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Bette Davis was born Ruth Elizabeth (Betty) Davis in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 5, 1908 to Ruth Augusta and Harlow Morrell Davis. The year after Davis was born her baby sister, Barbara, was born.
In 1915, Davis parents separated. In 1921, Ruth, Betty, and Barbara moved to New York City.
After seeing Rudolph Valentino in “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” and Mary Pickford in “Little Lord Fauntleroy” Davis was inspired to become an actress. Davis changed the spelling of her nickname Betty to Bette after seeing ‘La Cousine Bette’. Her mother encouraged her to become an actress.
Davis attended Cushing Academy where she met her future husband, Harmon O. (Ham) Nelson.
Davis saw a production of Henrik Ibsen’s ‘The Wild Duck’ with Blanche Yurka and Peg Entwistle. The production inspired her to make a full commitment at becoming an actress. Her words were: “Before that performance I wanted to be an actress. When it ended, I had to be an actress…exactly like Peg Entwistle.”
Davis auditioned for admission to Eva Le Gallienne’s Manhattan Civic Repertory but was rejected. Davis was accepted by the John Murray Anderson School of Theatre and studied dance with Martha Graham.
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