The Million-Dollar Snub: Why Bette Davis Called Faye Dunaway The 'Worst Person' She Ever Worked With

The Golden Age of Hollywood was built on legendary rivalries, but none are quite as shocking—or as personal—as the deep-seated animosity Bette Davis held for fellow Oscar winner, Faye Dunaway. While the feud between Davis and Joan Crawford remains the most famous, Davis herself publicly declared that Dunaway was a far worse professional experience, cementing a rivalry that continues to fascinate film historians and fans even today, in December 2025.

This surprising battle of the divas did not stem from a clash over a role or a lover, but from a single, disastrous collaboration on a 1976 television movie. The details of that set, and Davis’s scathing, uncensored comments years later, paint a portrait of two acting titans whose intense, Method-driven professionalism collided with explosive results, forever linking their names in Hollywood infamy.

Bette Davis and Faye Dunaway: A Tale of Two Hollywood Legends

To fully grasp the magnitude of their clash, one must first appreciate the towering careers of the two women involved. Both Bette Davis and Faye Dunaway were known for their fierce independence, demanding nature, and transformative on-screen power.

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Bette Davis: The First Lady of the American Screen

• Born: April 5, 1908, Lowell, Massachusetts
• Died: October 6, 1989, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
• Academy Awards: 2 Wins (for *Dangerous* (1935) and *Jezebel* (1938)); 10 Nominations total.
• Key Films & Entities: *All About Eve* (1950), *The Letter* (1940), *The Little Foxes* (1941), *Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?* (1962), *Dark Victory* (1939), Warner Bros. Studio.
• Legacy: Known for her distinctive eyes, sharp wit, and pioneering fight against the studio system for better roles.

Faye Dunaway: The New Hollywood Icon

• Born: January 14, 1941, Bascom, Florida
• Academy Awards: 1 Win (Best Actress for *Network* (1976)); 3 Nominations total.
• Key Films & Entities: *Bonnie and Clyde* (1967), *Chinatown* (1974), *Network* (1976), *The Thomas Crown Affair* (1968), *Mommie Dearest* (1981), Warren Beatty, Robert Evans.
• Legacy: Embodied the cool, complex anti-heroines of the New Hollywood era and is famous for intense, all-consuming Method acting.

The stage was set for two strong personalities, separated by a generation and two distinct eras of filmmaking, to collide in a spectacular fashion.

The Disappearance of Aimee: The Set Where The Feud Began

The single project that brought these two powerful actresses together was the 1976 television movie, *The Disappearance of Aimee*. The film chronicled the real-life 1926 disappearance of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson.

Faye Dunaway starred as the controversial evangelist, while Bette Davis played her fiercely protective mother, Minnie Kennedy. For Dunaway, the role was an opportunity to showcase the intense, transformative acting style she was known for, which often involved staying in character and maintaining a demanding atmosphere on set. For Davis, a veteran of the classic studio system, professionalism meant punctuality, knowing one's lines, and respecting the crew.

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The conflict, according to reports and Davis's later accounts, was rooted in Dunaway’s alleged behavior. Davis, who was a stickler for on-set discipline, found Dunaway's approach to be the antithesis of professionalism.

Davis was reportedly infuriated by tardiness, diva demands, and a perceived lack of respect for the collaborative nature of filmmaking. The set of *The Disappearance of Aimee* quickly became a battleground of wills, with the younger star's Method intensity clashing violently with the older star's Old Hollywood rigor.

The Scathing Public Verdict: "The Worst Person I've Ever Worked With"

The feud remained a behind-the-scenes rumor until Bette Davis, never one to mince words, took it public in 1988 during an appearance on *The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson*, just a year before her death.

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When asked about her most difficult co-stars, Davis didn't hesitate to name Dunaway, delivering a quote that immediately became Hollywood lore. Davis famously stated that Faye Dunaway was "the most unprofessional" actress she had ever worked with.

The statement went further, demonstrating the depth of Davis's disdain. She told Carson that she wouldn't work with Dunaway again "for a million dollars." This public, unreserved condemnation from a legend like Davis was a stunning blow to Dunaway's reputation, solidifying the narrative of her being a "difficult" Hollywood diva.

The Irony of the Joan Crawford Comparison

What makes Davis’s condemnation of Dunaway so significant is the context of her legendary feud with Joan Crawford. The Davis-Crawford rivalry is arguably the most famous in cinema history, fueled by decades of competition, culminating in their collaboration on *Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?*

Yet, even when discussing Crawford, Davis maintained a grudging respect. Davis repeatedly acknowledged that Crawford, despite their personal animosity, was always an absolute professional: she was on time, knew her lines, and delivered her performance.

The fact that Davis held more professional respect for her lifelong nemesis, Joan Crawford, than she did for Faye Dunaway—the actress who later immortalized Crawford in the notorious film adaptation of *Mommie Dearest*—is the ultimate, delicious Hollywood irony.

The Mommie Dearest Link and Dunaway's Silent Response

The connection between the two feuds is inescapable. Faye Dunaway’s career-defining, and arguably career-damaging, turn as Joan Crawford in the 1981 film *Mommie Dearest* came five years after her clash with Davis.

Bette Davis, a close friend of Crawford’s daughter, Christina Crawford, actually denounced the *Mommie Dearest* book itself, stating that she did not believe the worst of the allegations against Crawford. However, the sheer spectacle of Dunaway’s performance—which was criticized for being over-the-top and contributing to her reputation for intensity—only seemed to confirm Davis’s earlier assessment of her unprofessionalism.

Interestingly, Faye Dunaway has largely remained silent on the direct criticism from Bette Davis. This silence, in the face of such a public and brutal attack, has been interpreted by some as a sign of her own quiet dignity, while others see it as an acknowledgment that Davis’s reputation as a truth-teller made a rebuttal futile.

The legacy of this short-lived but explosive co-starring role continues to be analyzed today. The Bette Davis/Faye Dunaway feud serves as a powerful reminder that in Hollywood, the line between a passionate, dedicated artist and an 'unprofessional' diva is often in the eye of the beholder—especially when that beholder is a legend like Bette Davis.