Kathy Bates made her screen debut in the 1971 American comedy film ‘Taking Off’ directed by Miloš Forman. Following her debut, she went on to star in films like ‘Straight Time’ (1978), ‘Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean’ (1982), ‘Two of a Kind’ (1983), ‘The Morning After’ (1986), ‘Murder Ordained’ (1987), ‘Summer Heat’ (1987), ‘Arthur 2: On the Rocks’ (1988), ‘Signs of Life’ (1989), ‘Men Don't Leave’ (1990), and ‘Dick Tracy’ (1990). In 1990, she portrayed Annie Wilkes in the American psychological thriller film ‘Misery’ directed by Rob Reiner. The film was widely praised by critics and was a commercial success, grossing over $61.3 million on a budget of $20 million. Bates also became a recipient of the ‘Academy Award’ and the ‘Golden Globe Award’ for her performance in the film. The following year, she starred as ‘Evelyn Couch’ in the Jon Avnet-directed American comedy-drama film ‘Fried Green Tomatoes.’ The film received positive reviews from critics and was a major commercial success, grossing over $119.4 million on an $11 million budget. She continued to star in films like ‘Prelude to a Kiss’ (1992), ‘Used People’ (1992), ‘A Home of Our Own’ (1993), ‘North’ (1994), ‘Dolores Claiborne’ (1995), ‘Angus’ (1995), ‘Diabolique’ (1996), ‘Swept from the Sea’ (1997), and ‘Titanic’ (1997).
Bates received the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award nominations for her portrayal of Libby Holden in the 1998 American comedy-drama film ‘Primary Colors’ directed by Mike Nichols. The film, despite opening to wide critical acclaim, failed to achieve success at the box office. That same year, she also played the role of Helen "Mama" Boucher in the Frank Coraci-directed American sports comedy film ‘The Waterboy.’ Even though the film received a mixed critical response, it turned out to be a major commercial success, grossing over $190 million on a $23 million budget. She next starred in films like ‘Annie’ (1999), ‘Bruno’ (2000), ‘American Outlaws’ (2001), ‘Dragonfly’ (2002), ‘About Schmidt’ (2002) which earned her an Academy Award nomination, ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ (2004), ‘Little Black Book’ (2004), ‘Failure to Launch’ (2006), ‘Relative Strangers’ (2006), ‘Guilty Hearts’ (2006), ‘Bee Movie’ (2007), ‘The Golden Compass’ (2007), ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ (2008), ‘Revolutionary Road’ (2008), ‘The Blind Side’ (2009), ‘Valentine's Day’ (2010), and ‘A Little Bit of Heaven’ (2011). In 2012, she appeared in the American television sitcom ‘Two and a Half Men’ created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn. She played the role of the ghost of ‘Charlie Harper’ which earned her a ‘Primetime Emmy Award.’ She received another ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ for her performance as ‘Delphine LaLaurie’ in the FX horror anthology television series ‘American Horror Story: Coven’ (2013-2014).
She was next seen in films like ‘Tammy’ (2014), ‘Boychoir’ (2015), ‘The Boss’ (2016), ‘Bad Santa 2’ (2016), ‘Krystal’ (2017), ‘The Death and Life of John F. Donovan’ (2018), ‘The Highwaymen’ (2019), and ‘Richard Jewell’ (2019) for which she received an Academy Award nomination. Bates was last seen in the 2020 drama film ‘Home’ directed by Franka Potente. The film saw its world premiere at the ‘Rome Film Festival.’
