Bette Midler

Bette Midler is a singer, songwriter, actress, comedian, and film producer. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Midler began her professional career in several Off-Off-Broadway plays, prior to her engagements in "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Salvation" on Broadway in the late 1960s. She gained significant attention in 1970 when she started performing at the Continental Baths, a local gay bathhouse, where she built up a core following. Since then, Midler has released 14 studio albums as a solo artist, including her latest gold album, "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook." Throughout her career, many of her songs, such as her renditions of "The Rose," "Wind Beneath My Wings," "Do You Want to Dance," "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," and "From a Distance," have become hits on the record charts.

Midler's film career took off with her debut in "The Rose" (1979), which earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has starred in numerous successful films including "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (1986), "Ruthless People" (1986), "Outrageous Fortune" (1987), "Big Business" (1988), "Beaches" (1988), "Hocus Pocus" (1993), "The First Wives Club" (1996), "The Stepford Wives" (2004), and "Parental Guidance" (2012). Her role in "For the Boys" (1991) and "Gypsy" (1993) won her two additional Golden Globes; she received her second Academy Award nomination for "For the Boys."

Midler has won four Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, with her Tony coming from her role in the Broadway musical "Hello, Dolly!" in 2017. Beyond her entertainment career, Midler is also a committed environmentalist. She founded the New York Restoration Project in 1995, which is dedicated to revitalizing under-resourced parks in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York City. Her organization also provides free environmental education to students from high-poverty Title I schools. Over the years, Midler has been instrumental in various community and environmental efforts, including leading a coalition in 1999 to save 114 community gardens in New York City from commercial development and opening Swindler Cove Park in 2003.