Liza Minnelli - The Hollywood Star Celebrates Her 74th Birthday

Mar 12, 2020 by apost team

Her leading role in "Cabaret" turned Liza Minnelli into a world star. For the actress’s 74th birthday, we look back at her eventful life that has truly been a real cabaret.

Early Life

Liza May Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946, in Los Angeles and as the daughter of actress Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli basically meant to become a star. 

She actually had her first screen appearance when she was only three years old, in one of the last films starring her mother, “In the Good Old Summertime.” Two years later, her parents split up and Liza Minnelli took turns either living with her father or her mother.

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First Successes 

As a child, Liza Minnelli was very passionate about dancing and received lessons to improve. In 1962 she had her first performance on stage in one of her mother’s concerts and later that year she went on a tour to Israel with  her school’s production of “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

In 1964 Minnelli released her first album “Liza! Liza!” which turned out to be a huge success. And at the age of nineteen, Liza even received her first Tony Award for her performance in the play “Flora the Red Menace,” the first of many awards she was going to receive in the course of her career.

Lucky In Her Career, Unlucky In Her Personal Life

As her career started to take off, Minnelli fell in love with entertainer Peter Allen and the couple married in 1967. But that happiness didn’t last long as Minnelli’s mother tragically died from an overdose of pills in 1969. A few years later her marriage also came to an abrupt end, as Minnelli and Allen divorced after he turned out to be gay.

Professionally, however, Minnelli enjoyed great success as she celebrated her first Oscar nomination for “Pookie” in 1969. She became one of the biggest names in the entertainment industry as she starred in the musical film “Cabaret” which turned into a worldwide success. Minnelli received the Academy Award for her star role as Sally Bowles. After that Minnelli even got her own TV show, “Liza with a Z” (that also won numerous awards) and in the 1970s Minnelli worked with big stars of the entertainment industry such as Robert De Niro or Martin Scorsese. 

Drug Addiction

She didn’t get too lucky in her personal life though. Her second marriage with producer Jack Haley Jr. only lasted five years. Also, Minnelli was increasingly becoming the focus of public attention, as the actress was suffering three miscarriages and was struggling with an alcohol and tablet addiction. 

In 1979 Minnelli ended up marrying for the third time. But even with husband number three, Mark Gero, she couldn’t get her addiction under control and was sent to a clinic providing treatment for drug addicts.

The Comeback

In 1987 Liza Minnelli had a comeback. She catapulted herself back to the top with a series of concerts including tours with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.

Three years later, the singer and entertainer was honored with the Grammy Legend Award for her “ongoing contributions and influence in the recording field”.

Health issues

Nevertheless, Liza Minnelli kept making headlines with her addiction problems and health issue. After she divorced Mark Gero in 1992, she underwent hip surgery in 1994 followed by a vocal cord surgery three years later. In 2000 she was diagnosed with viral encephalitis, a potentially fatal swelling of the brain and had to sit in a wheelchair for quite a while.

But she fought her way back and had her own stage show in 2002. In the same year, she married husband number four, David Gest, in a reality show. But their marriage didn’t last long either as they separated in 2006.

Today, on March 12, Liza Minnelli celebrates her 74th birthday and has quite an eventful life to look back on. We hope to still get plenty more of her spectacular appearances and wish her the best of birthdays.

Are you a fan of the "Cabaret" star? Let us know in the comments and be sure to wish her the best of birthdays in the comments!