Bette Quotes

Before one actually visits them, everyone tends to think of their favorite countries as one grand Disneyland filled with national monuments and historical treasures conveniently laid out for easy viewing, when what they really are filled with, of course, is people going to work, laundromats and places to buy rat poison. ~ Bette Midler

I made a pact with myself a long time ago: Never watch anything stupider than you. It's helped me a lot. ~ Bette Midler

The Hanlin named his granddaughter Lustrous Jade, for jade was the fairest of stones and possessed five virtues: charity, for its lustre; rectitude, for its translucence; wisdom, for its purity of sound when struck; equity, for its sharp edges that injure none; courage, for it can be broken but not bent. ~ Bette Bao Lord

Keep in mind that life produces no maestros, only students of varying shades of ineptitude. ~ Bette Greene

I have always felt proud of my Oscars and my numerous
nominations. This pride is due to the fact it was the
result of voters from the members of my own
profession. This, of course, is a great compliment for one's
work. I hope each winner of an Oscar is as thrilled as
I was when I received mine. ~ Bette Davis

I try not to drink too much because when I'm drunk, I bite. ~ Bette Midler

Remember the great film with Bette Davis, All About Eve? There's a scene after the scheming Eve steals Margo's role through trickery & then gets this magnificent review. Margo of course is effing & blinding all over the place. And crying. Her director rushes into her house, puts his arms around her & says, "I ran all the way". That's what I want. ~ Martha Grimes

Only two groups of people intimidate me absolutely: salespeople and the French. ~ Bette Midler

There is a certain ecstasy in wanting things you can't get. ~ Bette Davis

I'm a great believer in conversational rhythm. I think in terms of rhythmic dialogue. It's so easy, you can talk naturally. It's like peas rolling off a knife. Take the great screen actors and actresses, Bette Davis, Eddie Robinson, Jimmy Cagney, Spencer Tracy. They all talk in rhythm. And rhythm and movement are the life of the screen. ~ Lorenz Hart

There's like this great thing that Bette Davis said when someone asked her, "How do you get into Hollywood?" "Take Fountain!" ~ Winona Ryder

I had a feeling Aunt Bette was thinking of taking on the Russian mob. ~ Kristen Ashley

I was the Marlon Brando of my generation. ~ Bette Davis

Love is not enough. It must be the foundation, the cornerstone- but not the complete structure. It is much too pliable, to yielding. ~ Bette Davis

idea. But if you look at her early films, the best ones are all about Bette wanting a male she can't have: Dangerous. All This, and Heaven Too. Jezebel. The Letter. Now, Voyager. They're all about the unattainable. They're all about a woman desiring a man she can never possess. ~ Jane Lotter

Two people, two hands, and two songs, in this case "Big Shot" and "Bette Davis Eyes." The lyrics of the two songs provided no commentary, honest or ironic, on the proceedings. They were merely there and always underfoot, the insistent gray muck that was pop culture. It stuck to our shoes and we tracked it through our lives. ~ Colson Whitehead

A sure way to lose happiness, I found, is to want it at the expense of everything else. ~ Bette Davis

Men's brains are smaller than those of women so they can fit into their penises. ~ Bette Midler

My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors. ~ Bette Midler

What is genius, anyway, if it isn't the ability to give an adequate response to a great challenge? ~ Bette Greene

Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. - Now, Voyager ~ Bette Davis

I think one of my biggest influences is Bette Davis. I've seen almost every one of her films, and she's been very inspiring to me. ~ Elisabeth Moss

I'm the nicest goddamn dame that ever lived. ~ Bette Davis

Technicolor makes me look like death warmed over. ~ Bette Davis

Mother of three; divorcee; American. Twenty years experience as an actress in motion pictures. Mobile still and more affable than rumour would have it. Wants steady employment in Hollywood. (Has had Broadway). References upon request. ~ Bette Davis

Cyrus is the meat and potatoes of my life, but Prudence was a cupcake I could enjoy just for the sheer sweetness of being with her. ~ Bette Lee Crosby

I adore Bette Davis and Vivien Leigh, but more because they were good actresses. That's what makes me interested in them, that they didn't present themselves as idols; they were just doing their jobs. ~ Imelda Staunton

The [film] business is run by men, and they're basically interested in their own species, and they're not so interested in women belonging to the human race. ~ Bette Midler

What do you know about sooner or later? Is a moment only a moment when you're in pain? ~ Bette Greene

That's me: an old kazoo with some sparklers. ~ Bette Davis

It's weird, because American films in the 1930s and '40s, particularly melodramas, were made for woman, from Bette Davis to Joan Crawford to Barbara Stanwyck to Katherine Hepburn, and for some reason we've taken a step backward in this sense. ~ James Gray

I'd make a wonderful Lady Macbeth. I'll wear a pair of platform shoes or something. ~ Bette Midler

A lot of people have called me the black Bette Midler, and I regard that as a compliment. ~ Vesta Williams

I'de luv to kiss ya but I just washed my hair. ~ Bette Davis

It was Ernie Haller, who had photographed Bette Davis in Jezebel and Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind, who was solely responsible for the visuals in Mildred Pierce, said Crawford. "Ernie was at the rehearsals. And so was Mr. [Anton] de Grot, who did the sets. I recall seeing Ernie's copy of the script and it was filled with notations and diagrams. I asked him if these were for special lights and he said, 'No, they're for special shadows.' Now, that threw me. I was a little apprehensive. I was used to the look of Metro, where everything, including the war pictures, was filmed in blazing white lights. Even if a person was dying there was no darkness. But when I saw the rushes of Mildred Pierce I realized what Ernie was doing. The shadows and half-lights, the way the sets were lit, together with the unusual angles of the camera, added considerably to the psychology of my character and to the mood and psychology of the film. And that, my dear, is film noir." "Mildred ~ Shaun Considine

As a female I think it's a terrible hindrance in business. I think it's a terrible hindrance for any female to have a lot of intelligence in private life, but I think in business sometimes it's even worse because there's deep resentment. ~ Bette Davis

I wondered if a blessing is still a blessing if it lasts for only a little while. ~ Bette Greene

I'd marry again if I found a man who had fifteen million dollars, would sign over half to me, and guarantee that he'd be dead within a year. ~ Bette Davis

Suddenly Shirley understood why her father had brought her 10,000 miles to live among strangers. Here, she did not have to wait for gray hairs to be considered wise. Here, she could speak up, question even the conduct of the President. Here, Shirley Temple Wong was somebody. She felt as if she had the power of ten tigers, as if she had grown as tall as the Statue of Liberty. ~ Bette Bao Lord

To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lovely labor, to be given the chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy. ~ Bette Davis

I wish America would spend even half as much time complaining about plastics in our oceans as we do about actresses' plastic surgery. ~ Bette Midler

There were giants striding the screen in the 1930s and '40s: four actresses so talented, hardworking and versatile that they became laws unto themselves. Joan Crawford and Bette Davis have also become high-camp figures of fun, as they both had such wildly theatrical offscreen lives, and their performances could sometimes veer into self-parody. But Barbara Stanwyck and Claudette Colbert stand the test of time in each and every film: our memories of them are not overshadowed by scandals or vituperative daughters. One rarely sees a Stanwyck or Colbert drag queen. But these ladies were fully the equal - sometimes the superior - of Davis and Crawford. ~ Eve Golden

He searched his mind for something more to say, something to take away her pain, but he could find nothing. There were no words to ease such a pain. He knew because the ache in his heart was as great as hers. ~ Bette Lee Crosby

For a long time, way back in the '30s and '40s, there were fabulous female roles. Bette Davis and all those people had incredible, great roles. After World War II, something happened where it was not only "get out of the factories," but "get out of the movies." That's when women's roles started to really [change]. ~ Geena Davis

Men become much more attractive when they start looking older. But it doesn't do much for women, though we do have an advantage: make-up. ~ Bette Davis

I keep saying that, if Samuel L. Jackson and Bette Davis could have a baby, it would be Taraji P. Henson. To me, she's one of the greatest character actors of our generation, let alone leading ladies. She's just phenomenal in everything she does. ~ Jussie Smollett

Daddy in his infinite knowledge always saw the roots and not the flowers. He took all the watches of the world apart and never knew what time it was. ~ Bette Davis

Once the love bug wears off, as it inevitably does, you are shocked to discover that you really didn't know the object of your affections at all. We know this to be so, even as we repeat the same mistake over and over and over. ~ Bette Davis

Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world. ~ Bette Midler

No matter how old a person gets, they can still dream. They can still believe in miracles. ~ Bette Lee Crosby

Everybody has a heart. Except some people. ~ Bette Davis

I hope to keep entertaining in some way until I can't physically entertain any longer. It's what I was born to do, and I love this profession. ~ Bette Midler

I don't think of myself as a character actress - that's become a phrase which means you've had it. ~ Bette Davis

The only thing Madonna will ever do like a virgin is give birth in a stable. ~ Bette Midler

What harm is there in dreaming, if it eases pain? What good is reality, if it blots out hope? Can a man's mind be washed without bleaching his soul? ~ Bette Lord

I firmly believe that with the right footwear one can rule the world. ~ Bette Midler

I work to stay alive. ~ Bette Davis

I believe one should be a woman at home. ~ Bette Davis

Smoke was a person with a sense of history. Do you know what I mean? ... in truth, I DID know what she meant. Da Vinci, Martin Luther King, Jr., Genghis Kahn, Abraham Lincoln, Bette Davis - if you read their definitive biographies, you learned even when they were a month old, cooing in some wobbly crib in the middle of nowhere, they already had something historic about them. The way other kids had baseball, long division, Hot Wheels, and hula hoops, these kids had History and thus tended to be prone to colds, unpopular, sometimes plagued with a physical deformity (Lord Byron's clubfoot, Maugham's severe stutter, for example), which pushed them into exile in their heads. It was there they began to dream of human anatomy, civil rights, conquering Asia, a lost speech and being (within a span of four years) a jezebel, a marked woman, a little fox and an old maid. ~ Marisha Pessl

Being called very, very difficult is the beginning of success. Until you're called very, very difficult you're really nobody at all. ~ Bette Davis

Temperament is something that is an integral part of the artist. Not temper, temperament. There is a vast difference. ~ Bette Davis

Almost as many inhumanities are committed in the name of love as in the name of religion. ~ Bette Davis

Your luck is how you treat people. ~ Bette Davis

Like most Chinese, I am basically a fatalist - too sophisticated for religion and too superstitious to deny the gods. ~ Bette Lord

I'd never done a straight play before, never, and it was very hard work - really, really hard work. It was dense, really wordy, and I was determined to learn every word of it - not just skip over bits and pieces. ~ Bette Midler

I always loved the bad girls in the movies. I loved Bette Davis; I loved Katherine Hepburn. I loved Ava Gardner. ~ Imelda May

A lot of people have no access to beauty. When I was growing up, my mother had only a few pretty things to look at. ~ Bette Midler

It ain't the preaching what makes a man godly, it's the doing. ~ Bette Lee Crosby

The only reason anyone goes to Broadway is because they can't get work in the movies. ~ Bette Davis

They always threw their arms around and hugged me while crying our Yiddish endearments. Yet none of them believed in God. They believed in social justice, good works, Israel, and Bette Midler. I was nearly thirty before I met a religious Jew. ~ Anne Lamott

We movie stars all end up by ourselves. Who knows? Maybe we want to. ~ Bette Davis

A man's pride will cause him to do things you never dreamed possible. He got fired up about being right and blocked out everything else. ~ Bette Lee Crosby

The secret of marriage is: separate bedrooms and separate bathrooms. ~ Bette Davis

When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch. ~ Bette Davis

A lot of people say that my life is wasted on me because I could be a bigger asshole than I am, but I've chosen not to be. ~ Bette Midler

The casting couch? There's only one of us who ever made it to stardom without it, and that was Bette Davis. ~ Claudette Colbert

I always knew I was going to be successful in some way with films. I don't know why. I had no particular talent, but I always knew I was going to be sitting in a dining room with Lucille Ball and at a cocktail party with Bette Davis. ~ Robert Osborne

The real female should be partly male and the real male should be partly female anyway. ~ Bette Davis

Of Human Bondage?"

Will said quickly, moving just out of sight for a moment and forcing Charlie to move to the edge of the dining area to see him. He tossed one arch look over his shoulder as he reached up to grab that book, and even knowing it was an act, Charlie felt himself tensing. His eyes fell on the leather cuff at Will's wrist, as they were probably meant to.

"Kinky."

Charlie's throat locked. "I'm not..."

"Into Bette Davis? I know, a lot of people find her scary at first, but after awhile you really start to get into her."

The completely reasonable tone was at odds with the wicked light in the kid's eyes, the way his lips were curved up, how he held his breath when Charlie blinked and frowned, replaying the insane words until they made sense. Until he remembered that Bette Davis was in the film version of that novel, until he could finally take his gaze off that wide leather band.

His face was burning.

"Smartass," he muttered, completely mystified when being called a smartass made Will hop in place, since Will had already made it clear that he had a brain under all that hair and glitter. ~ R. Cooper

I sold my soul to rock and roll. ~ Bette Midler

The best time I ever had with Joan Crawford was when I pushed her down the stairs in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? ~ Bette Davis

Prophecies do not alter fate, only confirm it. ~ Bette Lord

If mortals wait until the gods remake the world to their liking to be happy, they are already in hell. ~ Bette Lord

People are not the best because they work hard. They work hard because they are the best. ~ Bette Midler

But don't go thinking that I'm critical of you, Anton, because really I'm not. Not a bit! It's just that you're not here. I'm alone and I'm frightened and you're not here. And you're not ever going to be here for me. ~ Bette Greene

What a fool I was to come to Hollywood where they only understand platinum blondes and where legs are more important than talent. ~ Bette Davis

Never, never trust anyone who asks for white wine. It means they're phonies. ~ Bette Davis

There comes a time in every woman's life when the only thing that helps is a glass of champagne. ~ Bette Davis

There was more good acting at Hollywood parties than ever appeared on the screen. ~ Bette Davis

I've lost my faith in science. ~ Bette Davis

In the movies, Bette Davis lights two cigarettes and hands the second one to James Cagney. It was just so glamorous and romantic. ~ Loni Anderson

Dramatic art in her opinion is knowing how to fill a sweater. ~ Bette Davis

People stood on their chairs, cheering and waving. And it was all for me! Waves of love flooded the stage and washed over me. I started to cry. The sweetness of such a moment is impossible to describe. One is both lover and beloved ... I'd found the one true, enduring romance of my life. ~ Bette Davis

Paris Hilton came in the store occasionally and one day asked me for the song, "Bette Davis Eyes". I found it for her and she proceeded to the front to pay and as the cashier was ringing her up, she was putting on blush. I guess because there was a slew a paparazzi photographers in the parking lot waiting for her to leave the store. It was insane. What is she famous for anyway? I didn't get it then and I still don't get it now. I guess it doesn't matter what I think, I'm just a broke bum living in his van and she's a bazillionaire that people want to take a picture of, I guess she wins! ~ K.D. Sanders

Principles have a way of yielding to power. ~ Bette Lord

I would take a bad script and a good director any day against a good script and a bad director. ~ Bette Davis

[Joan Blondell] biographer, Matthew Kennedy, quotes her as admitting, "If I had taken myself more seriously . . . if I had fought for better roles as, say, Bette Davis did . . . I think I might have been a damned good dramatic actress. But it was just my way; I don't think I ever had the security of feeling confident in myself, really, ever. I used to think, 'I'm just lucky to be here! ~ Eve Golden

Experiencing life through a book can help you learn without all the pain of going through the experiences first hand. ~ Bette Greene

I think I showed my restraint by not pulling her hair out by the roots. ~ Bette Davis

Look, you're either loved or hated. Which is a good thing, as Bette Davis used to say. ~ Mario Cantone