- Source of Wealth: Film, Television, Stage
- Age: 71
- Birth Place: Memphis, Tennessee
- Height: 5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
- Marital Status: Divorced (Tony Campisi)
- Full Name: Kathleen Doyle Bates
- Nationality: American
- Date of Birth: June 28, 1948
- Ethnicity: English, some Irish, Scottish, German
- Occupation: Actress, Director
Kathy Bates is an American actress and director who has an estimated net worth of $32 million. She was born Kathleen Doyle Bates on June 28, 1948 in Memphis, Tennessee. She graduated early from White Station High School and from Southern Methodist University, where she majored in Theatre and became a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. In 1970, she moved to New York to pursue an acting career.
Bates started off as a stage actress. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead. Actress in a Play in 1983 for her performance in ‘night, Mother. Her first feature film role was in 1971 when she appeared in Miloš Forman comedy Taking Off and got credited as “Bobo Bates”. It was in 1990 when she portrayed Annie Wilkes in Misery and she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Other films she had appeared on include Fried Green Tomatoes, Dolores Claiborne and Titanic. She was then nominated twice for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress with her roles in Primary Colors and About Schmidt. She also received two Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three American Comedy Awards, and two BAFTA nominations.
Kathy Bates also worked in television and has earned her 14 Emmy nominations. She has two nominations for portraying the role of Harriet “Harry” Korn on the NBC series Harry’s Law while she won one for her role as Delphine LaLaurie on the third season of American Horror Story. She appeared in Two and a Half Men during its ninth season and she won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. In 1999, she played the role of Miss Hannigan in the television adaptation of Annie and received Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations. As a director she is credited for several episodes of Six Feet Under in HBO.