Bette Midler born December 1 1945 is an American singer songwriter actress comedian and film producer Born in Honolulu Hawaii Midler began her professional career in several OffOffBroadway plays prior to her engagements in Fiddler on the Roof and Salvation on Broadway in the late 1960s She came to prominence in 1970 when she began singing in the Continental Baths a local gay bathhouse where she managed to build up a core following Since 1970 Midler has released 14 studio albums as a solo artist Throughout her career many of her songs became hits on the record charts including her renditions of The Rose Wind Beneath My Wings Do You Want to Dance Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and From a Distance In a career spanning almost half a century Midler has won three Grammy Awards four Golden Globes three Emmy Awards and a Tony Award She has sold over 30 million records worldwide and has received four Gold three Platinum and three Multiplatinum albums by RIAA Description above from the Wikipedia article Bette Midler licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia