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Bette Midler

Bette Midler began her career as an extra in Hawaii, which prompted a move from her Honolulu hometown to New York in 1965. Within months, she debuted on stage in Miss Nefertiti Regrets, and went on to take over the role of Tzeitel in the hit Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof.

Following singing engagements at New York cabarets, Midler opened a record-breaking run at the Continental Baths, which led to a recording contract, and in 1973 she won a Grammy for her platinum-selling debut album, The Divine Miss M. She later earned Grammys for the title song from The Rose, Blueberry Pie and the Beaches soundtrack album, featuring Wind Beneath My Wings. Her appearance at Broadway's Palace Theatre earned a Tony Award and her 1993 tour Experience the Divine broke all box office records for a concert by an individual.

Midler's feature credits include 1979's The Rose, (Oscar nomination and two Golden Globe Awards), and starring roles in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune, Big Business, Beaches, Stella, Scenes From a Mall and For the Boys, (Golden

Globe winner and Oscar nomination for Best Actress), Hocus Pocus, Get Shorty, 'The First Wives Club and Isn't She Great, among many others.

On television, Midler won a People's Choice and a TV Guide Award for her debut series role in the comedy Bette. She's headlined two HBO specials, the Emmy Award-winning CBS special Ol' Red Hair is Back and HBO's concert film Diva Las Vegas, which brought an Emmy Award for her performance and received a record 10 nominations for the year. She won an Emmy for her moving appearance on Johnny Carson's final Tonight Show episode, as well as a Golden Globe and a National Board of Review award for her performance in the 1992 television adaptation of the musical Gypsy.

Midler just completed her national, sold out concert tour, Kiss My Brass. She released the Grammy-nominated Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook in 2003.

Midler is the founder and very active guiding light of the New York Restoration Project, which she established in 1997. The organization works to uncover, reclaim and clean neglected public spaces, in part through partnerships with government, but fundamentally by nurturing community empowerment and fostering civic pride in local communities. The NYRP brings these spaces back to life, gives them back to the public and secures the resources to make all that happen.

Midler is married to Martin Von Haselberg and has a daughter, Sophie.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2004.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Bette Midler Facts

OccupationActress
BirthdayDecember 1, 1945 (78)
SignSagittarius
BirthplaceHonolulu, Hawaii, USA
Height5' 1" (1m55)  How tall is Bette Midler compared to you?
Awards1994 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Mini-Series or a TV Film (for Gypsy)
1992 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (for For the Boys)
1980 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (for The Rose)

Selected Filmography

Hocus Pocus
Oliver & Company
The Women
What Women Want
Oliver and Company
Parental Guidance
Beaches
The First Wives Club
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