Liza Minnelli's Life in Photos, from Performing with Mom Judy Garland to Earning an EGOT

Born to legendary actress and singer Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli on March 12, 1946, Liza Minnelli made a name for herself as an actress, singer and EGOT winner — see her incredible life in photos on her 79th birthday, March 12, 2025.

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Liza Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946, to famed actress and singer Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli.

Minnelli told Vogue in 2019, "Nearly everybody my parents knew were in show business. 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."

That childhood blossomed into an wildly successful career that spans Broadway, music, movies and television, making Minnelli one of a small group of EGOT winners.

Here, on the star's 79th birthday, take a look at her incredible life in photos.

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Liza Minnelli with Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli. KM Archive/Getty

Minnelli got an early start in show business thanks to her famous mom and dad. She even made her film debut in 1949, when she appeared in In the Good Old Summertime alongside her mother.

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Liza Minnelli with Judy Garland. Getty

The star told Variety that the "hardest part" of becoming a star "was getting to be known as myself as opposed to somebody's daughter."

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Liza Minnelli with Judy Garland. CBS Photo Archive/Getty

In the 1960s, Minnelli would appear on her mother's variety show, The Judy Garland Show, where the pair would sing duets together. Here, there mother-daughter duo entertain the audience with "We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together."

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Liza Minnelli with Judy Garland. CBS Photo Archive/Getty

The pair weren't afraid of clowning around together ... literally! Here, they sing "Two Lost Souls" together.

The two were close and Minnelli spoke of Garland's legacy in honor of what would have been her 100th birthday: "They would say 'tragic Judy Garland' and I'd say, 'Oh shut up.' It was her humor and her kindness. ... With her family, she was hilarious."

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A young Liza Minnelli. Archivio Apg/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty

Minnelli made her nightclub debut at 19 years old, performing everywhere from Las Vegas to N.Y.C. In the span of three years, the performer recorded three records: Liza! Liza! in 1964, It Amazes Me in 1965 and There Is a Time in 1966.

She would go on to record many more albums, including her self-titled record in 1968, Come Saturday Morning and New Feelin' in 1970 and The Singer in 1973.

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Liza Minnelli with Judy Garland. Getty

In 1965, Minnelli made her Broadway debut in the musical Flora the Red Menace. Pictured is Minnelli celebrating the show's opening night with her mother, Judy Garland.

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Liza Minnelli wins a Tony Award. Getty

Then just 19, Minnelli won her first Tony Award for her performance in Flora the Red Menace, making her the youngest person to win the leading actress in a musical Tony.

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Liza Minnelli and Peter Allen. getty

Minnelli was days away from her 21st birthday when she married her first husband, composer Peter Allen, on March 3, 1967. The pair eventually split in 1974.

Minnelli said in an interview in 1996, "[I] married Peter and he didn't tell me he was gay. Everyone knew but me. And I found out ... well, let me put it this way: I'll never surprise anybody coming home as long as I live. I call first!"

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Liza Minnelli in 'The Sterile Cuckoo'. Getty

In 1969, Minnelli earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role her performance in The Sterile Cuckoo. Months before the film's premiere, on June 22, 1969, Minnelli's mother, Judy Garland, died of an overdose.

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Liza Minnelli in 'Cabaret'. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Life is a cabaret, old chum! In 1972, Minnelli starred in the film version of the musical Cabaret, playing the leading role of Sally Bowles.

Minnelli said that working with famed choreographer Bob Fosse was "sensational," adding, "He took all my mistakes or things that I did that I thought were awful or he thought were unusual and he used them."

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Liza Minnelli wins an Oscar. Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

Her performance in the film earned her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, as well as a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award.

Minnelli said she had no expectations of winning the Oscar, and didn't write a speech: "If you plan something and then it doesn't happen, then you're disappointed."

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Liza Minnelli in 'Liza with a Z'. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Minnelli teamed up with Cabaret choreographer Bob Fosse once more, starring in her own television concert, Liza with a 'Z'. The show earned the star her first Emmy Award, which she took home for outstanding variety special.

In total, Minnelli has been nominated for five Emmys in her career.

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Liza Minnelli and Jack Haley Jr. Getty

In September 1974, Minnelli married director Jack Haley Jr. Her second husband had an interesting connection to Minnelli's mother: His father, Jack Haley, played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. The pair divorced in 1979.

Upon his death in 2001, Minnelli said, "Jack was the first one to remind the general public of our heritage. America's royalty is our entertainers, who have given so much to the world. I fell in love with him the first time I met him, and I have loved him with all of my heart ever since."

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Liza Minnelli in 'New York, New York'. Getty

In 1977, Minnelli starred alongside Robert De Niro in New York, New York, and while the film wasn't a huge success, it did give her an incredibly memorable, oft-covered hit song: Minnelli sang the iconic tune named for the film, "New York, New York."

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Liza Minnelli and Mark Gero. Getty

In 1979, Minnelli married her third husband, artist Mark Gero, and the pair kept their relationship relatively private. She told PEOPLE in 1984 that when she met Gero in 1977 when The Act opened on Broadway, he "gave [her] a form of stability and love which, though [she] resisted it at first, proved to be the right thing."

She said of Gero, "He became everything to me. And when I discovered I was pregnant, we got married. We both wanted children and I could see a whole new life beginning for me. I miscarried weeks after our December 1979 wedding, and I miscarried again twice more. Fuel, if you will, to the trouble already beginning to burn inside me."

Minnelli has been open about her struggles with infertility; she experienced three miscarriages throughout the course of their marriage, which ended in 1992.

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Liza Minnelli in 'Arthur'. Getty

In 1981, Minnelli starred in Arthur alongside Dudley Moore, and in its sequel, Arthur 2, in 1988.

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Liza Minnelli in the 1980s. getty

In 1984, Minnelli was performing in the musical The Rink, but she left the show to enter rehab at the Betty Ford Center for dependence on alcohol, pills and cocaine. She was still nominated for a Tony Award for her performance.

She wrote in an essay for PEOPLE later that year, "I didn't even know I was becoming dependent. It's just this thing you take that makes you calm and clear. It takes the edge off pain, the nervousness."

Minnelli said after completing the program, "I feel higher now without alcohol and chemicals than I ever did when I was using them. I'm also calmer and more relaxed. Being in control of your life is a wonderful feeling."

Minnelli admitted to several more relapses over her life, and in 2015, she returned to rehab for substance abuse.

She told The Actors' Studio in 2016 that she knew it was an uphill battle to fight: "I've won three Tonys, an Academy Award, three Golden Globes … a lack of willpower, I don't think so. This is a disease and the sooner we know that, the better."

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Liza Minnelli with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. getty

From 1988 to 1990, she toured with Frank Sinatra — whose cover of "New York, New York" became a huge hit in its own right — and Sammy Davis Jr. for Frank, Liza & Sammy: The Ultimate Event.

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Liza Minnelli wins EGOT. getty

In 1988, Liza Minnelli presented at the Grammy Awards alongside Patrick Swayze. Two years later, she would add her last letter to her EGOT, being honored with the Grammy Legend Award in 1990. She would be nominated for Grammys two more times in her career: once in 1997 and again in 2010, both for best traditional pop vocal performance.

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Liza Minnelli with Princess Diana. Dave Benett/Getty

Minnelli had no shortage of famous friends, from Halston to Michael Jackson and more. Here, she chats with Princess Diana at at a party following the charity film premiere of Stepping Out in London.

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Liza Minnelli. getty

In 1992, following the death of friend and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, Minnelli sang "We Are the Champions" at a tribute concert alongside members of Queen in London.

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Liza Minnelli in 'Victor/Victoria'. getty

Minnelli made her return to Broadway in 1997, replacing Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria. Here, she waves to the audience after the show's opening.

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Liza Minnelli in 2000. getty

In 2000, Minnelli was treated for a case of viral encephalitis and doctors predicted that she would need to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Minnelli defied the odds and recovered, eventually going on to perform Liza's Back, her solo show, in N.Y.C. and London.

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Liza Minnelli and David Gest. Getty

In 2002, Minnelli married producer David Gest, who quickly became her manager. The pair had tumultuous split when their marriage ended just 16 months later.

Gest filed a $10 million lawsuit against her, claiming Minnelli beat him during alcoholic rages and turned him into "a victim of domestic abuse;" Minnelli denied Gest's allegations and filed for divorce.

Minnelli joked to Access Hollywood in 2012, "If you even hear I'm getting married, hit me over the head and take me outta there! You try and accommodate because you love someone… [and] nowadays why get married? Nobody else does. It's not like I want to have children, I tried that, didn't work unfortunately."

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Liza Minnelli in 'Arrested Development'. 20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett

In 2003, the star returned to television, making her first appearance on Arrested Development as Lucille Austero. She also came back for the show's reboot in 2013.

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Liza Minnelli in 2004. Getty

In 2004, Minnelli returned to the stage for the annual Royal Variety Performance at the London Coliseum.

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Liza Minnelli in 2009. getty

In 2009, Minnelli received her fourth Tony Award for best special theatrical event for Liza's at The Palace. She was also nominated for a Grammy for the recording of the event.

The following year, she would release her 11th studio album, Confessions.

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Liza Minnelli. Kevin Mazur/WireImage

In 2010, the star made an appearance in Sex and the City 2; she hasn't returned to the silver screen since.

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Liza Minnelli. Getty

Minnelli proved that girls really do just want to have fun when she appeared at Cher's "Dressed to Kill" concert in Brooklyn in 2014, singing "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" alongside Cyndi Lauper and Rosie O'Donnell.

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Liza Minnelli. Getty; Smith Collection/Gado/Getty

In 2022, Minnelli and her half-sister, Lorna Luft, celebrated what would have been their mother's 100th birthday, paying tribute to Garland with a fragrance called Judy to mark Garland's 100th birthday. They planted 1,000 Judy Garland Roses for the occasion.

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Liza Minnelli. Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Though Minnelli (at the 2014 Academy Awards) has laid low in recent years, she does lend her talents to projects every now and again. The star celebrated her 75th birthday in 2021, and in 2022 produced Grammy nominee Michael Feinstein's album, Gershwin Country. She appeared on the album alongside Feinstein to reimagine the Gershwin classic, "Embraceable You."

That same year, she joined Lady Gaga to present Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards.

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Liza Minnelli, Now and Then.

Robert Trachtenberg/Variety/Penske Media via Getty; NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

In December 2024, Minnelli revealed she will be publishing a memoir, which will come out. The book, she promises, opens the door to her illustrious life and career, covering all the ups and downs, including her substance abuse struggles.

"The story of an SUD [substance use disorder] victor not victim, who happens to be closing in on age 80, is a first for the screen,” Minnelli told PEOPLE exclusively via email last year. 

“I wasn’t going to tell this story, until I realized, maybe I’m still alive because I have a responsibility to help people like me, whose brains are wired differently,” she added. “I work on recovery every day. Let’s stop the shame.”

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