Multi Grammy Award-winning singer/comedienne/author who has also proven herself to be a very capable actress in a string of both dramatic and comedic roles, Bette Midler was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 1, 1945. She 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, 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, 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, was pursued by CIA and KGB spies in Outrageous Fortune, played mismatched twins with Lily Tomlin in Big Business and shone in the tear-jerker Beaches.

Bette matched feisty James Caan in the WWII drama For the Boys, made a dynamic trio with Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton in The First Wives Club, was back on screen with DeVito for the tepid comedy Drowning Mona and turned up in the glossy remake of The Stepford Wives. 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".
Performed her cabaret act at the famed gay men's club, The Continental Baths, in the 70s with Barry Manilow as her accompanist. Worked at a Dole pineapple processing plant in Hawaii in her early years. Her first big album "The Divine Miss M" was produced by Barry Manilow. Graduated from Radford High School, Honolulu, Hawaii in 1963 Majored in drama at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1979" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 31. Sang with Tom Waits on "I Never Talk to Strangers" on his album "Foreign Affairs". Was the final guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Sang to Johnny Carson on his second-to-last show (The last show was taped highlights). She appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "We Are The World." One child, daughter Sophie von Haselberg (b. 1986) She performed a cover version of the song "Beast of Burden". She also appeared in a video of the song with Mick Jagger that was choreographed by Toni Basil. Has brown eyes, hair is naturally blonde Measurements: 36 1/2-25-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) Ranked #51 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll Won four Grammy awards including the 1973 Best New Artist and the prestigious Record of the Year in 1989 for the soaring rendition of her # 1 hit "Wind Beneath My Wings" from the movie Beaches. In 1974 she received a special Tony Award "for adding lustre to the Broadway season." Is named after Bette Davis and her sisters Susan and Judy are named after Susan Hayward and Judy Garland. She is a member of Delta Phi Epsilon International Sorority. When The American Film Institute announced "The 100 Years of the Greatest Songs" on June 22, 2004, two of her hits were selected: "Wind Beneath My Wings" from Beaches (#44), "The Rose" from The Rose, (#83). Her album "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook" was originally titled "Rosemary for Remembrance". The name was changed just weeks before the album's September 30, 2003 release. The last syllable of her first name is unpronounced because her mother thought that was how Bette Davis pronounced her name. She is a huge fan and long time friend of the late singer Rosemary Clooney. The role of Delores in Sister Act was originally written for her; however, she turned it down. While Bette was on Broadway in "Fiddler on the Roof" (she played the character Tzeitel until 1969), her sister Judy visited New York City to see her perform and was tragically struck by a taxi and killed. Graduated as valedictorian of her high school.