Ruth Elizabeth “Bette” Davis was so legendary, Kim Carnes had a #1 hit about her friggin’ eyeballs in 1981.

Davis worked for six decades in Hollywood, racking up 100 acting credits, ten Academy Award® nominations, and two statues (She claimed she named the trophy ‘Oscar’ after her husband’s posterior. The Academy does not agree). On screen, Davis was commanding, mesmerizing, a smoldering talent, a former ingenue who became more than willing to take on unsympathetic, worldly, damaged, or outright villainous characters, not only making them wholly her own – she made them unforgettable.

Offscreen, Davis was equally forthright, idiosyncratic, strong-willed, and fought battles on set and in court, shaping her career on her own terms. “Until you’re known in my profession as a monster, you are not a star”, she said, “[but] I’ve never fought for anything in a treacherous way. I’ve never fought for anything but the good of the film.” In 1977, she was the first woman awarded the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

In her spare time, she successfully incorporated beets into corned beef hash.