Kathy Bates to retire after Matlock: Looking back at her top 15 roles

Kathy Bates has announced she's retiring after Matlock, so here's a look at the highlights of an incredible career!

CBS had announced Matlock in 2023, a reboot of the 1980s NBC series starring Andy Griffith as a lawyer whose charming manner hides his legal brilliance defending people accused of murder. The new version has Kathy Bates as Madeline "Matty" Matlock, a veteran attorney returning to work for a major firm. She uses her supposed scatterbrained persona and age to make sure she's underestimated before pulling off a win.

The 2023 Hollywood strikes delayed the show, but it is ready to premiere this September. Before that happens, Bates announced that she would be retiring after this series, no matter how long it runs. 

"This is my last dance. It becomes my life. Sometimes I get jealous of having this talent. Because I can't hold it back, and I just want my life. Everything I've prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it, it's exhausting."

This may seem a bit sad, but at 76, Bates has earned the right to retire on her own terms. At least she leaves behind a stunning body of work, so large it's hard to narrow down the best. Still, these rank as the best turns by Bates and why it will be sad when she hangs it up.

Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

Bates' first major role was in this 1982 Robert Altman film about a James Dean fan club reuniting in 1975. The ensemble cast includes Cher and Sandy Dennis as the reunion reveals old secrets and grudges. Bates was young then yet showcased some amazing talent, boosting her character up as she revealed some darker shadows behind her cheery exterior. It was the first sign of the sensational actress Bates would become and worth tracking down to watch. 

Misery

The movie that made Bates an instant star and won her the Oscar remains a stunning thriller. Adapting the Stephen King novel, James Caan is an author who just killed off his popular romance novel character. A car accident strands him in the remote cabin of Annie Wilkes, his biggest fan. When Annie discovers her beloved character's fate, she holds Caan hostage until he writes a novel reviving her.

Bates is nothing short of spectacular, showing Annie's insanity on display, which gets wilder as the movie goes on. Her "hobbling" scene is terrifying, as is the crazy ending. It's no wonder it earned her the Oscar and still ranks as one of the best female villains ever put on screen to be a marvelous turn. 

At Play in the Fields of the Lord

Released just after Misery, this movie benefited from Bates' new star power and she is a bright spot to it. She's a missionary coming to Brazil to spread Christianity to the native tribes. Bates has a stunning turn as her character slowly comes apart cut off from civilization and a total breakdown following the death of her child. Rather than being too showy, it's played well and Bates is completely believable to make the most of this small role in an underrated drama. 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Bates' Misery follow-up was a completely opposite turn in this delightful 1991 film. She's a timid housewife who bonds with a feisty elderly woman (an excellent Jessica Tandy) who shares stories of her past with Mary Stuart Masterson and Jennifer Jason Leigh good in the past roles. Bates is fun too, showing herself breaking out of her shell with the famous scene of her ramming a younger woman's car in a parking lot and defending herself on "I'm older and have more insurance." It proved Bates could pull off comedy as well as drama to kick-start a fine career. 

Dolores Claiborne

This seriously underrated 1995 film is another King adaptation with Bates in the title role of a woman accused of murdering her elderly boss. Christopher Plummer is the detective investigating, convinced that Dolores killed her husband years before. Jennifer Jason Leigh is Dolores' estranged daughter whose presence brings up old wounds. Bates is marvelous in the role, pulling off the difficult task of playing the character in different decades and her world-weary attitude serves her well. Not a hit in its time, it should be watched just for Bates alone in a thrilling turn. 

Titanic

It takes a lot to stand out in James Cameron's 1997 epic, but Bates pulls it off. She plays Molly Brown, the sassy millionaire on the doomed ship who earns the nickname "Unsinkable" for surviving the Titanic going down. Bates has a great spirit helping Leonardo DiCaprio's character make a splash in society. She really comes alive at the end, from her shock at seeing the ship going down to yelling at folks refusing to help survivors. It was a short role yet seemed bigger thanks to Bates' performance. 

Primary Colors

Bates earned another Oscar nomination for her turn in this 1998 film. It's a thinly veiled take on a certain Presidential campaign with John Travolta as the candidate handling scandals along with their wife, Emma Thompson. Bates steals the show as Libby, the unconventional "fixer" who, in the movie's signature scene, holds a man at gunpoint to force him to confess to being behind a smear job on Travolta. It's a wild performance at first but becomes more nuanced as Libby faces the darker side of her friends and ends up having a dark fate. Bates is the best reason to watch the film and a standout turn by her. 

The Waterboy

Yes, it's a pure comedy, yet Bates clearly has a blast with it. The 1998 Adam Sandler hit has him as the goofy, stuttering waterboy for a high school football team utterly dedicated to his Mama, played by Bates. It's obvious to the audience Bates is faking an illness to ensure her son never leaves her and is hysterical with her over-the-top accent and mannerisms. There is some heart in how Mama loves her son despite her many flaws, so even in a bawdy comedy, Bates is a highlight.  

About Schmidt

Bates landed another Oscar nomination for her turn in this 2002 film. In one of his better roles, Jack Nicholson is a retiree having trouble adjusting to life without work, leading to a strange road trip. Bates is the mother of Schmidt's daughter's fiance and in a memorable scene, tries to seduce Nicholson in a hot tub. It's a wild sight, with Bates literally baring all and great chemistry with Nicholson. It's one of her more daring performances and it pays off nicely. 

Midnight In Paris

Bates hasn't done much in historical drama stuff (aside from a cameo as Queen Victoria in 2004's Around the World in 80 Days) yet fits this 2011 Woody Allen film. Owen Wilson is a writer who visits Paris and somehow goes back in time to the 1920s. Among the artistic luminaries he meets is Bates as acclaimed author Gertrude Stein. Rather than overplay it, Bates is acting the role straight like she's in her own biopic which just makes it funnier and a nice standout amid a stacked cast. It shows again her underrated comedic timing. 

Richard Jewell

Bates' last Oscar nomination came for her turn in this 2019 Clint Eastwood film. It tells the real story of the titular Atlanta security guard who tried to stop a bombing at the 1996 Olympic Games only for the media to blame him for it. Bates is Jewell's mother, handling the media firestorm and defending her son's innocence. It's a more subdued turn by Bates which fits the film, a woman overwhelmed by this attention and still loving her son. It proves once more how Bates makes the most of any role she's given. 

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret

Bates' last great movie turn is in the long-awaited adaptation of the classic YA novel. Bates enters the film halfway through as the grandmother to the title teen character. Her kind visit goes south when she and her daughter (Rachel McAdams) have a blistering fight about religion. The role could have come off too harsh, yet Bates imbues it with warmth so that you can understand where her character is coming from. She and McAdams get along great and one of Bates' finer late-career movie turns. 

Six Feet Under

Moving into television, Bates had a memorable recurring role in HBO's dark comedy. She played Benitta, the caretaker for the quirky Sarah (Patricia Clarkson), who lives a fun life helping others through drug problems. She has a wild side encouraging folks to shoplift, a two-time widow and a daughter who's in a militia. Landing Bates was a big move for the show and no wonder she kept coming back in ten episodes to show her talents work on the small screen as well as the big one. 

American Horror Story 

Ryan Murphy's horror anthology series is known for its huge stacked casts, so landing Bates was a big deal. She appeared in different roles in the Coven, Freak Show, Hotel and two parts in the Roanoke season. Easily the best is the Coven role of Madame Delphine LaLaurie, the immortal witch pulled into modern times. Only Bates could make a scene of the woman's severed head forced to watch President Obama speak work and it's no wonder Bates won an Emmy for the role. Her other AHS parts were just as wild as Freak Show's bearded lady and Hotel's murderous manager. It's amazing seeing how easily Bates fits into AHS' crazy world. 

Harry's Law

Matlcok isn't Bates' first leading role in a network series. That was this underrated 2011-12 NBC series from David E. Kelly. Bates played Harriet Korn, a former patent attorney fired after losing her passion for the business. She operates a small legal firm out of a shoe store with an eccentric band of young lawyers helping. Starting out sardonic and bitter, Harry gradually lightens up and even becomes a mentor figure. The show had some good turns, the best being Harry clashing with Jean Smart's attorney in court. It only lasted two seasons but still showed Bates is terrific in a leading role. 

Matlock premieres Sunday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.