The actress and singer’s name has become synonymous with Broadway and Hollywood excellence throughout her decades-long career.
She also went on to release 13 more studio albums.
Over the years, she has racked up two Tonys, two Emmys, and three Golden Globes.
As of 2022, the legendary performer is nearing retirement.
As she toldParade, “I’m 75.
I don’t have the impulse to prove myself anymore.
I feel like ‘I did that.'”
Want to learn a little more about this stage and screen icon?
Here is the untold truth of Bette Midler.
Midler was raised in Hawaii, and, as a Jewish girl then, she felt out of place.
“I was the white girl, the only one for miles around,” she said toParade.
Many of the people she met in Hawaii had no idea about Judaism.
“My teacher said, ‘What religious holiday?’
I said, ‘Yom Kippur.’
She said, ‘There’s no such thing.'”
Her family was also relatively poor, and Midler recalled that she couldn’t afford new records.
As she toldInterview, moving to New York wasn’t even an option in her mind at the time.
“I came to New York because I had to…I justhadto,” she said.
“Now I’m here, and I justhaveto get away!
I just have to get out …
I have to find a way to get out of here!”
As she toldCBS News, she got the job through her singing teacher.
And I said, ‘Does it pay?’
And he said, ‘Yes, it pays $300 for the weekend.'"
That was good enough for Midler, and she agreed.
According to Midler, she was a perfect fit.
“I picked up the gay sense of humor, almost like a sponge.
But even Midler, it seems, has a few regrets about missed opportunities over the years.
“I’ve made so many,” she toldMetroin 2010.
“Oh my God, it’s all so tragic.
But it’s best to forget those and put them behind me.”
Why would I say such a thing?”
Midler also claimed that she turned down Kathy Bates’ Oscar-winning role in “Misery” out of fear.
However, it turns out she couldn’t have been more different once she stepped off the stage.
“I sit around all the time reading.
I’m real quiet.
I’m nothing like I am on stage.”
However, things weren’t always easy for the up-and-coming star.
“It brought me up short, and I became very sad and depressed.
I cried a lot, and I couldn’t get out of bed.
I called it a nervous breakdown because what was I going to say?”
“It keeps my heart rate up.
I get to wear fabulous clothes.
I get to make people laugh.
That’s my core business, and that’s where I’ll always return,” she said.
Rivera claimed in his biography that he and Midler had an affair during which she was “insatiable.”
During an interview with Barbara Walters, Midler painted another story (viaYouTube).
She then went on to describe how Rivera and his producer came to interview her in the early ’70s.
“I did not offer myself up on the altar of Geraldo Rivera he was unseemly.”
Her first audition came while she was working at the Continental Baths.
“It was incredible,” she toldInterview.
Luckily, Midler didn’t let the wardrobe malfunction deter her.
Apparently, she used a paper clip to hold the skirt in place and went straight into the audition.
In 2008, Midler toldPeoplethat von Haselberg had recently expressed an interest in following in her mother’s footsteps.
While Midler was surprised, she didn’t get in her daughter’s way.
It seems that von Haselberg did follow her bliss and quite successfully.
She landed her first role in the 2015 Woody Allen film “Irrational Man.”
One of her favorite young performers is Adele.
“I adore Adele,” she gushed toPride Source.
“I think she’s a really good singer and a terrific songwriter.
Her voice is such a beautiful voice.”
After all, Adele and Midler certainly have that in common.
“I’m really happy that she’s made it and that people adore her,” she said.
“She’s going to have a long, long career.”
And it seems the admiration is mutual.
“I’ve obviously loved [Midler] for years,” Adele toldVanity Fairin 2016.
The pair even performed in 2015 during Midler’s Divine Intervention Tour (viaInstagram).
Name a more iconic duo we’ll wait.
Quite unsurprisingly, the experience was life-changing.
Of course, for Midler, it wasn’t exactly an easy task.
“Dolly is a big stretch,” she admitted toTime.
“I’ve been in a Broadway show, but never the lead.
In fact, Midler even confessed that after playing Dolly, her days on Broadway might be over.
Since its 1993 release, “Hocus Pocus” has been a Halloween cult classic.
As it turns out, Bette Midler was at the helm of the campaign for a sequel.
Midler continued to pressure Disney executives for the next two decades about getting a sequel off the ground.
As time went on, Midler realized that “Hocus Pocus” was gaining popularity over the years.
She said, “I’d call the studio once a year to ask, ‘How about it?’
It wasn’t until about three years ago that they advocated for it, and movement started.”
“I’m tortured by it!”
“If I do anything with social media, it takes me at least 20 minutes to recover.”
According to Midler, this phenomenon is something she sees a lot in her own life.
“And the duck comes to town and sort of reverses that.”
“I’m very old.
I mean, I’m 115,” she joked toNPRin 2021.
She also commented “several times” on her oldness in a 2021 interview withParade.
“I’m a fogey.
In fact, I celebrate my fogey-ness!”
“I’ve done a lot,” she said.
“I’ve earned my rest.
Am I going to make an announcement?
I’m just going to fade away.”
While Midler may fade away from performing, one thing’s certain her icon status is here to stay.
