From pineapple factory to Hollywood royalty — Bette Midler didn't just break rules, she tap-danced on them.
For five decades the woman they call the Divine Miss M has forged a path which has taken her from a pineapple-canning factory in Honolulu to becoming a Hollywood legend. Alan Yentob joins Bette Midler on a journey through the chorus lines of Broadway and the bathhouses and nightclubs of the 1970s to the very top of the film industry. Her combination of a soulful voice and the raucous wit of Mae West has made her name as an outrageous, but always captivating, all-round entertainer.
Acting
Midler's unscripted candor — no filter, all heart, zero apologies.
Production
Rare archival footage from 1970s gay bathhouse performances.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Midler's early performances at Continental Baths essentially invented the modern gay icon — she performed for naked men in towels and treated them like royalty.
The documentary notably sidesteps her infamous feuds and box office bombs, crafting a hagiography that Midler herself occasionally punctures with self-deprecating jabs.
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