Bette Midler shares advice with AARP the magazine. (Dominique Charriau/Wireimage)When Bette Midler decides to give out life advice, you might as well listen. In her 66 years, the Divine Miss M has conquered stage and screen, won three Emmys, three Grammys, and a Tony, raised a daughter, stayed married for nearly 30 years, and still seems as energetic as ever. She recently shared a few words of wisdom with AARP the Magazine, some of which were about finally stopping to smell the roses.
"When you have had your head down doing something — even something you love, love, love — and you finally pick your head up and see the world around you, it's just so beautiful," the singer/actress says in the magazine's October/November issue. "It's just … oh, my God, I'm so glad I lived! That's when you realize you need balance. I seek that now all the time."
It's hard to imagine that Midler wants to conquer much more than she already has. Just in the last few years alone she's starred in her own over-the-top Vegas show that ran for nearly two years, performed in front of Queen Elizabeth, produced a Broadway show, received a lifetime achievement award, and will star in the upcoming comedy "Parental Guidance," opposite Billy Crystal. But, the Hawaii native explains, she's let certain dreams go over the years.
Check out the full story in AARP the magazine.
"They're dreams. A lot of the time they're fantasies, and you become enslaved to them," she explains. "Sometimes they're hormonal. When the hormones fade, then the dream no longer means the same thing. That's when you need to get yourself a new dream."
Whether or not you're a big fan of the Renaissance woman or are barely familiar with Midler's work (as unlikely as that possibility is), you probably know a certain song of hers: "Wind Beneath My Wings," the theme from her 1998 tearjerker "Beaches," and to Midler, that might just be one her greatest legacies. "A lot of people saw the movie that I sang it in, 'Beaches,' and what they came away with was that song. They turned to their loved ones and said, 'You know, you are the wind beneath my wings!' The song expressed how they felt in a way a simple 'I love you' would not have."
And finally, Ms. Midler also shared some advice in the interview regarding three big topics that affect millions of women on a daily basis: nails, hair, and skin. "You should be very careful about who does your mani-pedi, because you can really screw your toes up. You should stop beating your hair into submission, even if you don't like it. Everyone should exfoliate, every day, even guys," implores Midler. "More than two drinks a day will ruin your skin. And if you don't have a full-length mirror, you're going to get fat. Period."
Got all that?
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