Florence Bates was an American character actress who often played grande dame characters in her films. Born Florence Rabe in San Antonio, Texas, the second child of Jewish immigrants, Bates showed musical talent as a child, but a hand injury inhibited her from continuing her piano studies. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Mathematics in 1906, after which she taught school. In 1909 she met and married her first husband and gave up her career to raise their daughter. When that marriage ended in divorce, she began to study law and passed the bar in 1914, becoming at the age of 26 the first female lawyer in her home state. She practiced law for four years in San Antonio. After the death of her parents, Bates left the legal profession to help her sister operate their father's antique business. She became a bilingual radio commentator whose program was designed to foster good relations between the United States and Mexico. In 1929, following the stock market crash and the death of her sister, Florence closed the antique shop and married a wealthy businessman, William F. Jacoby. 

April 15th, 1888 in San Antonio  /  Died:   Jan 31st, 1954 - Heart attack, aged 65