Bette Midler

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Birthday:

1 December 1945, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

Birth Name:

Bette Davis Midler

Height:

155 cm

Multi Grammy Award-winning singer/comedienne/author Bette Midler has also proven herself to be a very capable actress in a string of both dramatic and comedic roles. Midler was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 1, 1945. She is the daughter of Ruth (Schindel), a seamstress, and Fred Midler, a painter. Her parents, originally from New Jersey, were both from Jewish immigrant families (from Russia, Poland, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire).Midler studied drama at the University of Hawaii and got her musical career started by performing in gay bathhouses with piano accompaniment from Barry Manilow. Her first album was "The Divine Miss M" released in November 1972, followed by the self-titled "Bette Midler" released in November 1973, both of which took off up the music charts, and Bette's popularity swiftly escalated from there.After minor roles in several film/TV productions, she surprised all with her knockout performance of a hard-living rock-and-roll singer (loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin) in The Rose (1979), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In 1986, director Paul Mazursky cast Midler opposite Nick Nolte and Richard Dreyfuss in the hilarious Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), and so began a string of very funny comedic film roles. She played an obnoxious wife who was the victim of a kidnap plot by her scoundrel husband, played by Danny DeVito, in Ruthless People (1986), was pursued by CIA and KGB spies in Outrageous Fortune (1987), played mismatched twins with Lily Tomlin in Big Business (1988) and shone in the tear-jerker Beaches (1988).Bette matched feisty James Caan in the WWII drama For the Boys (1991), made a dynamic trio with Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton in The First Wives Club (1996), was back on screen with DeVito for the tepid comedy Drowning Mona (2000) and turned up in the glossy remake of The Stepford Wives (2004). Apart from her four Grammy awards, Bette Midler has also won four Golden Globes, one Tony Award, and three Emmy Awards, plus she has sold in excess of 15 million albums worldwide. Most recently, she toured with her sassy "Kiss My Brass" show, and is promoting her album "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook". Show less «

I try not to drink too much, because when I'm drunk, I bite.

[on acting] You have to think you're the greatest thing since sliced bread, but know you're not.

[2005, during a concert in Brisbane, Australia] It's been 26 years since I was last here. Before my fans were all taking drugs; this time th...Show more »

[2005, during a concert in Brisbane, Australia] It's been 26 years since I was last here. Before my fans were all taking drugs; this time they're all taking medication! Show less «

The worst part of success is to try finding someone who is happy for you.

I always try to balance the light with the heavy - a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and the fringes.

I bear no grudges. I have a mind that retains nothing.

Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs.

In Hawaii, I was the chief chunker in a pineapple canning factory. I used to come home smelling like a compote.

Underneath all this drag, I'm really a librarian, you know.

I wouldn't say I invented tack, but I definitely brought it to its present high popularity.

[when asked by Parade magazine whether she will retire after her show in Las Vegas] I think so. I must say, my high kick is just as high as ...Show more »

[when asked by Parade magazine whether she will retire after her show in Las Vegas] I think so. I must say, my high kick is just as high as it ever was, thanks to tai chi. But everything is a bit slower. The mind - things don't stick the way they used to. I feel like I'm going out with a bang. It's something my husband and I have talked about. I certainly don't want to die in harness. I'm not one of those people. Show less «

I want world peace. Please. Just for my sake, before I go. I also hope that Meryl Streep has the good taste to step aside and let the rest o...Show more »

I want world peace. Please. Just for my sake, before I go. I also hope that Meryl Streep has the good taste to step aside and let the rest of us have a crack... but I know she won't. She has a really good agent. She's great, but I know there are some ladies behind her saying, "Meryl, for God's sake, do you have to say yes to everything?". Show less «

I'm kind of healthy but has a little bit of arthritis, my eyes are a little shaky. I drank a little, I didn't do drugs to any great extent. ...Show more »

I'm kind of healthy but has a little bit of arthritis, my eyes are a little shaky. I drank a little, I didn't do drugs to any great extent. I do get depressed but not like you do if you drink or do drugs. I have pretty bad melancholia, but I've found you can get rid of that by exercising. [I have therapy.] A lot of people don't love what they do and I do. I still love music and I love, love, love to dance. For most women - I can't speak for men - I'd say dancing is the key to happiness. Show less «

I love Barbara Hershey and Lainie Kazan. I had no idea Beaches (1988) was an 'uberweepie'! The nerve! It wasn't so bad. I co-produced it. It...Show more »

I love Barbara Hershey and Lainie Kazan. I had no idea Beaches (1988) was an 'uberweepie'! The nerve! It wasn't so bad. I co-produced it. It was a pretty damned good screenplay. I thought it was just another movie. I didn't think of it as a women's picture. I was so excited to be able to sing again and have a soundtrack. Show less «

Thank God for the gays. I don't know what would have happened but I know what did happen. Good for them and good for me.

I was riveting. Yes, it was a place where gay men met and had sex. I didn't see that. Someone sent me a picture showing me in a 1930s costum...Show more »

I was riveting. Yes, it was a place where gay men met and had sex. I didn't see that. Someone sent me a picture showing me in a 1930s costume with my hair pulled back and all these cute young men in bathrobes watching me. It seemed very innocent. I would stand at the top of a little staircase with a towel round my head and act out whacked-out movie heroines. Patti LaBelle played there, too. I wasn't there long, but I was there long enough to make a splash, ha-ha. Show less «

I've never been to a sex orgy in my entire life. Studio 54 was way worse than the baths.

I'm glad my daughter has been [university educated]. I sometimes think I should go back to school to learn French and music, but who would h...Show more »

I'm glad my daughter has been [university educated]. I sometimes think I should go back to school to learn French and music, but who would have me? Show less «

I'm an open-space person. I'm not a believer in sprawl. I don't particularly care for postmodern architecture. I believe in solid fare and b...Show more »

I'm an open-space person. I'm not a believer in sprawl. I don't particularly care for postmodern architecture. I believe in solid fare and building fair. I'm green to the core. This group I run in New York bought 60 community gardens and helped another group to buy 55 in congested neighbourhoods. I'm doing a similar thing in Hawaii, but it's harder there, the tracts are so big and there are these things about road zoning, dams, reservoirs... Show less «

My parents (mother Ruth a seamstress, father Fred a painter) were not encouraging. My father put everybody down. Yeah, it was a real drag bu...Show more »

My parents (mother Ruth a seamstress, father Fred a painter) were not encouraging. My father put everybody down. Yeah, it was a real drag but he had his moments. His saving grace was a wicked sense of humour. He was a good provider. They were a team. They were at Pearl Harbour, they knew hardship. My mum was supportive, she had a tinge of showbiz fever and named me and my sisters after Hollywood icons. My dad was like "Get a job". But that gave me something to fight against. Show less «

[on growing up in Hawaii]: We were very poor, it was a hard-scrabble childhood, not particularly happy. The best part was nature, which is s...Show more »

[on growing up in Hawaii]: We were very poor, it was a hard-scrabble childhood, not particularly happy. The best part was nature, which is so intense there. The sky is bright blue, the clouds are puffy, the grass is lush, it feels like you can touch the stars. But the people were not very nice. I was a white kid in a mostly Asian neighbourhood. You heard Hawaii was a great melting pot? Hooey. I had a very strong fantasy life. Sorry, what was the question? I'm bonkers. Where am I? Who am I? I love your socks. Show less «

I thought I would be an actorrrr. I thought I'd be Ethel Barrymore. I didn't know who she was, but she was my idea of an actorrrr. It seemed...Show more »

I thought I would be an actorrrr. I thought I'd be Ethel Barrymore. I didn't know who she was, but she was my idea of an actorrrr. It seemed it would be more fun to be someone else rather than myself. Show less «

On desire: If somebody makes me laugh, I'm his slave for life.

I'm not just vain, I'm ignorant. I'm vignorant!

I celebrate everyone's religious holidays. if it's good enough for the righteous, it's good enough for the self-righteous, I always say.

[Accusing Lady Gaga of stealing her Dolores DeLago routine] I've been doing singing mermaid since 1980. You can keep the meat dress and the ...Show more »

[Accusing Lady Gaga of stealing her Dolores DeLago routine] I've been doing singing mermaid since 1980. You can keep the meat dress and the firecracker boobs. Mermaid's mine. Show less «

As Joan Crawford once said, "I'll show ya a pair of Golden Globes!".

[on Susan Boyle] She is an act whose time has come. People love that voice. She sings straight. She doesn't do a lot of riffing. There are n...Show more »

[on Susan Boyle] She is an act whose time has come. People love that voice. She sings straight. She doesn't do a lot of riffing. There are no trills, no thrills. Its straight singing and it comes from the heart. Show less «

As an actor you're supposed to take jobs that will challenge you or force fans to see you in a different light. By the '90s, I wasn't really...Show more »

As an actor you're supposed to take jobs that will challenge you or force fans to see you in a different light. By the '90s, I wasn't really an actor anymore. I was someone who went on the road with these gigantic concerts. I got so far away from what they told you in acting class: Do something different. Producers kept offering me the Sister Act (1992) movie, but I said, "My fans don't want to see me in a wimple." I literally said, "My fans don't want to see me in a wimple.". Show less «

[on Sue Mengers who she played on Broadway] Sue even had a friend blowing marijuana smoke into her face as she passed away. She was high unt...Show more »

[on Sue Mengers who she played on Broadway] Sue even had a friend blowing marijuana smoke into her face as she passed away. She was high until the bitter end. Show less «

[on Misery (1990)] I turned that down because I didn't want to saw off someone's foot, even though the role won an Oscar [for Kathy Bates]. ...Show more »

[on Misery (1990)] I turned that down because I didn't want to saw off someone's foot, even though the role won an Oscar [for Kathy Bates]. It was stupid to say no to those pictures. And while I was unsure about doing this play [on Broadway as Sue Mengers], I felt it was time for me to say yes. Show less «

[on her Broadway debut in one-woman show "I'll Eat You Last"] I'd never done a straight play before, never, and it was very hard work - real...Show more »

[on her Broadway debut in one-woman show "I'll Eat You Last"] I'd never done a straight play before, never, and it was very hard work - really, really hard work. It was dense, really wordy, and I was determined to learn every word of it - not just skip over bits and pieces. It took me a long time to actually know what the play was about - that it was a long aria with slow-moving parts, and parts with laughs and tears, and that my job was to switch gears pretty radically and seamlessly in ways that I had never done before. And this wasn't like just one day of shooting for a movie - you had to stay healthy, your brain had to stay sharp, and you needed enough wind so when a sentence went on like a paragraph, I could still breathe. There were moments I had to eat candy, and I would have a mouth full of saliva, but no time to swallow it - so I had to learn to perform through moments like that. Show less «

[her reaction of Broadway audiences] I learned to accept the audience's happiness for me, which is one of the hardest things for me to learn...Show more »

[her reaction of Broadway audiences] I learned to accept the audience's happiness for me, which is one of the hardest things for me to learn. I had a hard-scrabble childhood with my parents. I have a lot of baggage. To come down to the footlights and accept the audience's affection inside a Broadway theater - that didn't come easily to me. Sue Mengers was way tougher than I am. You go through your life, you're a certain age, a lot of things have happened to me, but I needed to put those aside and let the audience affect me in a simple way. Show less «

[on smoking for Sue Mengers role] The cigarettes nearly killed me. I answer the phone now and people calling think it's my husband. And my a...Show more »

[on smoking for Sue Mengers role] The cigarettes nearly killed me. I answer the phone now and people calling think it's my husband. And my allergies in that theater - it's a very old theater. And the hairspray! I never used hairspray. And the wigs! Let's not talk about the fricking wigs, that was such a saga. But the cigarettes were the hardest. When I made The Rose (1979), I did smoke, I smoked for six months, and years later I tried a cigarette again and it made me sick for two weeks. These are herbal cigarettes, but smoke is smoke. I was thrilled, though, when I finally got the timing down to smoke two at once - a cigarette in one hand and a joint in the other. That was Sue. Show less «

I'm incapable of doing anything other than entertaining. I can barely add and I've never been able to do my own taxes. It's a good thing I'v...Show more »

I'm incapable of doing anything other than entertaining. I can barely add and I've never been able to do my own taxes. It's a good thing I've been blessed with this fantastic will to go forward, even when I hit the skids. Show less «

When I first heard "Wind Beneath My Wings", I thought: "I'm not singing that." [Longtime friend and producer] Marc Shaiman insisted and it w...Show more »

When I first heard "Wind Beneath My Wings", I thought: "I'm not singing that." [Longtime friend and producer] Marc Shaiman insisted and it was the biggest hit of my career. Show less «

Charm is something a lot of today's young artists could do with. Maybe I'll start a charm school, like they had at Motown. They don't see it...Show more »

Charm is something a lot of today's young artists could do with. Maybe I'll start a charm school, like they had at Motown. They don't see it takes more than looking cute and not falling over in high heels. Show less «

My father loved me, but until the day he died he thought it was a total waste of time and that I should have been a teacher or a nurse.

Fame and money was partly what drove me to leave Hawaii for New York to become a singer when I was 19. When you are poor - and we were reall...Show more »

Fame and money was partly what drove me to leave Hawaii for New York to become a singer when I was 19. When you are poor - and we were really poor - it's human nature to want to better yourself. Show less «

[on Beaches (1988)] No one was more surprised than me at how it took off and has such a place in the hearts of so many generations.

The glass ceiling still exists. It's getting a little better for women, but past a certain age, certainly not.

I think I've been really lucky because my gay crowd had followed me to the limit and the fact that they are so vocal and so full of joy each...Show more »

I think I've been really lucky because my gay crowd had followed me to the limit and the fact that they are so vocal and so full of joy each time they see me, I think that's a very infectious energy in the audience at my shows. I think they're the ones who brought the straight people around and it's because of them that people get me to such a wonderful degree now. Show less «

[on what she perceives as the 'pornification' of pop music] Well, whatever strictures there were have fallen apart. And now it's whatever yo...Show more »

[on what she perceives as the 'pornification' of pop music] Well, whatever strictures there were have fallen apart. And now it's whatever you feel like doing you can do. I mean, apparently people really like to pretend they're having sex. They really like to slap each other's butts. [My advice?] Trust your talent. You don't have to make a whore of yourself to get ahead. You really don't. Show less «

[on the 'girl bands' of her youth] The Ronettes, The Chiffons, The Marvelettes, The Crystals.. they were completely and utterly wholesome an...Show more »

[on the 'girl bands' of her youth] The Ronettes, The Chiffons, The Marvelettes, The Crystals.. they were completely and utterly wholesome and whimsical. And optimistic. The music was very optimistic and upbeat. The ballads were sometimes sad, but you knew things were going to turn out in the end. The music wasn't bleak. This was before Bob Dylan, you know. Show less «

If you wants something done, you'd better do it yourself - or ask another woman to do it.

[observation, 2015] Don't I look fabulous? I'm a triumph of science and fiction.