Liza Minnelli

American actress and singer Liza Minnelli (1946) became world famous for her impersonation of Sally Bowles in the film musical Cabaret (1972). She won an Oscar for her role, but during her long career, she also won an Emmy, a Grammy, a Golden Globe and several Tony awards. Through the years, she became a versatile interpreter of songs from the Great American Songbook. Songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb in particular formed the basis for some of her concert programmes and Minnelli starred in several of this duo's stage musicals, including 'Flora the Red Menace' (1965) and 'The Act' (1977/1978). Liza is the daughter of film legend Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli.


French postcard in the Collection Cinéma by Editions Art & Scene, Paris, no. CA 100. Liza Minelli in Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972).


French postcard by Travelling Editions, Paris, no. CP 99.

A stylised survivor

Liza May Minnelli was born in 1946 in Los Angeles, California. She was the daughter of Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli. Her parents named her after Ira Gershwin's song 'Liza (All the Clouds Will Roll Away)'. She was practically raised at MGM studios while her parents worked long hours there and she made her film debut at fourteen months of age in the musical In the Good Old Summertime (Robert Z. Leonard, 1949).

Her parents divorced in 1951 when Liza was only 5 years old. In 1952, her mother married Sidney Luft and in the following years, sister Lorna Luft and brother Joey Luft were born. Her father, Vincente Minnelli, later married Georgette Magnani, mother of her half-sister Christiane Nina "Tina Nina" Minnelli.

Because Liza constantly travelled with her mother, she spent most of her childhood in hotels. She was the inspiration for the character Eloise, who grew up in the Plaza Hotel. The Eloise books were written by Liza's godmother, Kay Thompson.

At sixteen, Liza was on her own in New York City, struggling to begin her career in show business. Her first recognition came for the play 'Best Foot Forward' which ran for seven months in 1963. A year later, Judy invited 18-year-old Liza to appear with her for a show at the London Palladium. This show sold out immediately and a second night was added to it. Liza's performance in London was a huge turning point in both her career and her relationship with her mother. The audience absolutely loved Liza and Judy realised that Liza was now an adult with her own career.

It was at the Palladium that Liza met her first husband, Peter Allen, a friend of Judy's. Liza won a Tony award at age nineteen for 'Flora, the Red Menace' (1965). It marked the start of her lifelong collaboration with John Kander and Fred Ebb. They wrote, produced or directed many of Minnelli's future stage acts and television series and helped create her stage persona of a stylised survivor, and her anthems 'New York, New York', 'Cabaret', and 'Maybe This Time' This contributed to Minnelli's status as an enduring gay icon.


French postcard by Delta-Productions, Saint Jean-De-Vedas, no. CP-218. Caption: Elsa Minelli (sic).

The trendiest disco club in the world

Liza Minnelli was nominated for her first Academy Award at age twenty-three for the acclaimed role of Pookie Adams in The Sterile Cuckoo (Alan J. Pakula, 1969). Other dramatic roles followed and, in 1972, she won an Oscar for her role as Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972).

The seventies were a busy time for Liza. She worked steadily in film, stage and music. Memorable films were her father's A Matter of Time (Vincente Minnelli, 1976) with Ingrid Bergman and New York, New York (Martin Scorsese, 1977) with Robert De Niro. The title song 'Theme from New York, New York', first sung by Minnelli, would become a big hit in Frank Sinatra's performance. Scorsese directed her again in 1977 in the Broadway musical 'The Act', for which she would receive her third Tony Award.

She started focusing on stage performances and her singing career in later years. She often performed with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. At the time, she and her good friend Halston were regulars at Studio 54, the trendiest disco club in the world. She suffered three miscarriages during her third marriage to sculptor Mark Gero. The first occurred just a week after their wedding in December 1979.

In the 1980s, she suffered from drug addictions and poor health. As a result, she had to undergo several operations, including on her hips and knees and spent time in rehab. Minnelli did not establish herself as a leading film star. Later films such as the thriller Rent-a-Cop (Jerry London, 1987) with Burt Reynolds and the musical comedy Stepping Out (Lewis Gilbert, 1991) with Julie Walters and Shelley Winters were not successful.

Only the comedy Arthur (Steve Gordon, 1981) with Dudley Moore was a huge box-office hit. Minnelli married four times, to singer Peter Allen (1967-1974), film producer Jack Haley Jr. (1974-1979), sculptor Mark Gero (1979-1992) and concert promoter David Gest (2002-2003).


French postcard by Editions F. Nugeron, no. E 86. French affiche with Liza Minelli in Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972).


French postcard by Editions F. Nugeron, no. E 434. Image: French poster of New York, New York (Martin Scorsese, 1977) starring Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro.

A large following of immensely loyal fans

Over the past decades, Liza Minnelli's career has leaned more towards stage performances and she has a long list of musical albums which she continues to add to. She teamed with Frank Sinatra in his 'Duets' CD and Sammy Davis Jr. joined them for a series of concerts and TV shows which were extremely well-received.

Liza had to deal with tabloid stories of drug abuse and ill health and had a number of high-profile stays at drug rehabilitation clinics. Her hectic schedule slowed down in recent years, but she still has a large following of immensely loyal fans who continue to cheer her on.

In 1990. Liza Minnelli received the Grammy Legend Award. It made her one of the few artists who have won American entertainment's top four awards - the Oscar, the Tony, the Emmy and the Grammy. She won the Tony twice, for 'Flora, the Red Menace' (1965) and 'The Act' (1977); an Oscar for Best Actress for Cabaret (1972); and an Emmy in 1973 for Liza with a Z (1972).

In 1974, she also won a Special Tony Award "for adding lustre to the Broadway theatre season". In 2009, she was again awarded the Tony Award for her show, 'Liza's at the Palace' for Special Theatrical Presentation at the Palace Theatre in New York City.

She was also nominated as Best Actress (Musical) in 1984 for 'The Rink', but lost that award to her co-star, Chita Rivera. Last but not least, Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour.


French postcard by Travelling Editions, Paris, no. CP 32.


Italian postcard by Grafiche Corsini, Firenze, no. C 11. Photo: Riccardo Bettini.

Sources: Sheryl S. Reeder (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.