Bessie is a feminine given name, often a diminutive form (

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

) of

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

Beatrice Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated ...

and other names since the 16th century. It is sometimes a name in its own right. Notable people with the name include:

People

Bessie Abott Bessie Abott (1878 – February 9, 1919) was an American operatic soprano who had an active international career during the early 20th century. She was particularly associated with the Paris Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and excelled in pe ...

(1878-1919), American operatic soprano *

Bessie Barriscale Bessie Barriscale (born Elizabeth Barry Scale, June 9, 1884June 30, 1965) was an American actress who gained fame on the stage and in silent films. Early life Barriscale was born Elizabeth Barry Scale in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Irish immig ...

(1884–1965), stage name of American silent-film and stage actress Elizabeth Barry Scale *

Elizabeth Blount Elizabeth Blount (// – 1540), commonly known during her lifetime as Bessie Blount, was a mistress of Henry VIII of England. Early life Blount was the daughter of Sir John Blount and Catherine Pershall, of Kinlet, Bridgnorth, Shropshire. Si ...

(c. 1498 or c. 1500 or c. 1502–1539/1540), mistress of Henry VIII of England and mother of his son, Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset * Elizabeth

Bessie Braddock Elizabeth Margaret Braddock (née Bamber; 24 September 1899 – 13 November 1970) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Liverpool Exchange division from 1945 to 1970. She was a ...

(1899-1970), British politician, Member of Parliament (1945-1970) * Elizabeth

Bessie Christie Elizabeth Froomes Christie (3 August 1904 – 9 March 1983) was a New Zealand painter. Career Born in Wellington on 3 August 1904, Christie trained at the Elam School of Fine Art at Auckland University College. She taught art at Takapuna Gram ...

(1904–1983), New Zealand artist * Elizabeth

Bessie Coleman Bessie Coleman (January 26, 1892April 30, 1926) was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license. She earned her license from the '' Fédération Aéronautique In ...

(1892-1926), first African-American female aviator *

Annie Elizabeth Delany Annie Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany (3 September 1891 – 25 September 1995) was an American civil rights pioneer who was the subject, along with her elder sister Sarah "Sadie" Delany, of ''The New York Times'' bestselling oral history, '' Having Ou ...

(1891–1995), American dentist and civil rights pioneer *

Bessie Alexander Ficklen Bessie Alexander Ficklen (, Alexander; November 10, 1861 – March 3, 1945) was an American poet and artist. Her essay on "Dream Poetry", appeared in one of the leading magazines of the 19th-century and attracted much attention. She wrote more for ...

(1861–1945), American poet, author, artist *

Bessie Blount Griffin Bessie Virginia Blount, also known as Bessie Blount Griffin, (November 24, 1914 – December 30, 2009) was a writer, nurse, physical therapist, inventor and forensic scientist. Early life Bessie Blount Griffin was born on November 24, 1914, ...

(1914-2009), American physical therapist, inventor, and forensic scientist *

Bessie Head Bessie Amelia Emery Head (6 July 1937 – 17 April 1986) was a South African writer who, though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana's most influential writer. She wrote novels, short fiction and autobiographical works that are ...

(1937-1986), Botswana writer *

Bessilyn Johnson Bessilyn Johnson (January 14, 1871 – April 22, 1943), known also as "Bessie" or "Mabel", was the wife of the Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson, a man who was variously the partner, friend and dupe of the famed American Old West figure Deat ...

(1871-1943), wife of Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson *

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned ei ...

, stage name of American film actress Juanita Horton (1898-1986) * Bessie "Betty" Mitchell (1896–1976), Canadian theatre director and educator *

Bessie Boehm Moore Bessie Grace Boehm Moore (August 2, 1902 – October 24, 1995) was an American educator from Arkansas. She was a lifelong advocate to increase funding and support for libraries and served on the Arkansas Library Commission for 38 years. In 1999, ...

(1902–1995), American educator * Bessie Moore (1854-1877), better known as

Diamond Bessie Diamond Bessie (1854 - January 21, 1877) was the popular name given to Bessie Moore, née Annie Stone (although other sources give her birth name as Annie Moore), a prostitute whose murder in the woods outside Jefferson, Texas, propelled her to t ...

, murdered prostitute *

Bessie Rayner Parkes Elizabeth Rayner Belloc (; 16 June 1829 – 23 March 1925) was one of the most prominent English feminists and campaigners for women's rights in Victorian times and also a poet, essayist and journalist. Early life Bessie Rayner Parkes was bo ...

(1829-1925), English feminist, women's rights activist, poet, essayist and journalist *

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...

(1894-1937), American blues singer *

Bessie Stringfield Bessie Stringfield (1911 or 1912 – February 16, 1993), also known as the "Motorcycle Queen of Miami", was an American motorcyclist who was the first African-American woman to ride across the United States solo, and was one of the few civilian m ...

(1911–1993), pioneer African-American motorcycle rider *

Bessie Potter Vonnoh Bessie Potter Vonnoh (August 17, 1872 – March 8, 1955) was an American sculptor best known for her small bronzes, mostly of domestic scenes, and for her garden fountains. Her stated artistic objective, as she told an interviewer in 1925, was to ...

(1872–1955), American sculptor *

Bessie (South African queen) Bessie, otherwise known as Gquma, was a South African traditional aristocrat. As the Great Wife of Paramount Chief Sango of the Tshomane, she served as a queen of the Mpondo people. Life A famous figure in South African history, Bessie was a whi ...

Fictional characters

* Bessie Higgenbottom, titular character of the Nickelodeon TV channel cartoon ''

The Mighty B! ''The Mighty B!'' (stylized in all caps) is an American animated television series created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True, and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girl scout who believes sh ...

'' * Elizabeth Bessie Potter, on the TV series ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'' * Bessie, the road paving machine in the 2006

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

film ''

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

'' * Bessie Busybody, a character in the TV series '' LazyTown'' * Bessie, affectionate name given to his yellow Austin car (registration number WHO1) by the Third Doctor (also used by Fourth, Seventh and Eleventh Doctors, Liz Shaw and Alice Obiefune) in the TV series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

People

Fictional characters

See also