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The 15 Greatest Bette Davis Roles

By YPB Team

Acid-tongued divas, doomed romantics, ruthless schemers and faded stars from the studio era's heights to its gothic twilight. Where do you stand?

  1. Margo Channing (All About Eve) — ranked #11
    Margo Channing (All About Eve)
    Davis's acid-tongued aging Broadway star in the 1950 classic, widely cited as the finest performance of her career.
    1000pts
  2. Baby Jane Hudson (Baby Jane?) — ranked #22
    Baby Jane Hudson (Baby Jane?)
    The grotesque faded child star tormenting her sister in the 1962 thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.
    929pts
  3. Julie Marsden (Jezebel) — ranked #33
    Julie Marsden (Jezebel)
    The headstrong Southern belle whose defiance earned Davis her second Academy Award in 1938.
    817pts
  4. Mildred Rogers (Of Human Bondage) — ranked #44
    Mildred Rogers (Of Human Bondage)
    The cruel, callous waitress in the 1934 film that first made Davis a major star.
    566pts
  5. Judith Traherne (Dark Victory) — ranked #55
    Judith Traherne (Dark Victory)
    The doomed socialite facing a terminal illness in the earnest 1939 melodrama.
    565pts
  6. Charlotte Hollis (Sweet Charlotte) — ranked #66
    Charlotte Hollis (Sweet Charlotte)
    The tormented Southern recluse of the 1964 gothic thriller Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.
    440pts
  7. Kit Marlowe (Old Acquaintance) — ranked #77
    Kit Marlowe (Old Acquaintance)
    The poised novelist navigating a lifelong rivalry with a friend in the 1943 drama.
    264pts
  8. Queen Elizabeth I (Elizabeth and Essex) — ranked #88
    Queen Elizabeth I (Elizabeth and Essex)
    Davis's regal, imperious Virgin Queen in the 1939 Technicolor historical epic.
    264pts
  9. Margaret Elliot (The Star) — ranked #99
    Margaret Elliot (The Star)
    The fading Hollywood actress clinging to past glory in the 1952 drama that earned an Oscar nod.
    264pts
  10. Fanny Skeffington (Mr. Skeffington) — ranked #1010
    Fanny Skeffington (Mr. Skeffington)
    The vain society beauty confronting aging across decades in the 1944 drama.
    264pts
  11. Rosa Moline (Beyond the Forest) — ranked #1111
    Rosa Moline (Beyond the Forest)
    The discontented small-town wife whose line 'What a dump!' became legend in the 1949 melodrama.
    264pts
  12. Charlotte Vale (Now, Voyager) — ranked #1212
    Charlotte Vale (Now, Voyager)
    The repressed spinster who blossoms into elegance in the beloved 1942 romantic drama.
    1pts
  13. Regina Giddens (The Little Foxes) — ranked #1313
    Regina Giddens (The Little Foxes)
    The ruthless, scheming Southern matriarch of the 1941 drama, among Davis's most callous roles.
    1pts
  14. Leslie Crosbie (The Letter) — ranked #1414
    Leslie Crosbie (The Letter)
    The cool, calculating wife who kills her lover in the gripping 1940 noir melodrama.
    1pts
  15. Joyce Heath (Dangerous) — ranked #1515
    Joyce Heath (Dangerous)
    The self-destructive actress role that won Davis her first Academy Award in 1935.
    1pts
#movies#actors#classics#bette davis#old hollywood

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