An actress, singer, comedian and social activist, Bette Midler has proven she can do almost everything. The owner of prestigious theater, music and film awards, she remains one of the most successful creative figures in America at the moment.
Biography, early years
Comedian, singer and actress Bette Midler was born on December 1, 1945 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She grew up in a poor family of an artist and a housewife. Both of her parents, originally from New Jersey, came from families of Jewish immigrants (from Russia, Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire).
According to her, her school years were not easy for her. Bett preferred to hide from her problems, fleeing to nature. “Nature has always consoled me: beautiful skies, the sea, the smell of flowers, all these beetles and birds,” Midler said later in an interview with Good Housekeeping. As a shy child, Bette eventually found her outlet in dramatic art. She has won several talent contests and has been given the honor of giving her farewell speech at the Radford High School prom.
Carier start
Bette continued her drama and arts education at the University of Hawaii, after which she was hired as an extra on the 1965 film adaptation of James Michner's novel Hawaii. After that, she decided to follow her dream by giving performances in New York. Moving there, Bette joined the Fiddler on the Roof in 1966. But she was attracted to Broadway, and Bette tried to find a way to infiltrate the country's main theater stage.
Midler decided to perform on weekends at New York's popular gay club Continental Baths. She mainly performed comic sketches and also performed comic couplets under the name "The Divine Miss M". The then unknown Barry Manilow accompanied her on the piano.
Success and awards
One day, Midler was attended by the head of Atlantic Records. The voice of the comedian interested him, and a contract was signed with the singer. Midler's debut album, The Divine Miss M (1972), went platinum and earned her a Grammy Award for Best Debut. In 1973 and 1976 the albums Bette Midler and Songs for the New Depression were released. In 1974, for a series of concerts, Bette Midler received the Tony Award for Special Contribution to Broadway. In 1975, she launched a new Broadway show, Clams On the Halfshelf Revue, which ran for several weeks.
For several years, Midler dabbled in films, but she was unable to advance beyond episodic roles, which did not give anything in a creative sense. In 1979, Bette Midler finally proved her acting talent in the 1979 musical The Rose, playing the self-destructive rock star. For this role, Midler received an Academy Award nomination. However, in 1982 her next film, Jinxed, flopped at the box office, after which Midler suffered a prolonged creative crisis.
However, already in 1986, the actress returned with two hits at once: "Penniless in Beverly Hills" and "Ruthless People." The success of these films was reinforced by the 1988 drama On the Beach, which featured the ballad Wind Beneath My Wings. For her, the actress again received a Grammy award.
In the 90s, the actress and singer continued her successful film career, starring in the movie "Scenes in the Store" with Woody Allen. In 1991, Midler also appeared in the World War II-themed musical For The Boys, for which she received an Oscar nomination.
In 1996, Beth Midler returned to the comic role in The First Wives Club opposite Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn.
Later years
Bette Midler entered the new millennium with a new television show, Bette, but it was taken off the air after the first season. In 2004, she appeared in the remake of the 1970s thriller The Stepford Wives with Nicole Kidman and Glenn Close, and in So She Found Me with Colin Firth and Helen Hunt.
In 2006, Midler recorded a new album "Cool Yule", in 2007 she received a Grammy for this work. The following year, it was officially announced that Midler had signed a deal with AEG Live to host shows at the Las Vegas hotel and the Caesar's Palace casino chain. Her show "Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On" started in February 2008 and lasted 2 years.
In 2012, Bette Midler was awarded the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in the Composers' Hall of Fame. In the same year she appeared in the comedy "Parental Lawlessness".
Midler then returned to Broadway on the show I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers, playing the role of celebrity actress and Hollywood agent Sue Mengers. The show was built in a single-actor dialogue format. In 2014, she made her first guest appearance at the Academy Awards. Following this, Bette Midler released the album "It's the Girls!", The cover of which parodied photographs of girl groups.
In 2017, Midler was cast as the lead role for Dolly in the revived Broadway legendary show Hello, Dolly! Her performance earned rave reviews from critics and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Personal life, family, social activity
In 1995, Midler founded the New York Restoration Project. The organization is dedicated to greening neighborhoods in New York. At the moment, this fund has planted over a million trees in the city.
The constant companion of the life of the actress is the showman Martin von Heiselberg, with whom they were married in a small chapel in 1984. The couple had a child, a girl named Sophie. She graduated from Yale University in 2008 and also became an actress.
