Kathleen Doyle Bates (Memphis, June 28, 1948) is an American actress and director. After beginning her career on stage, earning a Tony Award nomination in 1983, she achieved international fame in 1990 for her role as the psychopathic nurse Annie Wilkes in the film *Misery*. This performance earned her the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Her versatile film career includes roles in successful movies such as *Fried Green Tomatoes*, *Dolores Claiborne*, and *Titanic*. She has received three other Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in *Primary Colors* (1998), *About Schmidt* (2002), and *Richard Jewell* (2019). Also highly active in television, she has won two Emmy Awards for the series *Harry's Law* and for her acclaimed work in the anthology series *American Horror Story*, confirming her status as a performer of extraordinary talent and versatility.