Honored numerous times for her work, Bates is an undeniable force on stage, screen and television.
On television, Bates won rave reviews and her second Emmy®Award as the deliciously evil “Madame LaLaurie” in the third installment of the series Coven. Prior to that, she starred in David E. Kelly’s hit NBC television show Harry’s Law garnering her two Emmy nominations for Lead Actress in a drama series. Previously Bates was nominated for seven Emmy Awards before winning her first in 2003 playing “Ghost of Charlie Harper” in Two and a Half Men.
Bates appeared with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell and Peter Dinkladge in the Ben Falcone directed comedy Michelle Darnell and completed shooting Josh Marston’s Untitled Project starring Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon and Danny Glover.
Bates won an Academy Award® and a Golden Globe® for her portrayal of obsessed fan “Annie Wilkes” in Rob Reiner’s 1990 hit Misery, based on Stephen King’s novel. In 1999, she received Oscar®, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations and won a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® and a Critics Choice Award® for her performance in Mike Nichols’ Primary Colors. Bates more recently earned her third Oscar nomination for her role in Alexander Payne’s About Schmidt, for which she also garnered Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations and won a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her film work has also been recognized with Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for Jon Avnet’s Fried Green Tomatoes, and she also shared in a SAG 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 biggest success, Midnight in Paris.
Recently, Bates was seen in Tammy with Melissa McCarthy, The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock and Sam Mendes’ acclaimed drama Revolutionary Road. Additional film credits include Dolores Claiborne, P.S. I Love You, The War at Home, A Home of Our Own, Dick Tracy and Robert Altman’s Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.
On television, in addition to her current projects, Bates won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award and earned an Emmy Award nomination for the 1996 HBO film The Late Shift. Her television honors also include Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for her performance in the musical Annie; another SAG Award nomination for her role in the telefilm My Sister’s Keeper; and four additional Emmy Award nominations for her work on the projects 3rd Rock from the Sun, Six Feet Under, Warm Springs, and Ambulance Girl, which she also directed. She also guest starred on Mike & Molly and The Office.
Bates has also been honored for her work behind the camera as a director. She helmed the A&E telefilm Dash and Lilly which earned nine Emmy nominations, including one for Best Director. She also directed five episodes of the acclaimed HBO series Six Feet Under, earning a Directors Guild of America Award®. Her directing credits also include episodes of such series as Oz, NYPD Blue and Homicide: Life on the Street.
On stage, Bates was nominated for a Tony® Award for her role in the original Broadway production of Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play `night, Mother and she has been honored with an Obie Award for her performance in the original Off-Broadway production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.
Bates currently resides in Los Angeles.
