BETTE Midler opened up about her career and personal life on the Today show on Thursday and didn’t hide her feelings when an emotional subject came up.

The actress choked up while talking about her parents’ support of her early days in show business.

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Bette Midler got choked up on Today when talking about her parents’ support of her careerCredit: NBC

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Today host Hoda Kotb reacts as Bette told her that her dad was not supportive until later in lifeCredit: NBC

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During the interview, Bette got choked up and said that her father had written her a letter before he diedCredit: NBC
Bette, 78, revealed that her mother named her after the Golden Age actress, Bette Davis.

And the name was appropriate because Bette wanted to get into the entertainment world.

Her mom supported Bette’s career in show business, but her dad was a different story.

“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.

Hoda said that so many people wish for a note at the end, and she wondered if Bette’s dad’s note left anything unanswered.

“It answered everything,” Bette told Hoda.

In it, she revealed that he had come around to her career before he died.

“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,” Bette told Today host Hoda Kotb.

She told Hoda, 59, more about her childhood and revealed that she “had a flair for making people laugh.”

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

Bette Midler performs I Put A Spell On You in from the film Hocus Pocus

Bette has starred in numerous movies and musicals including Hello Dolly!, Hocus Pocus, The Rose, Fiddler on the Roof, and more.

‘I’M GOING TO DO THIS!’

Despite pushback from her father when she was younger, Bette was determined to follow her passion.

“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.

Bette’s mom supported her along the way.

In a funny way [my father’s] 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

Bette Midler

The actress told Hoda that her mother “saw enough of it that it thrilled her.”

Although she has been involved in many projects, Bette said that playing Dolly in the revival of Hello Dolly! in 2017 was the “greatest peak of her life.”

“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,” Bette said.

She won a Tony Award for best actress for the role.

FINDING JOY

Now, Bette finds joy in her current family, her parents having died years ago.

“I have my family, and I brought my family much closer,” she said.

“I love the crowds, but I don’t need them anymore.”

Better has been married to Martin von Haselberg for almost 40 years.

They have one daughter, Sophia, who was born in 1986.

Sophia has a cameo in Bette’s upcoming movie, The Fabulous Four, which hits theaters July 26.

Today reports that Bette finds joy in those closest to her these days.

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Bette Midler shared that she finds joy in the people closest to her these days, including her husband and daughterCredit: NBC

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The actress said that the greatest joy in her career has been her role in the revival of the 2017 musical, Hello Dolly!Credit: Alamy

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Bette Midler, at the of Some Like It Hot in December 2022, has acted in numerous movies and musicals including Hocus Pocus, Hello Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose, and moreCredit: Getty