December 1: The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler, is 68-years-old today.

During her more than forty-year career, Bette, who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been nominated for two Academy Awards, won four Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a special Tony Award. She has  sold over 30 million records.

She has starred in live-action films such as Ruthless People, Beaches and Hocus Pocus, as well as featuring in animated films such as Oliver & Company and Fantasia 2000.

In the summer of 1965, Midler relocated to New York City, using the money from having worked as an extra in the film Hawaii. She landed her first professional onstage role in Tom Eyen's Off-Off-Broadway plays in 1965, Miss Nefertiti Regrets and Cinderella Revisited, a children's play by day and an adult show by night. From 1966 to 1969, she played the role of Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway. She was  also in the cast of Salvation.

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In the summer of 1970, Midler began singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city, where she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow. He later produced her first album, 1972's The Divine Miss M. Her time at the Continental Baths built up a core following for her singing.

The Divine Miss M reached Billboard's Top 10 and became a million-selling Platinum-certified album, and earning Midler the 1973 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. It featured three hit singles with "Do You Want To Dance?," "Friends," and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" which became Bette's first #1 Adult Contemporary hit.

Bette's self titled follow-up album was released at the end of 1973. It reached Billboard's Top 10 and eventually sold close to a million copies in the United States alone. Midler returned to recording with the 1976 and 1977 albums, Songs for the New Depression and Broken Blossom.

Midler has won four Grammy Awards. Her rendition of the 1990 "From a Distance" also earned a Grammy award (for the song's composer Julie Gold,) and became her longest running #1 - six consecutive weeks - on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. It also reached #2 Pop and was another Platinum-selling single for Bette.

When the American Film Institute announced "The 100 Years of the Greatest Songs" on June 22, 2004, two of Midler's recordings were selected by the board: "Wind Beneath My Wings" (#44) and "The Rose" (#83).

In 2006, Midler released a new Christmas album Cool Yule featuring the title song, written by Steve Allen, and a duet with Johnny Mathis of "Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow."

Midler next starred in the 2007 film Then She Found Me, directed by Helen Hunt and starring Hunt, Matthew Broderick and Colin Firth. In December 2007, Midler's album Cool Yule received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

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For more about Bette, visit her Website at -

http://bettemidler.com/

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