Kathleen Doyle Bates born June 28 1948 is an American actress and director She has been the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards Born in Memphis Tennessee she studied theatre at the Southern Methodist University before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career She landed minor stage roles before being cast in her first on screen role in Taking Off 1971 Her first OffBroadway stage performance was in the 1976 production of Vanities Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s she continued to perform on screen and on stage and garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play in 1983 for her performance in night Mother and won an Obie Award in 1988 for her performance in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune Bates performance as Annie Wilkes in the tense psychological thriller Misery 1990 marked her Hollywood breakthrough winning her the Academy Award for Best Actress Further acclaim came for her starring role in Dolores Claiborne 1995 The Waterboy 1998 and supporting roles in Fried Green Tomatoes 1991 and Titanic 1997 Bates received subsequent Oscar nods in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work in Primary Colors 1998 About Schmidt 2002 and Richard Jewell 2019 Bates television work has resulted in 14 Emmy Award nominations including two for her leading role on the NBC series Harrys Law 201112 She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance on the ninth season of Two and a Half Men 2012 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her portrayal of Delphine LaLaurie on the third season of American Horror Story 2013 She also received accolades for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in the 1999 television adaptation of Annie Her directing credits include several episodes of the HBO television series Six Feet Under 200103 and the television film Ambulance Girl 2005 Description above from the Wikipedia article Kathy Bates licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia