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Biography:
On January 17, 1994, a massive predawn earthquake rumbled through the San Fernando Valley, 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Buildings crumbled. Bridges collapsed. The disaster left more than 30 people dead, caused some $26 billion in damages and had a direct impact on Bette, who lived in the area with her husband and daughter, then seven. Rattled by the quake, and afraid for the safety of her family in the event of future quakes, Bette and her husband and daughter moved to New York City.
While her career dominated her life for three decades, home and family take centre stage for Bette now. Living in a spacious Fifth Avenue apartment, she's determined to raise her daughter, Sophie, with traditional values, stressing homework and limiting television viewing to sports and old movies. Bette's proud, too, of her 15-year marriage. She met her husband, Martin von Hasselberg, a commodities-broker-turned-performance-artist, at the Roxy bar in Los Angeles. They lost contact when he misplaced her phone number, then reconnected through friends in September 1984. Within three months, they were married at the Candlelight Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Both Bette and her husband are good cooks, and spend some of their happiest time together in a kitchen well-stocked with their favourite foods, including pickles and gourmet olives.
Bette's strength comes from her often-difficult past. A tireless performer, she inherited her work ethic from her parents, who raised four kids on her father's $60-a-week salary as a civilian housepainter for the Navy in Hawaii. Childhood was not easy for Bette. She grew up poor, living in subsidized housing and dressing in hand-me-downs and clothes hand sewn by her mother. Bette knew what it was like to be different, too. In her largely Samoan neighbourhood, hers was the only Jewish family and one of the few white families. When her younger brother, Daniel, was born mentally impaired, Bette understood she'd have to look outside the family for attention and support.
She started singing at a young age, belting out favourite tunes in the shower of her family's second-floor apartment. She knew she had a loud voice when people outside said they could hear her. Though some neighbours complained, others shouted out requests, which only encouraged her.
Named for film actress Bette Davis, young Bette dreamed of a career as an actress. At 19, after dropping out of college to pursue acting, she landed her first role, a bit part in the film version of James Michner's Hawaii. The role took her to Hollywood. Six months later, she left for New York City with one goal in mind: to become a star.
She worked on Broadway and in children's theatre. When there were no performing jobs to be had, she worked as a hatcheck girl, typist and department store clerk. After seeing Janis Joplin and Tina Turner live at New York's famous Fillmore East in the late 1960s, Bette added singing to her repertoire. Since then, she's combined her unique talents, including comedy and a flare for the dramatic, in a series of smash movies and live performances.
Recently, she took on a new role - housekeeper to the nation - with philanthropic efforts to clean up the nation's highways and New York City's parks.
Taken from estar.com.
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