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Bette Midler
28 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (28)
- #001
Bette Midler was named after Bette Davis, and her sisters Susan and Judy were named after Susan Hayward and Judy Garland.
- #002
The role of Delores Van Carter in Sister Act (1992) was actually written for Bette Midler, but she turned down the part, which went to Whoopi Goldberg.
- #003
The last syllable of her name is not pronounced because her mother believed that was how Bette Davis pronounced her name.
- #004
In her early years, Bette Midler worked at the Dole pineapple processing plant in Hawaii.
- #005
Bette Midler graduated from high school as valedictorian.
- #006
Bette Midler was the last guest on The Tonight Show (1962) during Johnny Carson's tenure as host.
- #007
In the 1970s, Bette Midler performed her cabaret act at the famous gay men's club The Continental Baths, with Barry Manilow as her accompanist.
- #008
Bette Midler is a great fan and a long-time friend of the late singer Rosemary Clooney.
- #009
Bette Midler can be seen as an extra in the crowd in Hawaii (1966), playing a seasick passenger listening to a preacher on a ship portrayed by Max von Sydow. Midler was also hired for a small speaking role in the film and traveled to Los Angeles to shoot those scenes in a studio. Her scenes were cut from the final film, but she used the money she earned to move to New York, where her career took off and she became a star.
- #010
Despite playing her daughter in Beaches (1988), Bette Midler is only five years younger than Lainie Kazan in real life.
- #011
Bette Midler graduated from Radford High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1963.
- #012
On November 14, 1986, Bette Midler gave birth to her only child, Sophie Frederica Alohilani von Haselberg (also known as Sophie von Haselberg), at the age of 40. The child's father is her husband, Martin von Haselberg.
- #013
Bette Midler's paternal grandparents, Ruben Midler and Minnie Friedman, were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland/Lithuania. Her maternal grandparents, Israel D. Schindel and Fannie Goldberger, were Jewish immigrants from Austria/Hungary and Poland.
- #014
Bette Midler studied drama at the University of Hawaii at Manoa but dropped out after three semesters.
- #015
Bette Midler is a great fan of Susan Boyle.
- #016
Bette Midler ranked 51st on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll.
- #017
On February 6, 1985, Bette Midler was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
- #018
On June 11, 2017, Bette Midler won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her role as Dolly Gallagher Levi in "Hello, Dolly!"
- #019
Bette Midler won four Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist in 1973 and the prestigious Record of the Year in 1989 for her stirring rendition of the number-one hit "Wind Beneath My Wings" from Beaches (1988).
- #020
Bette Midler was formerly a go-go dancer in New Jersey.
- #021
Bette Midler became pregnant with her husband Martin von Haselberg's child for a second time, but suffered a miscarriage in April 1988.
- #022
Bette Midler is friends with Debbie Harry, Debra Messing and 50 Cent.
- #023
Bette Midler once rented an old house in Coldwater Canyon, and Richard Chamberlain was her landlord.
- #024
Bette Midler had a relationship with Peter Riegert. They lived together in the 1970s.
- #025
When Bette Midler finished filming Outrageous Fortune (1987), she was five months pregnant with her daughter Sophie von Haselberg.
- #026
Bette Midler studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
- #027
Bette Midler is the daughter of Fred (1908-1986) and Ruth (née Schindel) Midler (1911-1979). Both were born and raised in the state of New Jersey.
- #028
Bette Midler was considered for the role of Zira in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998).
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