Biography
Liza Minnelli grew up on the front lines of entertainment; her mother was the great singer/actress
Judy Garland and her father the director/designer
Vincente Minnelli. Minnelli made her first film appearance, uncredited, as Garlands daughter (with co-star
Van Johnson) in the last few seconds of
In the Good Old Summertime (1948). When Garland shared a 1964 concert engagement at the London Palladium with her 18-year-old daughter, Minnelli's performing career was kickstarted. A year later, Minnelli had won the Tony Award for Flora, the Red Menace -- the youngest performer ever to do so -- and by 1974 had won an Oscar as well, for her performance as Sally Bowles in
Bob Fosse's dramatic musical
Cabaret. Several of her TV specials, particularly Liza with a Z, received critical acclaim. Despite her auspicious beginnings in show business, her film career after
Cabaret has been less than notable, with the possible exception of
Arthur (1981) with
Dudley Moore and Sir John Gielgud. Married three times, first to cabaret artist Peter Allen, then to Jack Haley, Jr., then to artist Mark Gero, for a time she was also linked romantically with Desi Arnaz, Jr., and
Peter Sellers. Her concert appearances continue to sell out, at which she often performs the music of John Kander and Fred Ebb, who wrote the score for
Cabaret. ~ All Movie Guide