Happy 70th birthday to Bernadette Peters!

It’s hard to believe that ageless Broadway legend Bernadette Peters, currently starring in Hello, Dolly! turns 70 years young today.

The cast of the smash Broadway revival sang happy birthday to the show’s new star (she replaced Bette Midler last month). She is so sexy and talented and she has a Broadway resume that is beyond compare including revivals of Follies and A Little Night Music for which she got raves. Her other stage triumphs includes Sunday in the Park With George, Annie Get Your Gun (Tony win), Gypsy, Song and Dance (Tony win), Into the Woods and Mack & Mabel among others.

She’s also a beloved gay icon who I had the thrill of interviewing in the fall of 2008. I asked her why the gays have loved her for so much for so long.

“I always say they have great taste,” she joked. “They just recognize when something is going on, they recognize truth. Growing up feeling like an outsider, their souls and emotions are more developed. They have an ultra-sensitivity and that’s why they love show business.”

Here are some of my favorite Bernadette performances ever: