Angela Marie Bettis (born January 9, 1973) is an American actress, film producer, and director. Following her breakthrough role as Janet Webber in the

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

'' Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), she earned acclaim for her portrayals of Carrietta White in the television film '' Carrie'' (2002) and the titular character in the psychological horror film ''

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

'' (2002). For ''May'', she won the Brussels International Festival Award for Best Actress, the Catalan International Film Festival Award for Best Actress and the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress. She went on to play Belle Cleek in the horror film ''The Woman'' (2011) and Mandy in the

black comedy film Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

'' 12 Hour Shift'' (2020). For ''12 Hour Shift'', she earned a nomination for the Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Horror Movie. In addition to her work in film, Bettis also starred in two Broadway productions: '' The Father'' in 1996 with

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...

and as Abigail Williams in a 2002 revival of

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

'' alongside

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Liam Neeson, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, BAFT ...

and

Laura Linney Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including two Golden Globe Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards, and has been nominated for three Academy Awards and five Tony Awards. ...

Early life

Bettis was born in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

where she attended Westlake High School. Daughter of Richard Joseph Bettis and wife Mary Lynn Guthrie, she has a twin brother, Joseph Edward "Joe" Bettis. She married in April 2001 and divorced director, cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Kevin Gerard Ford, with whom she founded film produce
Productions
in 2001.

Career

Her debut role was a lead in the romantic tragedy, '' Sparrow'', directed by

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II e ...

, at the age of 18. She later went on to star in a film called ''The Last Best Sunday'', before landing supporting roles opposite

Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born ), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's L ...

in ''Girl, Interrupted'' and

Kim Basinger Kimila Ann Basinger ( ; born December 8, 1953) is an American actress. She has garnered acclaim for her work in film, for which she has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a ...

in '' Bless the Child''. In 2002, she starred as Abigail Williams in a production of ''The Crucible'' on Broadway alongside Laura Linney and Liam Neeson. Bettis is most famous for her work in independent horror films, and especially her professional relationship with writer and director

Lucky McKee Edward Lucky McKee (born November 1, 1975) is an American director, writer, and actor, largely known for the 2002 cult film ''May''. He is best known for his work in horror films. Life and career McKee was born in Jenny Lind, California. He ha ...

. Her title role in McKee's 2002 film ''

'' earned her a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

. Since then, she has appeared in McKee's ''

Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is a horror anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherm ...

'' episode " Sick Girl" and provided a voice-over for his film '' The Woods''. In 2006, their ''May'' roles reversed, when McKee acted for Bettis in her directorial debut, ''

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

'', based on a McKee script. In 2011, she played a major role in McKee's adaptation of Jack Ketchum's '' The Woman''. Bettis starred as Carrietta White in '' Carrie'', a made-for-television adaptation of the 1974 novel of the same name written by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

, in which her performance was singled out for praise. Linda Stasi of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' was positively surprised by her performance and stated that Bettis should win an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

. Ron Wertheimer, who wrote for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', said that Bettis expressed the character's emotions well, and lamented that the film "affords Ms. Bettis few opportunities for such genuine acting". She headlined

Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of al ...

's '' Toolbox Murders'', an in-name-only remake of an obscure 1970s horror film. She also starred in the crime thriller ''

Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrosis, fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other Organ (anatomy), organs, and biological tissue, t ...

''. She had a guest role on the TV show ''

Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

's'' fifth season as Emily Birch, the first victim of Jordan Chase.

Filmography

Film

Television

As producer

As director

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bettis, Angela 1973 births American twins Living people Actresses from Austin, Texas 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American stage actresses American film actresses American television actresses American web series actresses Film producers from Texas American women film producers Film directors from Texas American women film directors American horror film directors