Tragic Details About Liza Minnelli's Life

This article contains mentions of addiction and suicide.

Liza Minnelli is an icon. The word gets thrown around often, but Minnelli embodies every sense of it. The star was born to two Old Hollywood legends, and she went on to become one of very few people to reach EGOT status. She can sing, dance, and act, and her personal life has never been boring. Suffice it to say, Minnelli is a person of interest.

But unfortunately, much of the untold truth of Liza Minnelli is quite dark. And she knows she hasn't had it easy. "People have no idea what I have gone through. If they've read anything, those who like drama see drama; if someone values courage, they'll see courage," Minnelli told Tim Teeman. Minnelli's seemingly positive attitude about her life is even more admirable after learning just how devastating it's been. Here are the tragic details about Liza Minnelli's life. 

Tragedy for Liza Minnelli started well before she was born. Liza is the daughter Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland, the former known for directing iconic films such as "An American in Paris," "Gigi," and "Meet Me in St. Louis," and the latter for starring in iconic films including "Meet Me in St. Louis," as well as the original "A Star Is Born" and "The Wizard of Oz." Garland, who had been married once before, met Vincente on the set of "Meet Me in St. Louis," and the two wed the year after the movie's premiere. The couple welcomed Liza the following year, in 1946, and her life was never quite the same as others'. "Nearly everybody my parents knew were in showbusiness. So, by default, when I was growing up, nearly everybody I met was in the industry. Looking back, of course you realize that wasn't a regular childhood. But to me, at the time, it was," Minnelli said in an interview with Vogue Arabia.

But all was not right in their household. Judy Garland, who had a tragic life of her own, was battling multiple demons behind the scenes. After being fired from MGM, suffering a nervous breakdown, and attempting suicide multiple times, Garland started having an affair, which ultimately led to her separation and divorce from Vincente. Garland and Vincente each went on to get married thrice more, and Judy Garland went on to have two more children.

Liza Minnelli has had close relationships with people who lived with addiction her entire life, including her mother. By the time Judy Garland was a teenager, she was already battling addiction thanks to the influence of her mother who first gave Garland pills before she was 10 years old, as well as studio executives who kept Garland and her co-stars working themselves to the bone.

"They had us working days and nights on end. They'd give us pills to keep us on our feet long after we were exhausted. Then they'd take us to the studio hospital and knock us out with sleeping pills," Garland told biographer Paul Donnelley, as reported in "The Life and Times of Mickey Rooney." "Then after four hours they'd wake us up and give us the pep pills again so we could work 72 hours in a row. Half of the time we were hanging from the ceiling but it was a way of life for us." Said "pep pills" were amphetamines, which are commonly used today to treat conditions such as ADHD and narcolepsy. The sleeping pills were barbiturates, which are still used today to induce drowsiness, as well as to treat other medical conditions. The combination use of the two caused lifelong struggles for Garland, and they ultimately proved to be lethal.

Although Judy Garland wasn't paid nearly as much as her male counterparts, she still earned plenty of money throughout her life. For much of her career, Garland earned anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000 per year from her career in entertainment, which, when adjusted for inflation, would be the equivalent of a little over $500,000 to just over $1 million depending on the year. However, due to a multitude of tragedies, including her drug addiction and some embezzlement, she spent or lost most of the money she had earned throughout her lifetime, making Judy Garland's net worth at the end of her life quite surprising. Tragically, in 1969, just days after turning 47, Garland died from an accidental overdose. Liza Minnelli was just 23 years old. "I didn't stop for about eight days. It was just devastating to me," Minnelli said of her mother's death in the documentary "Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story," as reported by People.

Despite the inner turmoil Garland faced, Minnelli was happy growing up. "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. If people choose to believe that or not, it's up to them, but I know I was happy."

Unfortunately, Judy Garland's battle with addiction didn't stop with her generation. Liza Minnelli has battled it, too. "My whole life, this disease has been rampant. I inherited it, and it's been horrendous, but I have always asked for help," Minnelli told The Guardian of her struggles with addiction. According to the actor, her battle with substance use started when she was prescribed Valium after her mother's death. Additionally, Minnelli has struggled with alcoholism.

But like Minnelli said, she's always asked for help. The EGOT winner has been to rehab multiple times, starting in 1980s when she checked into the Betty Ford Center, a renowned rehabilitation clinic. "I knew [I had a problem], and I told my father. He said, 'Well, let's see what can we do about it.' I said, 'Well, all these people talk about the Betty Ford Center,' and he said, 'Then you'll go there.' Just like that. So he took me there," Minnelli told Variety of her first visit to rehab. Minnelli has been to rehab again as recently as 2015.

Liza Minnelli has loved and lost. The EGOT winner has had four different husbands, all of whom she's divorced. "I have great taste in directors and in people for costumes. But as far as husbands go, I think that I kept changing for them. And then about a year later I'd think: 'What am I doing? This really isn't me,'" Minnelli told Oprah of her various marriages. The star's first marriage was to performer Peter Allen. Allen hadn't come out as gay to Minnelli prior to their marriage, and when she found out, their romantic relationship ended. Her second marriage was to director Jack Haley Jr., and it ended because the two were better as friends.

Minnelli then married an artist, Mark Gero. It was during this marriage that Minnelli tried to have children, but things didn't go as she'd hoped (more on that later). Eventually the two parted ways, and later Minnelli married her fourth husband, producer David Gest, and things didn't end well (more on that later, too). But the star doesn't see herself finding a fifth husband. "I'm adamant about it. There is no reason on this earth ... I kept trying to get it right and I never did, so I gave up!" Minnelli told The Guardian.

"I desperately want a family," Liza Minnelli said in the documentary "Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story," as reported by People. "She would've been a great mother," Minnelli's friend Allan Lazare said of her. Unfortunately for Minnelli, motherhood wasn't in the cards. The star became pregnant three times, but each ended in a loss, which the star carried with her. "Sure, I mean, losing three babies, come on, and one so late in the pregnancy ... I had to give birth to that child. It was horrendous," she told Tim Teeman. This pregnancy also resulted in lasting complications. "I have a hiatal hernia, which I got when I was pregnant and they put me upside down trying to hold the baby — and the baby passed away anyway," Minnelli told The Guardian of one of her losses.

Though it could never possibly make up for the losses, Minnelli did get to experience another type of motherhood — she's become a godmother 21 times over. One of her godchildren is Nicolas King, an award-winning Broadway performer and grandson of Angela Bacari, Minnelli's former vocal coach.

While much of Liza Minnelli's life was tragic, much of it was also iconic. From starting her life on the stage to winning just about every major entertainment award possible, Minnelli was surrounded by the Hollywood elite her entire life. One such friend was legendary designer Halston, the mononymous designer who joined Minnelli in becoming a staple at the incomparable Studio 54 nightclub. "We got along instantly, and he became my fashion mate. I did what he said. He really took care of me," Minnelli said of her friend in an interview with Harper's Bazaar. Unfortunately, Minnelli's friendship with Halston was cut short. Halston died in 1990 of Kaposi sarcoma, a rare cancer affecting tissue growth. He was 57.

Halston's particular type of Kaposi sarcoma was related to HIV, a disease he had tested positive for in 1988. "I'm very, very saddened by this loss. I just lost my best friend," Minnelli said of Halston to the Los Angeles Times. Years after Halston's death, Minnelli participated in a CNN documentary about her friend and was adamant that she wouldn't reveal anything negative about him, as reported by WWD. "It's very hard to do an interview about your best friend, especially if what's popular at that day and age is digging a little," she said. "I don't like it. I hated it when they did it to my mother, or my father or myself. And I won't do it to Halston. I just won't. I refuse."

Liza Minnelli has had to fight for her health. In 2000, the icon was diagnosed with encephalitis, inflammation of the brain, which she contracted from a mosquito. The disease is potentially fatal, and many people who suffer from it have to go through various rehabilitation therapies to relearn basic life skills. "It's funny because they told me I would never walk or talk again, which is a bit of hard news to take ... They told me that, and I said, 'Nah, that can't be right,'" Minnelli told the Miami Herald of her experience with the disease.

Minnelli didn't let the brain disease win. "I had to learn to walk again, had to learn to talk again. People don't usually recover like I recovered but I would not give up. I just couldn't — I don't know how you'd do anything else," Minnelli told The Guardian. Thanks to her perseverance, Minnelli regained the ability to live as she had before, and by 2001, she was back to her old self, appearing on talk shows, performing with Michael Jackson at Madison Square Garden, and scoring a recurring role on the popular sitcom "Arrested Development."

Liza Minnelli's marriage to David Gest didn't end well. In 2003, Gest brought forth a lawsuit against Minnelli claiming that she had been physically abusive toward him and seeking $10 million. Gest claimed that Minnelli's abuse had caused him lasting neurological issues, including headaches and vertigo. Minnelli responded with a countersuit claiming that Gest did not treat her well, either. "I hoped very much that the end of my marriage would be handled with mutual respect. The allegations in this lawsuit are hurtful and without merit," Minnelli told Splash News of the lawsuit, as reported by Playbill. Ultimately the lawsuit was dropped, and the two settled their divorce about four years later.

During that time, Minnelli was dealing with another lawsuit — her former bodyguard sued her for $100 million claiming that she had been physically abusive toward him and had threatened to fire him unless he had sex with her. The dancer accused Gest and her former bodyguard of colluding against her with the lawsuits. Ultimately, the second lawsuit was settled, too, though the terms remained undisclosed to the public.

Liza Minnelli hasn't always been in great health. Her years of dancing have brought many people joy, but they've been hard on her body. The star suffers from scoliosis and her back issues have caused her to be wheelchair-bound leading to a major surgery in 2014. And that wasn't the first major surgery Minnelli endured that stood to threaten her career — in the late '90s, the icon had to have polyps removed from her vocal cords. Luckily the surgery was a success. "I've got a pair of brand new vocal cords, all polished up and ready to go," Minnelli said in a post-op interview with the Tampa Bay Times.

But Minnelli's health issues haven't stopped there. She's also had two hip replacements, issues with her jaw and teeth, and knee issues. Despite all her health problems, the dancer has stayed committed to staying as active as possible. "Never stop moving or you'll stop moving. I go to dance class every morning and it's just good to stay strong; I like being healthy," she told The Guardian.

Liza Minnelli's public appearances in recent years have been few and far between. In the mid-2010s, it was reported that the star had chosen to lead a more secluded life, and such seems to be the case as she's opted for fewer public outings and commitments throughout the 2020s, too. Moreover, the public appearances she's agreed to haven't gone great. 

Liza Minnelli was unhappy with her Oscars appearance in 2022 when she came out on stage in a wheelchair alongside Lady Gaga to present the award for Best Picture. While she was welcomed with a standing ovation, the EGOT star appeared to be confused. According to her friend Michael Feinstein, Minnelli, who has had trouble walking due to back pain, didn't want to be seen limping and had requested to sit in a director's chair. However, issues arose during the ceremony (including the infamous Will Smith slap), and plans changed last minute, causing Minnelli to have to use a wheelchair instead. "She was nervous, and it made her look like she was out of it. ... Can you imagine being suddenly forced to be seen by millions of people the way you don't want to be seen? That's what happened to her," Feinstein said of Minnelli's appearance on an episode of "The Jess Cagle Show" a month following the Academy Awards.  

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If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.