Midler's daughter speaks Mandarin Chinese and has lived in China.
NEW YORK - Co-hosting 'Live with Regis and Kelly' Friday morning, superstar Bette Midler revealed that her daughter is a "Zhongguotong," or China expert.
Sophie Frederica Von Haselberg speaks Mandarin Chinese and lived in China for six months in order to improve her speaking ability. Midler also revealed that her daughter had been in the Xinjiang region shortly before hostilities broke out in the region. Midler's own familiarity with China was obvious when she referred to the fighting between "the Uighurs and the Han (Chinese)."
Sophie, 21, graduated from Yale University with a degree in Sociology with a concentration in East Asian studies.
Midler said that as a child Sophie used to swear so much that she had to wash her mouth out with soap. Host Kelly Ripa noted, "Now your daughter can swear in Mandarin!" Midler noted that it was ironic that she punished Sophie for using bad words since she herself "swears like a sailor."
Mother and daughter recently traveled to Japan to see the country's famous Cherry Blossom trees. Midler is a major supporter of environmental iniatives and has helped fund and plant thousands of trees in New York.
Midler joked at one point in the program that her emotional smothering of her daughter forced her to move to China. "Look how far my daughter had to move to get away from me!"
Midler said that since returning to the U.S., Sophie has recently gone skydiving.
Other links of interest:
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Oh, the Names They Choose for Themselves!
Best Books to Read to Better Understand China
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