Lauren Bacall "Cactus Flower" (1965), "Applause" (1970), and "Woman of the Year" (1981). She won Tony Awards for her performances in the latter two. "Applause" was a musical version of the film "All About Eve", in which Bette Davis had starred as stage diva Margo Channing. According to Bacall's autobiography, she and a girlfriend won an opportunity in 1940 to meet her idol Bette Davis at Davis' hotel. Years later, Davis visited Bacall backstage to congratulate her on her performance in "Applause". Davis told Bacall, "You're the only one who could have played the part." The few films Bacall made during this
Bette Davis admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and three times divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 film, television, and theater roles to her credit during her six-decade-long career. In 1999, Davis was placed second behind Katharine Hepburn on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Ruth Elizabeth Davis,