Bette Midler
Biography
Bette Midler, born in Honolulu, is a singer, actor, and comedian who started out in off-off-Broadway plays before joining the Broadway casts of Fiddler on the Roof and Salvation in the late 1960s. She built a following singing at the Continental Baths in 1970, and her debut album, The Divine Miss M, won her the 1973 Grammy for Best New Artist. Her first starring film role, in The Rose (1979), brought a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination. Comedies such as Big Business (1988) and Outrageous Fortune (1987) followed, along with Beaches (1988), whose soundtrack produced her Grammy-winning Wind Beneath My Wings. She also starred in Hocus Pocus (1993), returning for its 2022 sequel, and appeared in The Stepford Wives (2004), The Addams Family (2019), and The First Wives Club (1996). For the Boys (1991) and Gypsy (1993) earned her two more Golden Globes, and she won a Tony Award for Hello, Dolly!
80years old
Turns 81 on December 1in 61 days
- Born Honolulu
- Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
- Also credited as The Divine Miss M
Movie Career
- Films
- 36
- Career span
- 55 years1969 to 2024
Genres
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A role that slipped away
Midler turned down the lead in the 1992 musical comedy Sister Act, and the part went to Whoopi Goldberg instead.
First role
Midler's first professional onstage role came in 1965, in Tom Eyen's off-off-Broadway plays Miss Nefertiti Regrets and Cinderella Revisited, which ran as a children's play during the day and an adult show at night.
Early training
In the summer of 1965, Midler used money she earned from the film Hawaii to relocate to New York City. There she studied theater at HB Studio under Uta Hagen.
A role that slipped away
Midler was an early choice to play Miss Hannigan in the 1982 film Annie, a part she did not take.
A first
In 1971, Midler took the lead in the Who's rock opera Tommy, the first professional staging of the work, with Richard Pearlman directing and the Seattle Opera.
Bette Midler movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Conrad Vernon directed two of these films, Greg Tiernan two and Jim Abrahams two. Sarah Jessica Parker appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Sarah Jessica Parker's page
Danny DeVito's page
Doug Jones's page
Kathy Najimy's page
Barry Primus's page
Linda Hart's page
All films by Conrad Vernon
All films by Greg Tiernan
All films by Jim Abrahams
Box office
What Bette Midler's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$1.5 billion
22 of the 36 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 36 films: 22 worldwide figure; 6 us gross only; 7 never in cinemas; 1 figure not found.
- 22Worldwide figure
- 6US gross only
- 7Never in cinemas
- 1Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 68% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$204M13.8% of the total
- 2$121M8.2% of the total
- 3$120M8.1% of the total
- 4$120M8.1% of the total
- 5$116M7.9% of the total
- 6$115M7.8% of the total
- 7$112M7.6% of the total
- 8$102M6.9% of the total
$465 millionfrom the other 14 films with a worldwide figure, 32% of the total
Awards
Eleven awards and honors from 1974 to 2021, three of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program | Won | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Won | ||
| Grammy Awards | |||
| 1974 | Best New Artist | Won | |
| Other honors | |||
| 2021 | Kennedy Center Honors | Won | |
| 2019 | Disney Legends | Honored | |
| 2008 | Rachel Carson Award | Won | |
| 1997 | Crystal Award | Won | |
| 1976 | Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year | Won | |
| Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Won | ||
| Drama League Award | Won | ||
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.