Bess (name)
Bess is both a surname and a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include:Given name
- Elizabeth I, also known as "Good Queen Bess"
- Bess of Hardwick, daughter of John Hardwick of Hardwicke
- Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, early female novelist
- Bess Armstrong, American actress
- Elizabeth Austin, several people
- Bess Berman, American record label executive
- Bess Bolden Walcott, African American educator, librarian, museum curator, and activist
- Bess Bonnier, American jazz pianist, composer, and music educator
- Bess Bukodi, British professor
- Elizabeth Davies, several people
- Elizabeth Davis, several people
- Bess Flowers, American actress
- Bess Gearhart Morrison, American actress, educator, and speaker
- Elizabeth Holland, mistress of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
- Bess Houdini, stage assistant and wife of Harry Houdini
- Bess Johnson, American actress
- Bess Larkin Housser Harris, Canadian painter
- Bess Lomax Hawes, American folk musician, folklorist, and researcher
- Bess Meredyth, screenwriter and silent film actress
- Bess Motta, American actress, singer, choreographer, and exercise demonstrator
- Bess Myerson, first Jewish Miss America, and politician
- Bess Nkabinde, South African judge
- Bess Norriss, Australian artist
- Bess Phipps Dawson, American painter
- Bess Price, Aboriginal Australian activist and politician
- Elizabeth Raleigh, wife of Sir Walter Raleigh
- Bess Rogers, American indie rock musician
- Bess Stinson, Arizona state legislator
- Bess Streeter Aldrich, American author
- Bess Taffel, American screenwriter
- Bess Thomas, Australian librarian
- Bess Truitt, Oklahoma Poet Laureate from 1945 to 1946
- Bess Truman, wife of President Harry S. Truman
- Elizabeth Walker, several people
- Bess Whitehead Scott, journalist
Surname
- Brandon Bess, West Indies Test cricketer
- Calvin Bess, Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago
- Davone Bess, National Football League wide receiver
- Dominic Bess, England cricketer
- Georges Bess, French comics artist
- Rachel Bess, American painter
- Rufus Bess, former National Football League cornerback
Fictional characters
- Bess, in the opera Porgy and Bess
- Bess Marvin, one of Nancy Drew's closest friends
- Bess, an alternate personality of Jessica Buchanan in the American soap opera One Life to Live
- Elizabeth "Bess" McCord, protagonist of the American drama series Madam Secretary
