Liza Minnelli: a life in show business -

Liza Minnelli

© Getty Images

Liza Minnelli - Liza May Minnelli was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 12, 1946.

© BrunoPress

Famous parents - She is the daughter of legendary actress, singer, and dancer Judy Garland, and Italian-American stage and film director Vincente Minnelli.

© BrunoPress

Showbiz family - Born into a showbiz family, her parents named her after Ira Gershwin's song 'Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away).'

© BrunoPress

Child star - A four-year-old Minnelli with her mother on the set of 'Summer Stock' in 1950. The starstruck child made numerous appearances on TV during the 1950s.

© Public Domain

Growing up - Clutching a large toy elephant, the smiling youngster arrives in London in 1951 on her first visit to England. She was joining her mother, who was appearing in Birmingham during a provincial theater tour.

© BrunoPress

Teenage years - Minnelli made her first screen performance aged three in the musical 'In the Good Old Summertime' (1949), opposite Garland and Van Johnson. By 1963, Minnelli was performing professionally.

© BrunoPress

Double act - At age 18, she appeared with Garland on stage in London. Minnelli then turned to Broadway, and won her first Tony Award as a leading actress for 'Flora the Red Menace' (1965). 

© BrunoPress

Stage and screen - Throughout the 1960s, Minnelli blossomed as a singer and as a recording artist. Towards the end of the decade, she began appearing in movies. Her performance in 'The Sterile Cuckoo' (1969) garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

© BrunoPress

Tragedy - As Minnelli's star was on the ascent, Judy Garland's career had stalled: drugs and alcohol had taken their toll. On June 22, 1969, Garland was found dead in her rented house in London. She was 47 years old.

© BrunoPress

'Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon' (1970) - Still mourning her loss, Minnelli returned to work. Her next film, 'Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon,' was a financial and critical disappointment, though director Otto Preminger was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival (pictured).

© BrunoPress

More nominations - Meanwhile, she continued to record. The title track from the 1970 album 'Come Saturday Morning'—the title taken from the movie 'The Sterile Cuckoo,'—was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

© BrunoPress

'Cabaret' (1972) - Minnelli's next movie catapulted her into the Hollywood stratosphere—the film version of 'Cabaret,' loosely based on the 1966 Broadway play of the same name.

© BrunoPress

Signature role -

Minnelli portrays Sally Bowls, a nightclub singer at the Kit Kat Klub in Berlin during the last days of the Weimar Republic.

© Getty Images

Singing role - Directed by Bob Fosse and co-starring Joel Grey and Michael York, 'Cabaret' saw Minnelli sing on film for the first time.

© BrunoPress

Academy success -

A commercial and critical success, 'Cabaret' earned eight Oscars, including Best Actress for Minnelli, who also picked up a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, among other accolades.

© Getty Images

'Liza with a Z' (1972) - Fosse also directed and choreographed Minnelli's TV concert special. Musical numbers from 'Cabaret' featured prominently. Rescreened in 1973, the special then spent 25 years in NBC vaults before being restored and premiered in 2005.

© Public Domain

'Lucky Lady' (1975) -

She continued to combine concert appearances and recording with acting. 'Lucky Lady' was released in 1975. The following year, Minnelli worked with her father on 'A Matter of Time.' It would be Vincente Minnelli's last film project.

© Getty Images

'Silent Movie' (1976) - Minnelli appeared as herself in a cameo role in Mel Brooks' comedy 'Silent Movie.' She's pictured here with British funnyman Marty Feldman.

© BrunoPress

'New York, New York' (1977) - On paper 'New York, New York' seemed a sure-fire hit. Set in 1945, Minnelli portrays a small-time nightclub singer, with Robert De Niro playing an ambitious but selfish saxophone player.

© BrunoPress

'New York, New York' (1977) - In the film, both become a boy-girl act, and the duo hit it off. Years later, they team up again to write a song called 'New York, New York,' which becomes their and the city's anthem.

© BrunoPress

'New York, New York' (1977) - Yet despite De Niro's presence and Martin Scorsese directing (pictured), the film received mixed reviews and was a financial flop (the disappointing reception led Scorsese into a deep depression). However, Minnelli continued to perform the theme song at concerts decades later, which is now regarded as a modern-day classic.

© BrunoPress

'Arthur' (1981) - Minnelli's next film project fared much better. A comedy, 'Arthur' was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1981, and was nominated for (and won) several Oscars.

© BrunoPress

'Arthur' (1981) - The film teamed up the actress with Brits Dudley Moore and John Gielgud, the latter walking away with the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

© BrunoPress

Singing at the White House - Pictured with First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1987 during the TV show 'In Performance at the White House.' Marvin Hamlisch plays piano while Vic Damone looks on.

© BrunoPress

'Frank, Liza & Sammy: The Ultimate Event' - After 'Arthur,' Minnelli made few film appearances and instead concentrated on singing, touring, and recording. Notable concert appearances include the 1989 tour with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.

© Reuters

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert -

In 1992, just five months after Queen's front man passed away, Minnelli joined other special guests on stage at a benefit concert to pay tribute to Freddie Mercury and to raise awareness of AIDS.

© Getty Images

Later career - The 1990s saw Minnelli divide her time between Broadway stage shows, global concert performances, and national and international TV appearances. Pictured: the Concert of the Americas in Miami, 1994.

© Reuters

On tour - In colorful dress on stage at the historic Odeon of Herodes Atticus venue in Athens, Greece, also in 1996. 

© Reuters

Philanthropy - Still working hard at the turn of the century, Minnelli was by now fully committed to a number of charities and social causes. She's pictured in 2003 at the 'Macy's and American Express Passport 2003' concert in California to raise money for HIV research.

© Getty Images

What an entrance! - Still able to make an entrance, here she is arriving on stage to perform at VH1's Big In 2003 Awards at Universal City in Los Angeles.

© Getty Images

Marriages and renewed popularity -

Married and divorced a total of four times, it was Minnelli's bizarro marriage to David Gest in 2002 that really got people talking (they divorced in 2007). This coincided with her popular appearances on 'Arrested Development,' which began in 2003 and continued on and off until 2013.

© Getty Images

Enjoying life! - An enthusiastic Minnelli arrives on stage at the annual Life Ball in Vienna, Austria in 2005.

© Reuters

'Cabaret' revisited - French actresses Catherine Arditi, Claire Perrot, and guest of honor Liza Minnelli, with other cast members on stage at the 2006 gala premiere of the musical comedy 'Cabaret' at the Folies Bergère in Paris, France.

© BrunoPress

When in Rome - Looking fit and trim, Minnelli presents her 2008 Live Tour at the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy. 

© BrunoPress

Gala show - Marvin Hamlisch, singers Ashley Brown, Maria Friedman, Jennifer Holliday, Paulo Szot, Nikki Yanofsky, Liza Minnelli, and Joel Grey take a final bow on stage at the 2009 New York Philharmonic Spring Gala at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

© Getty Images

Another Tony win - Minnelli acknowledges her nomination for a Tony Award for Special Theatrical Event for her work in 'Liza's at the Palace' in 2009 in New York City. She subsequently won.

© Reuters

I love Liza - The singer performs during the 2011 TV Land Awards in New York City. 

© Reuters

'Selfie' star - Ellen DeGeneres takes a selfie with Liza Minnelli and her half-sister Lorna Luft (from Garland's marriage to Sid Luft) at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014.

© BrunoPress

Red carpet arrival - Minnelli arriving all smiles at the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles in 2014.

© BrunoPress

Semi-retirement -

Liza Minnelli photographed in 2015. These days she's rarely pictured in public and has scaled down her concert appearance due to health issues.

© BrunoPress

Oscars appearance -

However, nearly 50 years after winning Best Actress for her role in 'Cabaret,' Minnelli returned to the Oscars stage to present the Best Picture winner in 2022. Lady Gaga accompanied Minnelli, who was in a wheelchair, and as a huge applause roared in Gaga said, "Do you see that? The public, they love you." Minnelli sorted through her notes with a little confusion and Gaga filled in, calling her a "true show business legend."

After the nominees were read, Gaga sang to Minnelli, who said, “I’m so happy to be here, and especially with you! I’m your biggest fan.”

See also: The best ever stage-to-screen musicals

© Getty Images