Bette Midler is an American actress, comedian, singer-songwriter, and producer. She has won three Grammy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. She is also a member of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award recipient. Bette was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 1st, 1945 to Ruth (née Schindel) and Fred Midler. Bette's father was Jewish while her mother came from a family with German ancestry.Bette spent most of her childhood in Aiea on the island of Oahu where she attended Radford High School. After graduating high school in 1963 she enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Manoa but left after one semester to pursue her acting career in New York City.
Midler made her Broadway debut in the play Fiddler on the Roof as Tzeitel in 1965. From there she went on to star in several hit Broadway musicals including: Salvation; Mame; And The World Goes 'Round; Gypsy; Hello Dolly! for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical; and Kiss My Aztec!. In 1979 Bette starred in her first film The Rose which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Since then she has gone on to appear in over two dozen films including: Hocus Pocus; Beaches; For The Boys; The First Wives Club and many more.
In addition to being an accomplished actress Midler is also an acclaimed singer-songwriter and musician. Her 1974 debut album The Divine Miss M reached #5 on Billboard 200 chart and has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA selling over 2 million copies worldwide. To date she has released twelve studio albums earning herself four Grammy nominations winning two for Best New Artist (1973) and Best Pop Vocal Performance – Female (1989). Throughout her career Midler has sold over 30 million records worldwide making her one of the best-selling female artists of all time