Parade
1979 box office hit earns Bette Midler an Oscar nomination
By Jacqueline Burt Cote
Sept. 5, 2026
Years before Bette Midler starred in iconic movies like Beaches, First Wives Club, and Hocus Pocus, she was a singer.
However, her first movie role came in the heartbreaking musical drama The Rose.
Directed by Mark Rydell, The Rose features Bette Midler as a self-destructive ’60s rock star.
Mary Rose Foster is a character loosely based on Janis Joplin.
Additionally, the 1979 movie was a commercial hit, pulling in over $29 million.
It also earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress for Midler.
This was a notable screen debut for her.
Midler also performed on the soundtrack album, naturally.
The title track became one of the biggest hits of her career.
Additionally, decades later, both the song and the movie remain classics.
Billboard ranked her Rose appearance at #23 on a list of 100 Best Performances by Musicians in Movies.
Melinda Newman writes that Midler slices open an emotional vein and bleeds all over the role.
It remains one of the most vulnerable performances ever committed to screen.
Additionally, that’s all before even getting to her singing.
It produced a pop perennial ballad in the No. 3-peaking title track.
In a 2015 interview with the Criterion Channel, Midler opened up about how she prepared for the role.
Indeed, the role would change her life forever.
I have been listening to R&B since I discovered it when I was about ten or eleven years old. Additionally, Midler listened to all that and thought the hardness of those lives showed the women’s struggles. I really tried to bring that to the table.
Midler also mentioned some of the singers who inspired her approach to the role.
Additionally, they include Big Mama Thornton, Nina Simone, and Tina Turner.
Paul Rothchild, who produced Joplin’s last album, Pearl, was the logical choice to produce the soundtrack for The Rose.
However, Midler didn’t always enjoy working with him.
Additionally, “He was a really interesting character,” she recalled, calling him “very tough.”
I didn’t really like him, Bette Midler admitted.
However, she said he drove her to sing ‘until I bled,’ though she found the band he assembled fantastic.
Additionally, In addition to extensive vocal rehearsals, Midler worked on her rock star “stage movement” for months before filming started.
She said, “I did gymnastics for six months before I even started.”
Additionally, I wanted it to have this crawling feeling about it.
“I wanted the character to be able to do, you know, dips. Additionally, I never got to the splits, but we live in hope.”
Midler quipped, noting that she was able to master somersaults and handstands.
“I really wanted to have like a kind of a panther quality to her movement on the stage.” she said.
“She was a creature on the stage, and there was nothing soft.”
Moreover, it was always very punchy and angular, so I think we got that.”
As for that chart-topping title track, without Midler’s input, it might have been a very different kind of song. Midler’s input helped shape its direction.
According to American Songwriter, some of the people making the movie wanted a more up-tempo, rocking tune.
However, when Midler heard “The Rose,” submitted for consideration by Amanda McBroom, she fell in love with the ballad.
Thus, the rest, as they say, is history.
