Details About Judy Garland's Messy Bond With Her Mother

Judy Garland is without question a silver screen legend, but her life was far from charmed. Her success came at a steep price, as she suffered from substance misuse and mental illness throughout her storied career. Surprisingly, her own mother, Ethel Gumm, may have been one of the first to inflict the trauma Garland struggled with throughout her short life.

The troubling treatment began early when Ethel, a former vaudevillian, took on the role of momager long before Kris Jenner was born. When Garland was two-and-a-half years old, Ethel put her in a vaudeville act with her two older sisters called the Gumm Sisters, later known as the Garland Sisters; Garland, who was born Frances Ethel Gumm, eventually changed her first name too. It was only a short time before Garland's talent eclipsed her siblings', and Ethel recognized pretty quickly her youngest had the potential to be a star. Breaking away as a solo act, Garland became her mother's main focus and was forced to endure a grueling work schedule despite bouts of illness and fatigue.

According to Gerald Clarke's biography "Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland," Ethel gave all of her daughters pills to help them stay awake, as well as sleeping pills. Garland began using these pills as early as age 10; after she signed her contract with MGM, she was encouraged to take diet pills, too. Tragically, the control Ethel had over Garland continued well into the star's teenage years: Ethel collaborated with MGM to pressure Garland into having an abortion when she was 19.

Once she was an adult, Judy Garland wasn't one to mince words about Ethel Gumm. "My mother was truly a stage mother," she told Barbara Walters on an episode of "The Today Show" in 1967. "A mean one," she emphasized. "She was very jealous because she had absolutely no talent."

The "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" singer was said to have gone as far as to compare her mother to a well-known villain from a certain iconic movie. Garland's role of Dorothy Gale in "The Wizard of Oz" won her the Academy Juvenile Award at the 12th Annual Academy Awards; years later, she famously described Gumm as "the real Wicked Witch of the West" in an interview.

Garland went on to have three children of her own: Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft. Her tumultuous relationship with her mother came to an end when Gumm died of a heart attack in 1953, at the age of 59. 

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).