Duration 1997–99 Last appearance December 31, 1999 Classification Former; regular Creator Robert Guza Jr. | First appearance January 6, 1997 Created by Robert Guza, Jr. Portrayed by Kathleen Noone Niece Annie Douglas Richards | |
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Introduced by Gary Tomlin, Aaron Spelling and E. Duke Vincent Similar Sean Richards, Casey Mitchum, Antonio Torres, Virginia Harrison, Gabi Martinez | ||
Bette Katzenkazrahi is a fictional character from the US NBC soap opera Sunset Beach, played by Kathleen Noone.
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Character development
Noone was cast into the role after previously appearing on daytime television for a number of years appearing in rival soap opera All My Children. Noone signed a new contract with the serial in August 1999, she also incorrectly predicted that Sunset Beach would not be axed by NBC.
Storylines
During the entire run, Bette was a much beloved person. Although she always knew the newest gossip and eventually ended up hired by Gregory Richards (Sam Behrens) as a gossip columnist, Bette was always fun and entertaining. She had been married 7 times. During the first year, Bette was involved in a storyline involving her best friend Olivia Blake (Lesley-Anne Down). She supported her while knowing that Olivia had been in an affair with her daughter's boyfriend. She even lied to her best friend Elaine Stevens (Leigh Taylor-Young) about the whereabouts of her long-lost son. However, she did it all to protect the people she loved. Bette was also involved in a short story where her ex-husband Al Kennedy died in her hot tub.
Bette had also been flirting with Eddie Connors (Peter Barton) for a while, but their love never happened because Eddie was killed off. Later, the arrival of her daughter Emily Davis (Cristi Harris) in May 1998 brought a whole new story for Bette. Their relationship was rocky, so they slowly worked on becoming closer to each other, which they finally did. In 1999, during the end, Bette found love again in A.J. Deschanel (Gordon Thomson).
Reception
Julia Shih of The Michigan Daily opined that Bette is one of the soap opera's most "annoying" characters because of her "sexual appetite". In 1998, for her portrayal of Bette, Noone was nominated in the category of "Female Scene Stealer" at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.