American Horror Story

Kathy Bates stars as Madame Delphine LaLaurie in AHS: 13.

Career Highlights

Honored numerous times for her work, Kathy Bates is an undeniable force on stage, screen and television. Bates won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of obsessed fan Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner’s 1990 hit Misery, based on Stephen King’s novel.Bates can currently be seen starring in the second season of the critically acclaimed CBS series Matlock. At 78, Bates made Emmy history by becoming the oldest performer ever nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. This historic nomination represents just one of many honors she has received for her captivating performance as Madeline Matlock. To date, Bates has garnered 18 nominations and won seven awards for her work on the series. Bates has won the 2025 Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, the 2025 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Series, Drama or Genre, the 2025 Gracie Allen Award for Actress in a Leading Role - Drama, the 2025 Astra Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, the 2025 Gotham TV Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series, the 2025 AAFCA TV Honor for Best Actress and the 2026 AARP Movies for Grownups Awards for Best Actress in Television. She has also received nominations for Golden Globes, Satellite Awards, Actor Awards, Television Critics Association Awards, Gold Derby Awards and Women’s Image Network Awards for both Drama Series and Actress Drama Series. Bates serves as an executive producer on the show. The Emmy nomination also marks a significant moment for CBS, as Bates became the broadcast network’s first category nominee in over a decade.Bates was also awarded The Television Showperson of the Year Award at the 2025 ICG Publicist Awards and the 2024 Los Angeles Press Club Legend Award. Both awards represent their highest honors and celebrate Bates’ remarkable achievements in the industry. She also received the Vanguard Award at the 2025 IndieWire Honors, recognizing her reputation for bringing an invigorating energy to every role she takes on.Bates was recently seen in Michael Cristofer’s The Great Lillian Hall opposite Jessica Lange, Pierce Brosnan and Lily Rabe. For her role as Edith Wilson, Bates garnered an Actor Award nomination. Previously, Bates was seen in the Lionsgate feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret alongside Rachel McAdams; Castille Landon’s comedy Summer Camp opposite Diane Keaton and Alfre Woodard, as well as Netflix’s A Family Affair with Nicole Kidman, Joey King and Zac Efron.Bates received the National Board of Review Award as well as Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Bobi Jewell in Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell.In 1999, for her performance in Mike Nichols’ Primary Colors, Bates received Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations and won an Actor Award and Critics’ Choice Award. Bates earned her third Oscar nomination for her role in Alexander Payne’s About Schmidt, for which she won a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and Golden Globe and Actor Award nominations. &nbsp;Her film work has also been recognized with Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for Jon Avnet’s film of Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes, and she also shared an Actor Award nomination with the ensemble cast of James Cameron’s all-time top-grossing blockbuster Titanic, as well as a nomination for the ensemble of Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.Bates received her star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 20, 2016.Additional film credits include: Dolores Claiborne with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Christopher Plummer; The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock; Stephen Frears’ period drama Chéri, in which she starred with Michelle Pfeiffer; Sam Mendes’ drama Revolutionary Road, which reunited her with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet; Adam Sandler’s The Waterboy; Robert Altman’s Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean; Straight Time with Dustin Hoffman and Miloš Forman’s Taking Off.On television, Bates has received 14 Emmy nominations, winning her first in 2003 playing the Ghost of Charlie Harper in Chuck Lorre’s Two and a Half Men. Bates won rave reviews and her second Emmy as Delphine LaLaurie in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: Coven on FX. She received two more Emmy nods for her work in American Horror Story: Freak Show and American Horror Story: Hotel.For the 1996 HBO film The Late Shift, Bates won a Golden Globe and Actor Award as well as an Emmy nomination. Her television honors also include Emmy, Golden Globe and Actor Award nominations for her performance as Miss Hannigan in Annie.Bates has also been honored for her work behind the camera as a director. She helmed the A&amp;E television film Dash and Lily, starring Sam Shepard and Judy Davis, which earned nine Emmy nominations, including one for Bates for Best Director. She also directed five episodes of the acclaimed HBO series Six Feet Under, earning a Directors Guild of America Award nomination. Her directing credits also include episodes of such series as Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street and PBS's Great Performances.Bates first gained the attention of critics and audiences on the New York stage starring as Joanne in Jack Heifner’s Vanities – one of the longest-running plays in Off-Broadway history. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of the suicidal daughter in the original Broadway production of Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play night, Mother. She has been honored with an Obie Award for her performance as Frankie in the original Off-Broadway production of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. She portrayed Elsa Barlow in Athol Fugard’s The Road to Mecca and starred with Fugard and Yvonne Bryceland in the film adaptation.For the past several years, Bates has served as the National Spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education &amp; Research Network (LE&amp;RN). LE&amp;RN is an internationally recognized non-profit organization founded in 1998 to fight lymphatic diseases and lymphedema through education, research and advocacy. With chapters around the world, LE&amp;RN seeks to accelerate the prevention, treatment and cure of these diseases while bringing patients and medical professionals together to address the unmet needs surrounding lymphatic diseases, which include lymphedema and lipedema.Bates currently resides in Los Angeles.

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Kathy Bates stars as Madame Delphine LaLaurie in American Horror Story: 13.

Kathy Bates headshot wearing a blue suit with blue background for AHS: 13

Kathy Bates as Madame Delphine LaLaurie | AHS: 13 on FX

American Horror Story: 13

Kathy Bates

Career Highlights

Emma Roberts
as Madison Montgomery

Billie Lourd
as Winter Anderson / Mallory

Gabourey Sidibe
as Queenie

Kathy Bates as Madame Delphine LaLaurie | AHS: 13 on FX

Kathy Bates

Billie Lourdas Winter Anderson / Mallory

Gabourey Sidibeas Queenie

Billie Lourd
as Winter Anderson / Mallory

Gabourey Sidibe
as Queenie