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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 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

See also

• Bessie

Name list

This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name.
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