Bessie

Bessie is a feminine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Elizabeth, Beatrice and other names since the 16th century. It 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 Christie (1904–1983), New Zealand artist
• Elizabeth Bessie Coleman (1892-1926), first African-American female aviator
• Annie Elizabeth Delany (1891–1995), American dentist and civil rights pioneer
• Bessie Alexander Ficklen (1861–1945), American poet, author, artist
• 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