Bessie is a feminine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Elizabeth, Beatrice, or Bessandra, and has been so used since the 16th century. Bessie is sometimes a name in its own right.
Bessie may refer to:
People:
Bessie Abott (1878-1919), American operatic soprano
Bessie Barriscale (1884–1965), stage name of American silent-film and stage actress Elizabeth Barry Scale
Elizabeth Blount (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 (1899-1970), British politician, Member of Parliament (1945-1970)
Elizabeth Bessie Coleman (1892-1926), first African-American female aviator
Annie Elizabeth Delany (1891–1995), American dentist and civil rights pioneer
Bessie Blount Griffin (1914-2009), American physical therapist, inventor, and forensic scientist
Bessie Head (1937-1986), Botswana writer
Bessilyn Johnson (1871-1943), wife of Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson
Bessie Love, stage name of American film actress Juanita Horton (1898-1986)
Bessie Boehm Moore (1902–1995), American educator
Bessie Moore (1854-1877), better known as Diamond Bessie, murdered prostitute
Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829-1925), English feminist, women's rights activist, poet, essayist and journalist
Bessie Smith (1894-1937), American blues singer
Bessie Stringfield (1911–1993), pioneer African-American motorcycle rider
Bessie Potter Vonnoh (1872–1955), American sculptor
Fictional characters:
Bessie Higgenbottom, titular character of the Nickelodeon TV channel cartoon The Mighty B!
Elizabeth Bessie Potter, on the TV series Dawson's Creek
A car used on the science fiction television series Doctor Who
Bessie, an asphalt-paver character in the movie Cars
