Liza Minnelli
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Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of legendary entertainer Judy Garland and her second husband, acclaimed film director Vincente Minnelli.
Minnelli's first film appearance was in the final scene of the 1949-released film In the Good Old Summertime, starring her mother and Van Johnson. Liza started performing at age of sixteen, in 1963, on Broadway, in a revival of the musical Best Foot Forward, for which she received good notices. The next year, her mother invited her to perform with her in London at the London Palladium. The audience loved her, and her musical career was born. She returned to Broadway at nineteen, and won a 1965 Tony Award for Flora the Red Menace. She also received Tony Awards for The Act in 1978 and a special Tony in 1974. She was nominated in 1984 for The Rink but lost to her costar Chita Rivera.
The film The Sterile Cuckoo garnered her her first Academy Award nomination. In 1972, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Cabaret. Minnelli has the distinction of being the only Academy Award winner whose parents are both Academy Award winners. Most recently she has appeared as a recurring character on the critically acclaimed TV sitcom Arrested Development. She has also won an Emmy Award for the 1974 TV special Liza with a Z.
She received a 1990 Grammy Legend Award. She received Golden Globe Awards for Cabaret and for the TV movie A Time to Live.
Minnelli, like her mother, is known for her powerful vocal style, as in her trademark songs, "Cabaret" and "Theme from New York, New York." (Minnelli's original preceded Frank Sinatra's successful cover version, for his "Trilogy" album, by two years.)
Like her mother, Minnelli has had several failed marriages, and has also been linked romantically to director Martin Scorsese, actor Peter Sellers, pianist Billy Stritch, and actor Desi Arnaz Jr. Her husbands have have been:
- Peter Allen (real name Peter Allen Woolnough) (March 3, 1967 – 1972). Allen, who died of complications from AIDS in 1992, was Judy Garland's protegé in the mid 1960s.
- Jack Haley, Jr, (September 15, 1974 – 1979), a producer and director. His father, Jack Haley, was Judy Garland's co-star in The Wizard of Oz.
- Mark Gero (December 4, 1979 – 1992), a sculptor and stage manager.
- David Gest (March 16, 2002 – present), a concert promoter. The couple announced to the press in late 2002 that they would be adopting a three-year-old girl, to be named Serena Gest. They announced their separation on July 25, 2003.
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Controversy
David Gest, Minnelli's fourth husband, is currently suing her for $10 million, accusing her of beating him during drunken rages. Minnelli has denied beating Gest and counter-sued, claiming he cheated her out of more than $2 million.
Her former bodyguard and chauffeur, M'hammed Soumayah, said that "without his consent," he was forced to have sexual relations with Minnelli. Soumayah wants $50 million from Minnelli for her "intentional assault and battery," another $50 million for sexual harassment and $89,000 in back wages. Minnelli countersued and accused him of breach of contract.
Filmography
- In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
- Charlie Bubbles (1967)
- The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)
- Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970)
- Cabaret (1972)
- Just One More Time (1974) (short subject)
- That's Entertainment! (1974) (narrator)
- Journey Back to Oz (1974) (voice)
- Lucky Lady (1975)
- Silent Movie (1976) (Cameo)
- A Matter of Time (1976)
- New York, New York (1977)
- Arthur (1981)
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) (Cameo)
- Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) (voice)
- Rent-a-Cop (1988)
- Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988)
- Stepping Out (1991)
- A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
- Unzipped (1995) (documentary)
- The OH in Ohio (2005) (currently in post-production)
TV Work
- The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood (1965)
- Liza with a 'Z' (1972)
- A Time to Live (1985)
- Sam Found Out: A Triple Play (1988)
- Parallel Lives (1994)
- The West Side Waltz (1995)
- Jackie's Back! (1999) (Cameo)
Stage Appearances
- Flora, the Red Menace (1965)
- Liza (1974)
- Chicago (1975) (replacement for Gwen Verdon from Aug,- Sep. 1975)
- The Act (1978)
- The Rink (1984)
- Victor/Victoria (1995) (replacement for Julie Andrews in 1997)
- Minnelli on Minnelli (1999)