Bess (name)

Bess is both a surname and a feminine given name, usually the shortened form (hypocorism) of Elizabeth. Notable people with the name include:

Given name

 * Elizabeth I (1533–1603), Queen of England, also known as "Good Queen Bess"
 * Bess of Hardwick (1527–1608), daughter of John Hardwick of Hardwicke
 * Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1759–1824), early female novelist
 * Bess Streeter Aldrich (1881–1954), American author
 * Bess Armstrong (born 1953), American actress
 * Bess Berman (1902–1968), American record label executive
 * Bess Bonnier (1928–2011), American jazz pianist, composer, and music educator
 * Bess Bukodi, British professor
 * Bess Phipps Dawson (1916–1994), American painter
 * Bess Marie Eversull (1899–1978), first woman to earn a PhD in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati
 * Bess Flowers (1898–1984), American actress
 * Bess Larkin Housser Harris (1890–1969), Canadian painter
 * Bess Lomax Hawes (1921–2009), American folk musician, folklorist, and researcher
 * Elizabeth Holland (died 1547/8), mistress of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
 * Bess Houdini (1876–1943), stage assistant and wife of Harry Houdini
 * Bess Johnson (c. 1902 – 1975), American actress
 * Bess Meredyth (1890–1969), screenwriter and silent film actress
 * Bess Gearhart Morrison (1875–1968), American actress, educator, and speaker
 * Bess Motta (born 1958), American actress, singer, choreographer, and exercise demonstrator
 * Bess Myerson (1924–2014), first Jewish Miss America, and politician
 * Bess Nkabinde (born 1959), South African judge
 * Bess Norriss (1878–1939), Australian artist
 * Bess Price (born 1960), Aboriginal Australian activist and politician
 * Elizabeth Raleigh (1565–1647), wife of Sir Walter Raleigh
 * Bess Rogers, American indie rock musician
 * Bess Whitehead Scott (1890–1997), American journalist
 * Bess Stinson (1902–1996), American politician
 * Bess Taffel (1913–2000), American screenwriter
 * Bess Thomas (1892–1968), Australian librarian
 * Bess Truitt (1884–1972), Oklahoma Poet Laureate from 1945 to 1946
 * Bess Truman (1885–1982), wife of President Harry S. Truman
 * Bess Bolden Walcott (1886–1988), African-American educator, librarian, museum curator, and activist

Surname

 * Brandon Bess (born 1987), West Indies Test cricketer
 * Calvin Bess, Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago
 * Daniel Bess, (born 1977), American television and film actor
 * Davone Bess (born 1985), National Football League wide receiver
 * Dom Bess (born 1997), England cricketer
 * Georges Bess (born 1947), French comics artist
 * Lane Bess (born 1961), American venture capitalist
 * Rachel Bess (born c. 1979), American painter
 * Robert T. Bess (1889–after 1958), British Guiana-born American stockbroker and civil rights activist
 * Rufus Bess (born 1956), former National Football League cornerback

Fictional characters

 * Bess, in the opera Porgy and Bess
 * Bess, an alternate personality of Jessica Buchanan in the American soap opera One Life to Live
 * Bess Lindstrom, in the television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show
 * Bess Marvin, one of Nancy Drew's closest friends
 * Elizabeth "Bess" McCord, protagonist of the American drama series Madam Secretary