Bette Midler reveals ‘the greatest thing’ she ever did in emotional interview with Hoda

Bette Midler has enjoyed a highly acclaimed career, but it’s her work on the stage that means the most to her.

Midler won a Tony Award for best actress in a musical in 2017 for the Broadway revival of “Hello Dolly!” She says it’s a role that stands out.

“I must say the last one, ‘Hello Dolly!’— a dream come true,” she told TODAY’s Hoda Kotb in an interview that aired July 11.

“I think that was the peak of my life. I really do think that was the greatest thing I ever did. Those people who had followed me all these years screaming for Dolly. It was overwhelming.”

Midler has been a star on screen and in music for decades, with her breakthrough role in 1979’s “The Rose.”

“’The Rose,’ which was absolutely a pivotal point in my life, it was a peak,” she said. “What I didn’t know was that many, many peaks would come after that.”

Midler had a flair for drama in movies such as “Beaches” and “For the Boys,” but she would go on to prove she was also a bankable comedic actor, starring in such popular films over the years as “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “Outrageous Fortune,” “Ruthless People” and “The First Wives Club.” She said she had a flair for making people laugh dating back to her childhood.

“I was funny. I wasn’t exactly a wit, but I was always physically funny,” she said.

Midler, who has earned three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards and two Academy Award nominations, cemented herself long ago as one of the iconic stars of her generation, the result of a dogged determination.

“I never said I’m going to try this. I said I’m going to do this. For me, there was nothing else. I couldn’t do anything else. This is what I could do, and I loved it with all my heart. I was going to do it,” she said.

Midler says her mother named her after Bette Davis and that her mom reveled in her success, noting she “saw enough of it that it thrilled her.” Her father didn’t exactly support the idea of going into show business, though, before coming around before he died.

“My dad was a problem. My dad never liked any of it, and he was a working-class guy. I loved him with all my heart, and in the end he wrote me a note, and please don’t make me cry. He wrote me a really nice note,” she said while choking up.

“It answered everything,” she continued, about that note.

“In a funny way his passing released me from the cynicism that he put on me, and that was a good thing because one wants to be joyful in this life.”

Midler continues to dazzle, starring alongside Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullally and Sheryl Lee Ralph in the upcoming comedy “The Fabulous Four,” which opens July 26. Her daughter, Sophie von Haselberg, also makes an appearance in the film.

Midler has been married to husband Martin von Haselberg for nearly 40 years. These days, she finds joy among those closest to her.

“I have my family, and I brought my family much closer. I love the crowds, but I don’t need them anymore,” she said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com