Judy Garland’s daughter is 79-years-old now. What is the famous daughter up to now?
7 mins
When it comes to legendary mother-daughter duos in Hollywood, few are as iconic as Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli.
Their relationship was deeply personal and profoundly public — a connection rooted in shared talent, triumphs, and the pressures of show business. Though their lives were filled with both glamour and hardship, Liza Minnelli has long insisted that her upbringing with Garland was filled with love.
“One of the biggest misconceptions about my mama is that she didn’t provide me with a happy childhood,” Minnelli told Vogue Arabia. “There were highs and lows for sure, but I can say I was very happy.”
A Star Is Born: Liza Minnelli’s Childhood in the Spotlight
Born on March 12, 1946, Liza May Minnelli was the daughter of Judy Garland and acclaimed director Vincente Minnelli. The couple married in 1945, shortly after Garland’s divorce from her first husband, David Rose.
Unbeknownst to the public at the time, Garland was hospitalized for a month after giving birth, undergoing surgery due to complications from her cesarean section. Biographer Gerald Clarke later revealed that she may have also struggled with postpartum depression.
By the time Liza was just 14 months old, she had already made her first on-screen appearance in The Pirate (1948), directed by her father and starring her mother. At age 3, she earned her first credited role in In the Good Old Summertime (1949). It was clear from the beginning: Liza was born for the spotlight.
Though Garland’s struggles with addiction and financial instability are well documented, Minnelli has always spoken of her childhood with warmth. She grew up alongside her half-siblings, Lorna and Joey Luft, and shared that their household was filled with laughter and music.
Minnelli recalled that being surrounded by show business was her norm. “Nearly everybody my parents knew were in show business,” she told Vogue Arabia. “Looking back, of course you realize that wasn’t a regular childhood. But to me, at the time, it was.”
As Liza matured, her relationship with her mother deepened into a rare friendship. “We would laugh and talk for hours. Sometimes in person, sometimes on the phone, depending where we were,” she said. “As I became a teenager, I became her best friend and confidante.”
Performing Together: The Judy Garland Show and Beyond
In the 1960s, the mother and daughter teamed up on The Judy Garland Show, where they performed memorable duets such as “We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together” and “The Best Is Yet to Come.” Their musical chemistry was undeniable, and their bond resonated with fans across generations.
Garland was an avid supporter of Minnelli’s budding career and was in the audience for her daughter’s Broadway debut in Flora the Red Menace in 1965. According to Clarke’s The Life of Judy Garland, she turned to costume designer Donald Brooks and gushed, “Can you believe that’s Liza up there? We did that!”
Liza would go on to win a Tony Award for her performance, the first major milestone in a long and celebrated career that mirrored, and ultimately surpassed, the fame of her famous mother.
A Painful Goodbye: Liza on Losing Judy Garland
Garland passed away in 1969 at the age of 47, when Liza was just 23. The cause was ruled as an accidental overdose, though Minnelli has often reflected that it wasn’t just about drugs — it was about exhaustion.
“When she died, I almost knew why,” Minnelli told TIME in 1972. “She let her guard down… She lived like a taut wire. I don’t think she ever looked for real happiness, because she always thought happiness would mean the end.”
She also shared the surreal nature of public grief, remembering that she was the calm one amid others’ despair.
“Elevator men were falling around me weeping. I was the only one standing up… I remember yelling at someone: ‘You cried for her when she sang “Over the Rainbow.” Now she’s at peace. Smile, for God’s sake!’”
