She talked about the kind of roles she received saying, “You’re either young and glamorous and you’re going to get the lead, or it’s the opposite: you’re not attractive enough. So you’re playing the friend or the killer or the lesbian or the doctor or whatever,” she said. “But the one who gets to play the young, pretty, gets-the-boy-at-the-end role doesn’t have any power. And vice-versa: a character can have power, but not femininity.”
She started directing episodes including some for shows like Homicide: Life On The Street, NYPD Blue, Oz and the hugely successful TV series Six Feet Under.
In her personal life, the actress has experienced some setbacks related to her health. She was diagnosed with cancer twice in her life; in 2003 and 2012. In 2003 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and with breast cancer in 2012.
Following her breast cancer surgery, actress Kathy Bates started to open up about her lymphedema diagnosis. She works as the spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network.
