Bette Midler's Life in Pictures

See the fun The Divine Miss M has had over the years, in honor of her 78th birthday

Happy Birthday, Bette Midler !

The Divine Miss M has had, well, a pretty divine life, hitting it big in her 20s on Broadway and moving on to film, music, television, philanthropy, marriage, motherhood and everything in between in the years since.

Here, as she turns 78 years old on Dec. 1, 2023, celebrate Bette Midler's life in photos.

Bette Midler's Early Years

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Bette Midler (pictured circa 1947) got her first job in a pineapple cannery at 13. "I got up at 4 o'clock in the morning, took the 5:30 bus to get to the cannery by 6 or 6:30 and you were done at 3," she told PEOPLE. "They didn't get on your case if you got your work done."

Bette Midler in High School

Milder (far right), seen as a high schooler in Honolulu in 1963, was voted "Most Talkative" in 1961 and "Most Dramatic" in 1963 and went on to study drama at the University of Hawaii. She left after three semesters before heading to New York City in 1965.

Bette Midler on Broadway

The singer's first big break came when she joined the Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof in 1966. Her star began to rise in 1970 (the year this shot was snapped) when she began singing in a gay bathhouse in New York City. Her piano player, Barry Manilow , produced her first album, The Divine Miss M , in 1972.

Bette Midler and Cher

Midler guest-starred on the Feb. 12, 1975, premiere of the Cher show on CBS, where the duo performed "Trashy Ladies Medley" and sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and other Motown hits with guest stars Elton John and Flip Wilson.

Bette Midler in New York City

A sign she was making it: The young star was photographed leaving her apartment on Barrow Street in Manhattan's artsy Greenwich Village on Feb. 19, 1975, before hopping into a chauffeured limo to head to a public appearance.

Bette Midler's Broadway Revue

Midler had a hit in 1975's Clams on the Half Shell , her Broadway revue (here, she's seen in her dressing room). The year before, she won a special Tony Award for her contributions to the Broadway season.

Bette Midler at Harvard

On Feb. 17, 1976, Midler basked in the adulation from cheering fans in a parade leading to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was named the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year .

Bette Midler's Social Justice Work

Midler used her fame for good, too (and continues to today); here, she commiserated with Jack Nicholson at an Equal Rights Amendment gathering at actress Joan Hackett's Beverly Hills home in March 1978.

Bette Midler with Andy Warhol

She's been framed! Midler dished with pop artist Andy Warhol on Oct. 11, 1978, at The Palace Theatre in New York City after she'd performed.

Bette Midler on the Runway

Work it, Bette! Midler modeled a Holly Harp dress during a celebrity fashion show in Beverly Hills on April 11, 1985, to raise funds for the Summer Arts Festival.

Bette Midler's Family

Midler with her husband of 40 years, Martin von Haselberg , and their daughter, Sophie von Haselberg, now 37, in 1987. "She is my best friend," Midler told PEOPLE of her daughter, also an actress.

Bette Midler's Philanthropic Work

The actress founded the New York Restoration Project in 1995 to improve gardens and parks in New York City. "I love the planet," she told PEOPLE. Here, she's seen at a NYRP event with daughter Sophie in 2006.

Bette Midler in Las Vegas

Midler performed during the opening ofher Vegas revue"The Showgirl Must Go On" at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Sin City on Feb. 20, 2008. She hit the stage for 300 shows before ending the run in January 2010.

Bette Midler's Screen Roles

Off stage, Midler has been steadily working in TV and film since the late 1960s, with some of her most iconic works including Beaches, The Rose, For the Boys, Gypsy and The First Wives Club (pictured, with Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn ). One award shy of EGOT , she's received two Oscar nominations in addition to three Grammy Awards , three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards, plus four Golden Globe Awards.

Bette Midler's Broadway Return

In 2017, Midler charmed audiences (and earned her second Tony Award) as the lead in a revival of Hello, Dolly. When tickets went on sale, the show broke the record for the best first day of sales in the history of Broadway with more than $9 million.

Bette Midler on TV

During her 2020 stint on The Politician , Midler earned her ninth Emmy nomination, for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series.

Bette Midler's Kennedy Center Honor

At the Kennedy Center Honors in late 2021, Midler was celebrated alongside Justino Díaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels and Joni Mitchell .

Bette Midler in 'Hocus Pocus 2'

Most recently, Midler returned to her witchy roots in the long-anticipated Hocus Pocus 2, alongside costars Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker .

"We all wanted to do it," Midler told PEOPLE at the premiere in September 2022. "What we couldn't understand was after the thing snowballed, we couldn't understand, as we spoke together, we would often speak together, and [think] why don't they ever give us a sequel?"

"It wasn't like a crazy, aggressive push," she continued. "It was just that we felt that it had a life outside of what it had had. And eventually 30 years later, they came to their senses!"

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