Trivia

Although most of her work is in American film and television, she has steadfastly refused to move to the United States and prefers to live in Sydney, Australia.

Attended drama school with Mel Gibson. They played Romeo and Juliet together.

To prepare for her role as Judy Garland in Judy Garland, la vie d'une étoile (2001), she pored over television footage, biographies and nearly all of Garland's 32 feature films. She also wore dark contact lenses for the role.

In a 1994 interview, she listed Robin Williams as the one actor she would like to work with but hadn't. In 1997, they both appeared in Harry dans tous ses états (1997), but did not share any scenes.

She was among the cast members of the George Sluizer film Dark Blood (2012) that was filmed in 1993 and was left unfinished by star River Phoenix's 1993 death.

Did her own piano playing in Ma brillante carrière (1979). Throughout the film she plays Schumann's "Scenes from Childhood".

Forbidden to see movies as a child.

Auditioned for the female lead roles in Scarface (1983), Terminator (1984) Out of Africa - Souvenirs d'Afrique (1985), Top Gun (1986), Nuit de folie (1987), Liaison fatale (1987), Broadcast News (1987) and Les Accusés (1988).

Fellow Australian actresses Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Toni Collette all cited Davis as a major influence on their own careers. She worked with Kidman in an episode of Roar (2022).

Intensely dislikes being interviewed and does so only as a gesture of goodwill toward the directors of her films.

Has played several real-life women, including Lillian Hellman, Judy Garland, Golda Meir, Nancy Reagan, Hedda Hopper, Anne d'Arpajon, George Sand, and WWII heroine Mary Lindell.

Her family can trace its ancestry back to the original 1831 British settlement in Perth.

According to director Sydney Pollack, he met with both Davis and Julie Christie before casting Meryl Streep in the role of Karen Blixen in Out of Africa - Souvenirs d'Afrique (1985).

Sang in a band with an Italian band leader in both Taiwan and Japan.

Lost her Catholic faith at age 14, when she read a book that suggested a metaphorical rather than a literal interpretation of the story of Jesus and the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

She began filming Celebrity (1998) less than two weeks after giving birth to her daughter Charlotte. During production on the film, her husband Colin Friels contracted pancreatic cancer and nearly died.

She turned down the Rachel Ward role in the Australian-set, American miniseries Les oiseaux se cachent pour mourir (1983).

Trained at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts). Her fellow students included Mel Gibson, Colin Friels and Dennis Olsen.

One of her most famous films is also one of her least favorite: Ma brillante carrière (1979). Although it propelled her to major stardom, she was miserable during its filming and cannot stand to watch it today.

Appeared with her husband Colin Friels in several projects, including Pièges (1981), Kangaroo (1986), High Tide (1987),The Man Who Sued God (2001), L'oeil du cyclone (2011) and Mystery Road (2018). They have also frequently appeared together on the Australian stage.

Both times she was Oscar-nominated, she competed with Vanessa Redgrave for the award. Neither actress won the award either time.

In 2002, took out an "apprehended violence order" against her husband, Colin Friels. She was reportedly cut during an argument about a newspaper article during which a table was broken. The order did not require the couple to be separated.

Agreed to do the film Les pleins pouvoirs (1997) so she could work with Clint Eastwood.

Famously clashed with director David Lean on the set of La route des Indes (1984).

Once described her character in High Tide (1987) as the one which is "closest to my own persona".

Once said that the one role she wanted but didn't get was Debra Winger's part in Un thé au Sahara (1990).

In 1986, both she and husband Colin Friels won Australian Film Institute Awards. She won Best Actress for Kangaroo (1986) while he won the Best Actor award for Malcolm (1986).

Was once described as "the patron saint of modern emotions" by director/screenwriter Michael Tolkin.

Has played writers in numerous films, including George Sand in Impromptu (1991), Lillian Hellman in Dash and Lilly (1999), and characters based on writers Jane Bowles (in Le Festin nu (1991)) and Miles Franklin (in Ma brillante carrière (1979)).

In her diverse career, Davis has played a woman addicted to bug spray, a former First Lady, a German housewife living in Australia, a Southern ghostwriter, a serial killer, an unbalanced White House Chief of Staff and a fervent Australian Stalinist.

In 2000, was reportedly in talks to appear in "Cloudstreet," an adaptation of an Australian best-seller which would have been directed by Peter Duncan and also starred Geoffrey Rush, Anna Paquin, and Heath Ledger. For whatever reason, the project never made it off the ground.

Was cast in her star-making role as Sybylla Melvyn in Ma brillante carrière (1979) only after producers decided to replace actress Jan Hamilton, who was originally cast in the role.

Quentin Tarantino says that her breakout role in Ma brillante carrière (1979) is one of his favourite Australian films.

Has a son, Jack Friels (born 1987), and a daughter, Charlotte Friels (born 1997).

On June 2, 2008, won a libel case against Australia's Daily Telegraph. The suit claimed Davis had been defamed in articles about her appearance at a council meeting at which objections were raised against plans to install floodlighting at a sports field near her Sydney home. The articles suggested she was unconcerned about the potential danger to children due to the poor lighting at the park, and also suggested she had angrily stormed out of the meeting. The jury ruled with Davis, stating she had been defamed by the newspaper. She received the equivalent of $133,000 in damages.

She has appeared in five films directed by Woody Allen: Alice (1990), Maris et femmes (1992), Harry dans tous ses états (1997), Celebrity (1998) and To Rome with Love (2012).

Served as a member of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival in 1993.

Erroneously described as having dropped out of convent school at age 17 so she could travel around the world. Davis has said she most certainly graduated high school before touring with a band throughout Asia.

Attended a Catholic convent school in her hometown of Perth, Australia.

Kate Winslet said the best thing about being a part of Haute couture (2015) was working with Davis.

She played Peter Weller's wife in both Le Festin nu (1991) and The New Age (1994).

Was the runner-up for the 1993 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Maris et femmes (1992). The winner was Miranda Richardson for her work in The Crying Game (1992), Fatale (1992), and Avril enchanté (1991).

Was presented the Don Dunston Award for her contribution to the film industry at the 2011 BigPond Adelaide Film Festival.

She played Joe Mantegna's wife in two films written and directed by Woody Allen: Alice (1990) and Celebrity (1998).

Of her six Golden Globe nominations (as of 2019), five of them were for television projects and in all of those she played a real life character.

When she was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actress category for La route des Indes (1984) she was up against Sally Field who won for Les saisons du coeur (1984). They would work together in Destins croisés (1999).

Has protested Australia's involvement in the war with Iraq.

Has been one of the choices to portray three parts that Meryl Streep ended up playing. These were Karen Blixen in Out of Africa - Souvenirs d'Afrique (1985), Lindy Chamberlain Creighton in Un cri dans la nuit (1988) and Violet Weston in Un été à Osage County (2013).

As of 2022, she has the most accolades of the AACTA Award (the Australian equivalent of an Oscar) with nine in total from 1981.

She was a part of the movement dubbed the "Australian New Wave" by the press. They were a group of filmmakers and performers who emerged from Down Under at about the same time in the early 1980's and found work in other parts of the world. Other members included actor Mel Gibson and directors George Miller and Gillian Armstrong.