Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress and director.

After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery (Misery (film)) (1990), for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe (Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama). She followed this with major roles in Fried Green Tomatoes (Fried Green Tomatoes (film)) (1991) and Dolores Claiborne (Dolores Claiborne (film)) (1995), before playing a featured role as Margaret "Molly" Brown (Margaret Brown) in Titanic (Titanic (1997 film)) (1997). During this time she began her directing career, primarily in television.

Bates received a Tony Award nomination for her 1983 performance in the Broadway play night, Mother. She won a Screen Actors Guild Award (Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture) for her performance in Primary Colors (Primary Colors (film)) (1998), for which she also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress). She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for About Schmidt (2002). Her television work has resulted in seven Emmy Award nominations.

Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003, Bates has stated that she has made a full recovery.