American Songwriter
The 20 Best Bette Midler Quotes
BY JACOB UITTI
July 7, 2023
Whether you know her from stage, screen, talk show, or Seinfeld, Bette Midler is an entertainment legend with legions of fans. She has sung about the “wind beneath” her wings for decades and has informed and shared her opinion on talk shows for years. She’s also a Broadway icon and the star of classic movies…The Rose, Beaches, Big Business, The First Wives Club, For The Boys, and more. What can’t Midler do?
Well, with that in mind, we wanted to see what the now-77-year-old Hawaiian-born Grammy-Golden Globe-Emmy-and Tony-Award-winner has to say about the world around her. About her crafts, entertainment, life, and love.
Great Bette Midler Quotes On Her Crafts, Entertainment, Life, And Love
1. “Cherish forever what makes you unique.”
2. “Education is my next big thing. When music and art were taken out of the schools, I went berserk!”
“Education is my next big thing. When music and art were taken out of the schools, I went berserk!” – Bette Midler
3. “I’m working my way toward divinity.”
“I’m working my way toward divinity.” – Bette Midler
4. “I married a German. Every night I dress up as Poland and he invades me.”
“I married a German. Every night I dress up as Poland and he invades me.” – Bette Midler
5. “My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors.”
Bette Midler
“My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors.”
6. “Writing a book is not as tough as it is to haul thirty-five people around the country and sweat like a horse five nights a week.
“Writing a book is not as tough as it is to haul thirty-five people around the country and sweat like a horse five nights a week.” – Bette Midler
7.. I got so far away from what they told you in acting class: Do something different. Producers kept offering me the ‘Sister Act movie, but I said, ‘My fans don’t want to see me in a wimple.’ I literally said, ‘My fans don’t want to see me in a wimple.’”
“I got so far away from what they told you in acting class: Do something different. Producers kept offering me the ‘Sister Act movie, but I said, ‘My fans don’t want to see me in a wimple.’ I literally said, ‘My fans don’t want to see me in a wimple.’” – Bette Midler
8. “I’d never done a straight play before, never, and it was very hard work—really, really hard work. It was dense, really wordy, and I was determined to learn every word of it—not just skip over bits and pieces.”
Bette Midler
“I’d never done a straight play before, never, and it was very hard work—really, really hard work. It was dense, really wordy, and I was determined to learn every word of it—not just skip over bits and pieces.”
10. “Group conformity scares the pants off me because it’s so often a prelude to cruelty towards anyone who doesn’t want to—or can’t—join the Big Parade.”
Bette Midler
“Group conformity scares the pants off me because it’s so often a prelude to cruelty towards anyone who doesn’t want to—or can’t—join the Big Parade.”
11. “I learned to accept the audience’s happiness for me, which is one of the hardest things for me to learn.”
“I learned to accept the audience’s happiness for me, which is one of the hardest things for me to learn.” – Bette Midler
12. “The worst part of success is to try finding someone who is happy for you.”
“The worst part of success is to try finding someone who is happy for you.” – Bette Midler
13. “After thirty, a body has a mind of its own.”
14. “I always try to balance the light with the heavy—a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and the fringes.”
“I always try to balance the light with the heavy—a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and the fringes.” – Bette Midler
15. “I wouldn’t say I invented tacky, but I definitely brought it to its present high popularity.”
. “I wouldn’t say I invented tacky, but I definitely brought it to its present high popularity.” – Bette Midler
16. “When I moved to New York City in 1965, I wanted to be in theater. I was following my Ethel Barrymore dream. But I was too young to be Ethel.”
“Find your light; They can’t love you if they can’t see you” – Bette Midler
17. “If sex is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?”
“If sex is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?” – Bette Midler
19. “I hope to keep entertaining in some way until I can’t physically entertain any longer. It’s what I was born to do, and I love this profession.”
“I hope to keep entertaining in some way until I can’t physically entertain any longer. It’s what I was born to do, and I love this profession.” – Bette Midler
20. “Through books and photographs, I saw a world that was not my own—and I realized that there was another world. That’s why I’m concerned about education because it helps our children see other worlds.”
. “Through books and photographs, I saw a world that was not my own—and I realized that there was another world. That’s why I’m concerned about education because it helps our children see other worlds.” –Bette Midler
