Everything about Liza Minnelli totally explained
| birthplace =
Hollywood, California,
U.S.
| spouse =
Peter Allen (1967-1974)
Jack Haley, Jr. (1974-1979)
Mark Gero (1979-1992)
David Gest (2002-2003)
| yearsactive = 1949-present
| occupation = Actress, vocalist
| academyawards =
Best Actress1972
Cabaret
| baftaawards =
Best Actress in a Leading Role1972
Cabaret
| emmyawards =
Outstanding Single Program - Variety and Popular Music1973
Liza with a 'Z'
| goldenglobeawards =
Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy1973
Cabaret Best Actress - Miniseries or TV Movie1986
A Time to Live
| goldenraspberryawards =
Worst Actress1988 ;
Rent-A-Cop
| grammyawards =
Grammy Legend Award1990 Lifetime Achievement
| tonyawards =
Best Leading Actress in a Musical1965
Flora the Red Menace1978
The ActSpecial Tony Award1974
}}
Liza May Minnelli (
"LYE-zuh"; born
March 12,
1946) is an
American Academy Award-winning actress and singer. She is the daughter of actress and singer
Judy Garland and her second husband,
Academy Award-winning
film director Vincente Minnelli. In 1972, she won an
Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in
Cabaret and two of her records have been certified gold.
Biography
Minnelli was born in
Hollywood, California into a well-known artistic family; her maternal lineage had entertainers in the family going back six generations. Her famous mother,
Judy Garland, had success in film and in music, and her aunts had been part of a singing group, "The Gumm Sisters", with her mother. Her father, also from a theatrical family including circus performers, was an acclaimed
film director Vincente Minnelli. Minnelli's first film appearance was at the age of three in the final scene of the 1949 musical
In the Good Old Summertime, starring her mother and
Van Johnson.
Although Minnelli and her mother shared a warm personal relationship, during the London Palladium performances Garland recognized Minnelli's talent and felt a sense of competition. Minnelli recalled a time where she was singing on stage: "I was onstage with my mother, but suddenly, she wasn't Mama ... she was Judy Garland.".
She has also been portrayed in the Australian musical
The Boy From Oz starring
Hugh Jackman. On Broadway, she was portrayed by Broadway star
Stephanie J. Block. The show received four Tony nominations.
She is also a well known childhood friend of actress
Katy Manning.
Public life
Her well-publicized struggles with substance abuse have made inevitable parallels and comparisons to her mother's personal and career challenges. Minnelli has been in
rehab for her substance abuse numerous times. She entered rehab shortly before her marriage to David Gest. Another visit occurred at their first anniversary; she recently visited rehab and a psychiatric center to deal with issues stemming from her contentious divorce from Gest.
Marriages
Minnelli has been married (and divorced) four times; her husbands have been:
- Peter Allen (real name Peter Allen Woolnough) (March 3, 1967–1972). Australian-born Allen, who died of complications from AIDS in 1992. Allen was Judy Garland's protégé in the mid-1960s.
- Jack Haley Jr., (September 15, 1974–1979), a producer and director. His father, Jack Haley, was Garland's co-star in The Wizard of Oz.
- Mark Gero (December 4, 1979–1992), a sculptor and stage manager
- David Gest (March 16, 2002–July 25, 2003), a concert promoter.
Minnelli's divorce from Gest was particularly acrimonious. Gest alleged that Minnelli infected him with
herpes and didn't disclose it until after the wedding, whereas Minnelli claimed Gest was a drug addict.
The couple filed divorce papers in February 2007. Separation and subsequent divorce proceedings from Gest in 2003 had been fraught with controversy. Minnelli and Gest signed an agreement in January 2007 to end all pending lawsuits against each other, and to proceed with a no-fault divorce. Prior legal matters were either resolved or dismissed.
Minnelli has no children, having had three miscarriages; one attempted pregnancy left Minnelli with a hiatal hernia as a result of the medical steps taken to try to save the baby. Minnelli won the Best Actress
Academy Award for her performance, along with a
Golden Globe Award, and was featured on the covers of
Time and
Newsweek Magazines simultaneously.
Hot off the success of the movie, Fosse and Minnelli teamed up for what was to become a groundbreaking show in several departments.
Liza with a 'Z', a filmed concert later aired only two times on TV until the somewhat "accidental" recovery from the vaults and first public release on DVD in 2006. In the concert, filmed over two performances, Minnelli danced and sang in several daring and censor-challenging costumes designed by famed costume-designer
Halston. Several awards were the reward for what is regarded by both critics and public as a piece of show business history.
Following a string of less successful feature movies and ventures into television, she finally got the chance to work with her father, director
Vincente Minnelli, in the 1976 fantasy-musical
A Matter of Time, co-starring
Ingrid Bergman. After severe editing and cutting, done at the request of the producers, the film was neither a commercial nor a critical success.
Her appearance opposite
Robert De Niro in the 1977 film,
New York, New York however, gave Minnelli her best known
signature song, "
Theme from New York, New York".
Frank Sinatra released a successful
cover version (for his album) two years later and used it as his signature song as well, sometimes even duetting with Liza live on stage.
After her performance as leading lady to
Dudley Moore in 1981's
Arthur, Minnelli made fewer film appearances.
Later career
Minnelli's career has been known to be filled with highs and lows. In the beginnings, however, she recorded several studio albums, for
A&M and
Capitol Records. The Capitol albums "Liza! Liza!", "It Amazes Me" and "There Is A Time" have recently been reissued on a 2CD compilation, for the first time in their entirety. The album spawned 4 singles ("Don't Drop Bombs", "Losing My Mind", "Love Pains" and "So Sorry, I Said") and gave her a chance to film promotional videos for them and enjoy another long-overdue comeback in the music business. Initially released on a VHS tape titled "Visible Results", the clips were later issued on a bonus DVD included in the 2005 remastered and expanded edition of the album. Later that year she performed "Losing My Mind" live at the Grammys ceremony before receiving a Grammy Legend Award, making her one of only 12 other entertainers, in a list that includes
Whoopi Goldberg,
Barbra Streisand, and
Mel Brooks among others, to win an Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and Academy Award, even though she's sometimes discounted since her Grammy was a special award and wasn't won in a competitive category.
She returned to Broadway in 1997, taking over the title role in the musical
Victor/Victoria, replacing
Julie Andrews. In his review,
New York Times critic Ben Brantley commented, "her every stage appearance is perceived as a victory of show-business stamina over psychic frailty... She asks for love so nakedly and earnestly, it seems downright vicious not to respond." However, rumors of ill will between her and co-star Tony Roberts gained momentum when he deliberately skipped performances.
After a serious case of
viral encephalitis in 2000, Minnelli was in very bad shape, her family and friends were seriously worried, and even a feud with half-sister Lorna was buried. Doctors predicted the rest of her life in a wheelchair. She however refused to accept this and thanks to her dance lessons, which she still takes daily, managed to achieve yet another comeback, with her then-husband who produced her big show "
Liza's Back" in 2002.
After this success, the world was again made aware of Minnelli's entertainment capabilities and she kept on touring the world and had offers coming from several fields in the business.
She had once again all doors open to her, the only thing that seems to escape her is another big movie role, with her last big mark on the silver screen being in 1981 in the comedy
Arthur.
In 2004 and 2005 she appeared as a recurring character on the critically acclaimed TV
sitcom Arrested Development as
Lucille Austero, the lover of sexually and socially awkward
Buster Bluth and also the lover of Buster's brother
GOB Bluth.
In September 2006, she made a guest appearance on the long-running
NBC drama .
Masquerade, the Halloween-themed episode, was written by Gina Gionfriddo and broadcast on Tuesday,
October 31,
2006. She also completed guest vocals on
My Chemical Romance's 2006 concept album
The Black Parade, portraying "Mother War", a dark conception of the main character's mother, in the song "
Mama".
Her latest project is the imminent release of a collection of songs that her godmother
Kay Thompson originated. In 2007 she's added the songs to her latest tour to introduce them to audiences.
It has recently been announced that once she's completed the collection of songs that
Kay Thompson originated and also her tour, she'll begin filming
Katie's Blues, which she's in negotiations with the writers of the movie musical
Chicago in writing the script. Liza will write, produce and star in the film.
Signature song
Minnelli had several notable public performances of her signature song, "New York, New York", some of them are:
At the 1978 Studio 54 party honoring New York City's revival, at which a guest was Mayor Ed Koch;
The reopening of the Statue of Liberty on July 4, 1986;
As a duet with Luciano Pavarotti at the 1996 "Pavarotti & Friends" concert in Modena, Italy.
At a 2001 New York Mets baseball game that was the metro area's first major sporting event after the September 11 attacks;
At the age of 60, for the "Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular" televised live, and nationally on NBC on July 4, 2006, she performed the song and received an ovation.
In February 2008, weeks before turning 62, she performed the song at a televised celebration of Bruce Forsyth's 80th birthday celebration on BBC.
Awards and honors
Minnelli's appearance in The Sterile Cuckoo garnered the young actress her first Academy Award nomination.
In 1973, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the movie released in 1972, Cabaret.
She also won an Emmy Award for the 1972 TV special Liza with a 'Z', a 1989 Grammy Legend Award, and Golden Globe Awards for both Cabaret and the 1985 TV movie A Time to Live.
She has received three Tony Awards to date: a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical in 1965 for "Flora the Red Menace" (and for it still holds the record as the youngest person to receive a Tony for lead in a musical), a special Tony in 1974 for her concert engagement at NY's Winter Garden, and a second Tony, for The Act in 1978. She was nominated in 1984 for The Rink but lost to her costar, Chita Rivera.
Minnelli has one Oscar and Emmy, three Tony Awards, two Golden Globes, along with a special Grammy. She has the distinction of being one of the few Academy Award winners whose parents were both Academy Award nominees, and she's the only winner of that award whose parents were both winners of it as well.
Image
Minnelli's work in Cabaret molded her popular image; the black helmet of hair, huge eyes and extravagant eyelashes have remained her visual trademarks. The perception among many is that she embodies the same characteristics she portrayed as Sally Bowles, that is, a combination of fragility, determination, detachment from reality and hunger for affection.
During the 1980s, she softened her image and has kept it ever since. Recently, she's suffered from fluctuating weight and has faced severe health problems, including having had both hips replaced, other surgeries, and stints in rehab. Despite this, she stated she'll keep on doing what she does best as long as her body allows her to. In a recent interview session filmed for “Inside the Actor's Studio” in which she provided insight into her career and style, she stated she'll continue to be herself. Her later image is notable for big eyebrows, which has become something of a signature look for her, as much as the black helmet hair was in the 1970s.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Best Foot Forward (1963) (Original Cast Recording)
Liza! Liza! (1964) US #115
Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli Live at the London Palladium (1965) US #41
Flora the Red Menace (1965) (Original Cast Recording) US #111
It Amazes Me (1965)
There Is a Time (1966)
The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood (1966) (soundtrack)
Liza Minnelli (1968)
Come Saturday Morning (1969)
New Feelin' (1970) US #158
Liza Minnelli: Live at the Olympia in Paris (1972, recorded in December 1969)
Cabaret (1972) (soundtrack) US #25 UK #13
Liza with a 'Z' (1972) (soundtrack) US #19 UK #9
The Singer (1973) US #38 UK #45
Liza Minnelli: Live at the Winter Garden (1974) US #150
Lucky Lady (1975) (soundtrack)
A Matter of Time (1976) (soundtrack)
New York, New York (1977) (soundtrack) US #50
Tropical Nights (1977)
The Act (1978) (Original Cast Recording)
Live at Carnegie Hall (1981)
The Rink (1984) (Original Cast Recording)
Liza Minnelli at Carnegie Hall (1987) US #156
Results (1989) US #128 UK #6, produced by Pet Shop Boys
Larlo My Love (1990) US
Stepping Out (1991) (soundtrack)
Liza: Live from Radio City Music Hall (1992)
Aznavour Minnelli: Paris, Palais des Congrès (1995)
Music from The Life: A New Musical (1995) (concept cast album, is featured on "Use What You Got", "We Had a Dream", and "People Magazine")
Gently (1996) US #156 UK #58
Dancin' Divas (1996) This compilation from Sony Music Entertainment featured the song Don't Drop Bombs (Disconet Remix))
Minnelli on Minnelli: Live at the Palace (1999)
Liza's Back (2002)
The God-Mother and The God-Daughter (TBC, 2008)
Liza Minnelli was featured on the album The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. She played the part of Mother War in the song "Mama".
Popular singles
"Theme from New York, New York" (US #104, 1977, became a worldwide classic and signature song)
"Losing My Mind" (UK #6, August 1989) (#11 on US Dance chart)
"Don't Drop Bombs" (UK #46, October 1989)
"So Sorry, I Said" (UK #62, November 1989)
"Love Pains" (UK #41, March 1990) (#40 on US dance chart)
Television
During the early days of Television in the 1950s Liza appeared as a child guest on Art Linkletter's show and in 1959 sang and danced with Gene Kelly on his first television special. She was a guest star in one episode of the popular Ben Casey television series starring Vince Edwards and was a frequent guest on chat shows of the day including numerous appearances on shows hosted by Jack Parr, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Joe Franklin, Dinah Shore and Johnny Carson. During the 1960s she made several guest appearances on Laugh In as well as other variety shows including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace, as well as The Judy Garland Show. Recently, Minnelli has made guest appearances on such shows as Arrested Development and . In the UK she's appeared on the Ruby Wax, Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross shows and in October 2006 participated in a comedy skit on the Charlotte Church Show and was featured on the Michael Parkinson Show.
Judy and Liza at the Palladium (1964)
The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood (1965)
The Carol Burnett Show" 1967 & 1968
The Anthony Newley Show (1971)
Liza with a 'Z' (1972)
The Muppet Show (1979
Goldie and Liza Together (1980)
Baryshnikov on Broadway (1980)
The Princess and the Pea (Faerie Tale Theatre episode) (1983)
A Time to Live (1985)
Sam Found Out: A Triple Play (1988)
(1989)
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (1992)
Liza Minnelli: Live from Radio City Music Hall (1993)
Parallel Lives (1994)
The West Side Waltz (1995)
Jackie's Back! (1999)
Arrested Development (2005)
Stage productions
Best Foot Forward (1963) (Off-Broadway)
Carnival (1964) (Paper Mill Playhouse)
Time Out For Ginger (1964) (Bucks County Playhouse)
The Fantasticks (1964) (Tour)
Flora the Red Menace (1965) (Broadway)
Liza (1974) (one woman show, Broadway)
Chicago (1975) (replacement for Gwen Verdon from Aug-Sep. 1975, Broadway)
The Act (1977) (Broadway)
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? (1978) (Off Broadway}
The Owl and the Pussycat (1979) Martha Graham Ballet, London West End & Lincoln Centre, New York City
By Myself (1983) one woman show, Los Angeles and London
The Rink (1984) (Broadway)
Victor/Victoria (1997) (vacation replacement for Julie Andrews) (Broadway)
Minnelli on Minnelli (1999) Broadway
Liza's Back! (2002) BroadwayFurther Information
Get more info on 'Liza Minnelli'.
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