Kathy Bates

American actress, a sympathetic star of stage and screen. The daughter of a foundry engineer and a housewife, she moved to New York to begin acting early in 1970. She worked for a year at various jobs, including a singing waitress in the Catskills, until her film debut in "Taking Off." In 1976, she made an off-Broadway debut in "Vanities." By 1983 she had received serious notice, she also had been nominated for a Tony for her performance in "Night, Mother." Her film work was minor until she was cast in the role of the psycho fan in "Misery," 1990, for which she won the Best Actress Oscar. Her films include "Fried Green Tomatoes," 1991 and "Used People," 1992.

She and her husband, actor Anthony Campisi, divorced in early 1997 after being together for 18 years and married for six; they had no kids. During the same year, she weathered the death of her mom at 91, and her beloved terrier at 16. She was working on the film "Titanic," followed by "Primary Colors," skilled in her ability to go from drama to comedy with ease. Off the set, she attended an advanced creative writing class at UCLA and redecorated her home in the Hollywood Hills.