Kathy Bates | Biography, Films, TV Shows, & Facts - Britannica

Television

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Bates also worked in television. Her credits as a TV director included the movie Dash and Lilly (1999), about the writers Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman, and episodes of the HBO drama Six Feet Under (2001–05), in which she also acted. In 2010–11 Bates had a recurring role on the sitcom The Office, and in 2011–12 she starred in the TV drama Harry’s Law. For her 2012 guest appearance on Two and a Half Men, she received her first Emmy Award. In 2013 she joined American Horror Story for its third season (Coven), portraying the real-life Madame Delphine LaLaurie, a socialite who tortured and killed slaves in antebellum New Orleans. The role earned her an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie. In 2014 Bates returned as a bearded woman for the fourth season (Freak Show), and she portrayed the manager of a haunted hotel in the fifth season (Hotel). She also was cast in the sixth and eighth seasons: Roanoke and Apocalypse, respectively.

Quick Facts In full: Kathleen Doyle Bates (Show more) Born: June 28, 1948, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. (age 77) (Show more) Awards And Honors: Emmy Award (2014) Emmy Award (2012) Academy Award (1991) Academy Award (1991): Actress in a Leading Role Emmy Award (2014): Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Emmy Award (2012): Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Golden Globe Award (1997): Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television Golden Globe Award (1991): Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (Show more) Married To: Tony Campisi (1991–1997) (Show more) Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In): "You May Not Kiss the Bride" (2011) "King of the Hill" (2001) "The War at Home" (1996) "Around the World in 80 Days" (2004) "The Blind Side" (2009) "Diabolique" (1996) "Valentine's Day" (2010) "Unconditional Love" (2002) "The Doctors" (1963) "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1999) "Titanic" (1997) "Six Feet Under" (2003–2005) "Dolores Claiborne" (1995) "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (2008) "Adventures from the Book of Virtues" (1997) "Guilty Hearts" (2006) "Midnight in Paris" (2011) "The Road to Mecca" (1991) "Cagney & Lacey" (1986) "Men Don't Leave" (1990) "Boychoir" (2014) "Bee Movie" (2007) "Dragonfly" (2002) "The Golden Compass" (2007) "Personal Effects" (2009) "Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" (1982) "Straight Time" (1978) "One Life to Live" (1984) "MADtv" (2000) "Krystal" (2017) "A Little Bit of Heaven" (2011) "Used People" (1992) "Misery" (1990) "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (2004) "The Boss" (2016) "Shadows and Fog" (1991) "The Death and Life of John F. Donovan" (2018) "The Waterboy" (1998) "Fred Claus" (2007) "A Home of Our Own" (1993) "Taking Off" (1971) "Prelude to a Kiss" (1992) "Dick Tracy" (1990) "Great Performances" (1995) "Summer Heat" (1987) "Little Black Book" (2004) "Charlotte's Web" (2006) "American Outlaws" (2001) "Complete Unknown" (2016) "China Beach" (1989) "American Experience" (1993–2004) "Chéri" (2009) "Failure to Launch" (2006) "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991) "The Great Gilly Hopkins" (2015) "Swept from the Sea" (1997) "St. Elsewhere" (1986–1987) "Bad Santa 2" (2016) "Richard Jewell" (2019) "Two of a Kind" (1983) "My Best Friend Is a Vampire" (1987) "The Highwaymen" (2019) "Bruno" (2000) "L.A. Law" (1989) "The Big Bang Theory" (2018) "Revolutionary Road" (2008) "Curse of the Starving Class" (1994) "All My Children" (1970) "Harry's Law" (2011–2012) "Omoide no Mânî" (2014) "Primary Colors" (1998) "High Stakes" (1989) "The Love Boat" (1978) "P.S. I Love You" (2007) "Bonneville" (2006) "American Horror Story" (2013–2018) "At Play in the Fields of the Lord" (1991) "Have Mercy" (2006) "Disjointed" (2017–2018) "Tammy" (2014) "Arthur 2: On the Rocks" (1988) "The Morning After" (1986) "Love Liza" (2002) "Angus" (1995) "North" (1994) "The Effects of Magic" (1998) "Relative Strangers" (2006) "Feud" (2017) "Mike & Molly" (2014–2015) "White Palace" (1990) "Two and a Half Men" (2012) "The Wonderful World of Disney" (1999) "American Dad!" (2015) "On the Basis of Sex" (2018) "The Office" (2010–2011) "Alice" (2009) "Signs of Life" (1989) "About Schmidt" (2002) "The Family That Preys" (2008) (Show more) Movies/Tv Shows (Directed): "NYPD Blue" (1997) "Six Feet Under" (2001–2003) "Have Mercy" (2006) "Everwood" (2002) "Oz" (1998) "Great Performances" (1995) "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1996) (Show more) See all related content Show More

In 2017 Bates appeared in another TV anthology series, Feud. In the first season—Bette and Joan, about the rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford—she played Joan Blondell. During this time she also starred as the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Disjointed (2017–18). Bates later took on the title role in the legal series Matlock (2024– ), playing a 75-year-old lawyer who returns to her career after some three decades. However, her motivations are not what they initially seem.

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