I loved the photographs of people wearing elaborate makeup and costumes – they really pulled at me inside. I was in that library every week for years, until I was about 13. I had a rich interior life, because I didn’t have much of a social life.
My parents taught me: Do not rely on a man. Not rely on it that you get married and it pays for you. That’s what I figured. I have always paid my own bills.
I have a ball – and it keeps my heart rate up. I get to wear fabulous clothes. I get to make people laugh. That’s my core business, and that’s where I’ll always return.
I decided years ago not to read stories about myself anymore. Each one is a potential minefield: Whatever it says, you’re bound to take it the wrong way. Why do it if you know it’s going to make you miserable?
![Bette Midler Quote - All these rumors about [Tom Cruise] being gay. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it for one minute. He hasn’t been to one of my shows.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/all-these-rumors-about-tom-cruise-being-gay-i-dont.jpg)
![Bette Midler Quote - [On Helen Reddy:] She ought to be arrested for loitering in front of an orchestra.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/on-helen-reddy-she-ought-to-be-arrested-for-loiter-683x1024.jpg)
