomy.In 2014, at the New York Walk for Lymphedema & Lymphatic Diseases, Bates announced via pre-recorded audio that, due to the double mastectomy, she has lymphedema in both arms. That year, Bates became a national spokesperson for lymphedema and chairperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network’s (LE&RN) honorary board.

Thank you Kathy Bates (#KathyBates) for being an Inspiring Woman!