This week’s Dashing Divorcee is Bette Davis! I adore Bette’s strength, courage, and fearless nature. Divorced three times and widowed once, Bette Davis managed to overcome her heartbreak and have a soaring career that spanned fifty years. She negotiated her own contracts and was the highest paid woman in the United States in 1949. She was the first female president of the Academy. Known for her powerhouse acting skills, Bette was nominated for ten academy awards, winning twice.
Her delivery of her lines often landed them in our pop culture where they still live, lines like, “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” and “Why ask for the moon when we’ve got the stars?”
In the first divorce filing, Husband #1 claimed that Bette “read too much.” Though she was emotional over the split and nearly quit her next film, Bette ended up channeling her despair into her role in Dark Victory, garnering an Academy Award Nomination.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Bette raised money for the war by selling more than two million dollars worth of war bonds in two days. She also co-founded of the Hollywood Canteen, a legendary place that entertained servicemen before they headed off to war. Husband #2 died in 1943, and Bette was married and divorced twice more.
Known for her magnificent emotive eyes, pop star Kim Carnes sang a song called Bette Davis Eyes that stayed at #1 on the pop charts for months. even in the eighties, Bette Davis was still captivating people. With lyrics like, “She’ll take a tumble on you, roll you like you were dice,” the song captures the ferocious chutzpah of Bette Davis.
When Kim Carnes sings, “Her hands are never cold,” it seems a perfect wish for Bette. I like to imagine that she knew how to warm her hands by the fire of her intellect and creativity when the nights got cold and dark. I like thinking of Bette rising into her power over and over by telling her stories after having her heart broken… that’s the kind of Dashing Divorcee we can all admire.
Viva La Bette Davis!
Viva La Dashing Divorcee!
