Bette Midler spent 10 years trying to lose her baby weight.

The 68-year-old performer gave birth to her daughter, Sophie Von Haselberg in 1986, and admitted she struggled to shed the pounds she had gained, but now manages to keep a stable weight by maintaining a healthy diet and exercising.

She explained: ''I've been very lucky with my figure. When I had my baby I gained 60 pounds - this was 28 years ago - it took me 10 years to lose the extra weight.

''Now I keep it up, I do a little running and watch what I eat.''

The 'Wind Beneath My Wings' singer sees her daughter as a ''mini-me'' after she followed in her footsteps by entering the entertainment industry, despite the 'Hocus Pocus' star warning Sophie that she ''would kill her'' if she did so.

She said: ''My daughter is my mini-me, she's an actor.

''When she was a little girl, I told her that if she ever got into showbusiness I would kill her. Fortunately, she was really young when I told her that and I think she really took it to heart.

''She went all through school, she had very good schooling. She learnt Chinese, she went to China, she worked in China, and then she came back at aged, maybe 25, and said, 'I want to be an actor,' and we looked at her like, 'Oh god!' ''

Despite Bette's wishes for her child not to get involved in the world of celebrity, she supported her decision and gushed with pride as she spoke about the 28-year-old star, who will star in an as-yet untitled Woody Allen movie which is set to be released in 2015.

Speaking on ITV's 'Loose Women,' she added: ''She went to drama school and came out with flying colours and now she's in a show, and she's in a movie.''