American singer and actress who won an Academy Award for “Cabaret” and an Emmy for her “Liza with a Z” television special (both in 1972) and three Tony’s including one for “Flora, the Red Menace” in 1965. Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland, has had a roller-coaster career that has been marked with substance abuse rumors and a stint at the Betty Ford clinic.
She is the daughter of legendary singer Judy Garland and her first husband, director Vincente Minnelli. In 1951, her parents divorced, and her mother re-married producer Sid Luft the same year, giving her a half-sister, Lorna, and half-brother, Joey. She made her film debut at age three in her mother’s musical “In the Good Old Summertime.” Her stage debut was in February 1952 when, not quite six years old, she danced to her mother singing “Swanee” in Garland’s concert at the New York Palace Theatre. At age 13, Minnelli was featured on a Gene Kelly television special.
By 1961, Liza was touring Israel, Athens and Rome in the title role of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” a drama club production of her high school. She studied briefly at the Sorbonne in Paris before making her New York stage debut 4/02/1963 in an off-Broadway revival of “Best Foot Forward.”
On 11/08/1964, she appeared at the London Palladium with her mother, the first time they performed together. The concert was considered a milestone in show business history: It was Garland’s show, but Minnelli took the audience by storm, upstaging her mother by most reports.
In 1964, she made her first album for Capitol Records. On 5/11/1965, she made her Broadway debut in “Flora the Red Menace” for which she won the Tony Award as the best musical actress. Shortly afterwards, Minnelli ventured into films. She was nominated for an Oscar in 1969 for her role in the movie “The Sterile Cuckoo.” That same year, on 6/22/1969, Judy Garland died of a drug overdose in London.
Her most memorable screen role was as Sally Bowles in “Cabaret” released in February 1972. For her work, Minnelli won the Oscar, the Golden Globe, and the English Academy Award. By the end of 1972, she’d also won the Emmy for NBC’s “Liza with a Z.” In January 1974 she opened at the Winter Garden on Broadway and won a special Tony award for her concert.
In 1975, she appeared in several movies that did not do well at the box office. On 10/29/1977, she appeared in the musical “The Act” on Broadway which earned her a third Tony award, though the play had poor notices. She starred in “Arthur” in 1981.
On 7/15/1984, Minnelli checked into the Betty Ford Clinic, acknowledging alcohol and drug addiction. Then in June 1985, she starred in a comeback concert, and won her second Golden Globe award for her role in an NBC movie, “A Time to Live,” which aired in October 1985.
In November 1964 she met her future first husband, singer-dancer Peter Allen, through her mother, and began living with him. They married 3/03/1967, and divorced in 1974. (Allen later died of AIDS on 6/18/1992.) She married Jack Haley Jr., in 1974 and they were divorced in 1978. She married her third husband, Mark Gero, on 12/04/1979: They were divorced in 1991. She has had three miscarriages, no children.
In recent years, Minnelli was plagued with problems when she substituted for Julie Andrews in “Victor/Victoria” on Broadway in January 1997. There were reports of flubbed lines and missed rehearsals, though she replaced the original star on only two days notice.
Besides the problem of addictions, Minnelli had an operation in February 1997 to remove a polyp from her vocal cords, and had hip replacement surgery for her right hip in December 1994. Weight fluctuation continued to be a battle.
Not to be outdone, Liza opened at the Palace on Broadway in mid-December 1999 for a month-long concert. On 4/27/2000, she entered the hospital for an acute condition in her left hip. (Doctors orders in August 2000 found her successfully shedding 65 lbs. While training for a song-and-dance show comeback saluting her late dad, she severely injured herself in April. The grueling dance rehearsals, coupled with her weight, aggravated an arthritic condition in her spine and she will need hip replacement surgery as well as spinal fusion. Down to 135 pounds, she had to lose a bit of weight before entering the hospital.
Minnelli was admitted on 10/08/2000 to the emergency ward with a suspected heart attack, Fort Lauderdale, FL. She was released on 10/16 but returned three days alter suffering from dehydration. Finally on 10/23, test results revealed that she had viral encephalitis, which involved inflammation of the brain. She should respond well to treatment, and as a positive side-effect, she and her sister Lorna Luft reconciled from a falling-out in the mid-90s.
The last six years have been hobbled by two hip and two knee surgeries as well as an ongoing recovery from alcohol and tranquilizer addictions. During rehearsals in August 2001 for the Michael Jackson TV special, she met producer David Gest. Within 48 hours they were both saying “I love You.” They began dating with the caveat that neither were ever going to marry again – but changed their minds and set a wedding date for early 2002. Lisa began happily dancing three hours a day and lost 49 pounds. The wedding was one of the biggest splashes of the day, full-on Hollywood ostentatious spectacular with pals Michael Jackson and Liz Taylor in attendance along with 850 guests, 3/16/2002.
The performer and her new husband, David Gest,, allegedly refused to pay the bill of $138,000 for the renovation of their New York apartment. The G&I Construction Company brought suit in early 2003. Her biography, “Divinely Decadent” by Sara Gallick with Nicholas Maier, was released in March 2003. Her entertainment career was put on hold while she recovered from surgery performed on May 28, 2003 for a fractured kneecap sustained in a fall in a Rome hotel three days earlier.
In mid-summer 2003, Liza split from her husband, David Gest; their marriage lasted just shy of 18 months. On October 21, 2003, a few months after Liza separated from her husband, David Gest, he filed a 12-page civil suit in New York City for $10 million, claiming that she physically abused him on several occasions. On November 13, 2003, she sued him for $2 million, claiming he did not conduct himself as her agent with integrity.
On December 27, 2004, the singer/actress was rushed to the hospital after her bodyguard phoned 911 at about 3:30 AM to report that she had fallen out of bed and hit her head.
Gest’s $10 million suit claiming she had abused him was dismissed September 25, 2006 in New York City.
Link to Wikipedia biography