Bette Davis

Bette Davis

26 quotes

Known primarily as an American actress, Bette Davis also happens to be one of the most quotable figures in our collection. Known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas, their words carry the weight of lived experience. Our collection holds 37 quotes from Bette Davis, each offering a different angle on Work, Women, Marriage, Movies, and Men. Consider this gem from Bette Davis: "Brought up to respect the conventions, love had to end in marriage. I'm afraid it did."

“I work to stay alive.”

— Bette Davis

Work

All Quotes by Bette 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

Men

“To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy.”

— Bette Davis

Money

“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

Marriage

“This has always been a motto of mine: Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work.”

— Bette Davis

Work

“I work to stay alive.”

— Bette Davis

Work

“I'd luv to kiss ya, but I just washed my hair.”

— Bette Davis

Funny

“I don't take the movies seriously, and anyone who does is in for a headache.”

— Bette Davis

Movies

“Wave after wave of love flooded the stage and washed over me, the beginning of the one great durable romance of my life.”

— Bette Davis

Great

“Sex is God's joke on human beings.”

— Bette Davis

God

“A sure way to lose happiness, I found, is to want it at the expense of everything else.”

— Bette Davis

Happiness

“I've lost my faith in science.”

— Bette Davis

Faith

“Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work.”

— Bette Davis

Work

“I do not regret one professional enemy I have made. Any actor who doesn't dare to make an enemy should get out of the business.”

— Bette Davis

Business

“The only reason anyone goes to Broadway is because they can't get work in the movies.”

— Bette Davis

Movies

“Old age is no place for sissies.”

— Bette Davis

Age

“Strong women only marry weak men.”

— Bette Davis

Men

“Basically, I believe the world is a jungle, and if it's not a bit of a jungle in the home, a child cannot possibly be fit to enter the outside world.”

— Bette Davis

Home

“I am doomed to an eternity of compulsive work. No set goal achieved satisfies. Success only breeds a new goal. The golden apple devoured has seeds. It is endless.”

— Bette Davis

Success

“An affair now and then is good for a marriage. It adds spice, stops it from getting boring... I ought to know.”

— Bette Davis

Marriage

“In this business, until you're known as a monster you're not a star.”

— Bette Davis

Business