Born at 11:12am-CDT.

Her two older sisters appeared briefly in Primary Colors (1998).

Graduated from White Station High in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Did her first ever nude scene at the age of 43 in At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991). She disrobed again for About Schmidt (2002).

A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors.

Lived with ex-husband Tony Campisi for 12 years before marrying him.

Youngest of 3 sisters. Sisters: Patricia and Mary.

Father, Langdon Doyle Bates, was a mechanical engineer. Mother Bertye Kathleen Bates died in 1997.

Graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1969 with an BFA in Theater.

Her Oscar-winning role as Annie Wilkes in Misery (1990) was ranked #17 on the American Film Institute's villains list of the 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villians.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1983 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for "'night, Mother."

Playwright Terrence McNally originally wrote the role of Frankie in "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" for Bates. Johnny was played by Kenneth Welsh in the 1987 Off-Broadway production that starred Bates.

Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Actors Branch) [1998-]

Auditioned for TV series "Three's Company" (1977) for role that ultimately went to Joyce DeWitt. Bates says she was relieved she didn't get the part because, after auditioning, she felt she really didn't want it.

Her performance as Annie Wilkes in Misery (1990) is ranked #77 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Mother: Bertye Kathleen Bates. She died in 1997.