Liza Minnelli has revealed why her mother Judy Garland was the ‘most challenging’ part of her childhood in a rare interview.
The 78-year-old was raised in Hollywood by Judy and famed director Vincente Minnelli, then forged her own glittering career on stage and screen.
But her early life unfolded under the shadow of her mother’s demons, including addiction and a string of failed marriages, before Judy’s overdose death aged 47.
Now Liza is working on a memoir with two writers and her ‘best friend’ Michael Feinstein, a song-and-dance man who has a long professional history with her.
She has just offered a candid look at her upbringing and shared some of the difficulties of life with Judy, in an eye-opening chat with Michael for Interview.
Liza Minnelli has revealed why her mother Judy Garland was the ‘most challenging’ part of her childhood in a rare interview; the pair are pictured in 1965
When Michael asked her to name the ‘most glamorous’ and ‘most challenging’ parts of her childhood, Liza replied with a laugh: ‘The most glamorous was my father, and the most challenging was my mother.’
She explained that Judy ‘was strict, and it depended on what mood she was in or whether she was working too hard and they were pushing her too much. Or whether she didn’t like who she was married to at the time. Stuff like that. Every kid goes through that. But my father, he treated me like a princess.’
Vincente was the second of Judy’s five husbands, in a rocky personal life buffeted by decades of addiction that led to her death in 1969 of an accidental overdose of sleeping tablets.
Judy’s lifelong pill problem began during her days as a child star, when she was plied with amphetamines to work up to 72-hour shifts, then given barbiturates to be able to go to sleep afterwards.
‘I feel like you knew your mother better than anybody,’ Michael said to Liza. ‘So she knew that no matter what she did, you would forgive her. She could be awful because she knew how much you loved her.’
‘Yeah,’ said Liza. ‘Ten minutes later, she’d come in and say: “Let me give you a hug.” She was kind of a normal mother in an extraordinarily talented body.’
Liza was born in 1946 to Judy and Vincente, who became a couple while working on the classic movie musical Meet Me In St. Louis.
She often remarks that she received her ‘dreams’ from her father and her ‘drive’ from her mother during her upbringing in showbiz.
Liza, pictured last week at the inaugural Gala Of The Stars in Beverly Hills, is now working on a memoir with two writers and her ‘best friend’ Michael Feinstein
She has just offered a candid look at her upbringing and shared some of the difficulties of life with Judy, in a conversation with Michael Feinstein for Interview; Judy and Liza pictured 1947
Liza often remarks that she received her ‘dreams’ from her father and her ‘drive’ from her mother during her upbringing in showbiz; pictured with Judy in 1947
Liza is pictured at her Beverly Hills christening in 1946 with her parents, Judy and famed director Vincente Minnelli (right), as well as Reverend Herbert J. Smith (left)
As a child, Liza accompanied her father to the sets of his films and joined her mother on concert tours, changing schools constantly and living in hotels.
Looking back on that period, Liza has joked that she would have starved if she had not learned how to order room service by herself as a little girl.
When she grew older she became a protector of sorts for Judy, helping shield her from the public scrutiny aimed at her personal troubles.
In her new interview, Liza shared that Judy was ‘fascinating because she knew so many fascinating people who would come over.’
However, after her parents divorced in 1951 when Liza was five, she never harbored any hopes that they would patch up their marriage, ‘because they didn’t really like each other so it wasn’t fun to be around them.’
She pointed out the difference in their parenting styles, saying Vincente ‘was enchanted that he had made such a little girl,’ while Judy ‘was interested in a different way because she was very interested in detail, like most mothers.’
Liza said she ‘became freer’ after Judy married her third husband Sid Luft and welcomed two more children – Lorna, 71, and Joey, 69.
‘Everyone took care of them because they were nine and seven years younger than I was, so I got to stay with my dad a little bit more. But I loved my mom. She was funny,’ said Liza, who has frequently praised her mother’s sharp wit.
She often remarks that she received her ‘dreams’ from her father and her ‘drive’ from her mother during her upbringing in showbiz; Vincente, Liza and Judy pictured in 1947
Liza’s early life unfolded under the shadow of her mother’s demons, including addiction and a string of failed marriages, before Judy’s overdose death aged in 1969; pictured in 1965
Liza also offered a glimpse into the way her musical talent was honed while she grew up with Judy; they are pictured on Judy’s CBS variety show in 1963
Liza lovingly revealed her father ‘understood little girls,’ adding: ‘He was so enchanted that he had one and he let me feel that all the time’; Liza and Vincente pictured in France in 1970
Michael chimed in with a story about Ethel Merman appearing on Judy’s CBS variety show, on a 1963 episode that also featured Barbra Streisand.
‘It was the ’60s and Ethel was wearing a short miniskirt, and your mother said: “All I could think of was the Holland Tunnel,”‘ Michael recalled.
‘That was Mama,’ said Liza with a laugh. ‘But I think my dad understood little girls. He was so enchanted that he had one and he let me feel that all the time.’
Her father ‘was so proud of me. So was Mama, but Mama was Mama. Everybody’s mother has things that they adore about their kid and things that drive them crazy.’
Liza also shared that she became aware ‘early’ of the intense media attention on her family – but that Vincente tried to protect her from the coverage.
‘My dad would never let me see any of the stories written about us. And if I heard some story, he’d take me aside and say: “You know that’s not true, right?” So I learned that early on from him,’ Liza recalled.
‘But they both gave me a strong sense of being myself. Mama would say: “You’ve got two very famous people as your parents.” So I learned that if people start trying to drag you into talking about who did what and where, forget them. My life is just as interesting as theirs were, believe me.’
She divulged that one of the lessons she ‘learned growing up with my parents’ was ‘when not to be open-hearted,’ but rather to guard her boundaries.
Liza said she ‘became freer’ after Judy married her third husband Sid Luft and welcomed two more children – Lorna, 71, and Joey, 69; Judy, Liza and Sid pictured 1954
Judy is pictured with Liza and her first husband Peter Allen at their wedding in 1967; Liza would eventually go on to be divorced four times
Liza is pictured emerging from her mother’s memorial service at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home in New York City in 1969
Liza also offered a glimpse into the way her musical talent was honed while she grew up with Judy, who was then one of the world’s most famous singers.
‘When I was a kid and mama was at the piano, she’d say: “Sing with me!” And I’d say: “Okay, if nobody’s around,”‘ said Liza.
When Judy was found dead in the bathroom of her London home after taking too many sleeping tablets, Liza was only 23.
She was initially incredulous at the news, then began to cry and ‘didn’t stop for about eight days,’ she revealed in a new documentary.
Liza has increasingly withdrawn from the public eye in recent years, with fans harboring mounting concerns about her health.
In 2022 Liza made an embarrassing appearance at the Oscars, where Lady Gaga rolled her onstage in a wheelchair to present best picture.
Gaga’s cloying interactions with Liza – whispering: ‘I got you’ to her in an aside that was caught on the mic – fueled conjecture about Liza’s health.
Michael Feinstein later claimed Liza was ‘forced’ to go onstage in a wheelchair at the last minute, after first agreeing to appear in a director’s chair for her ‘back trouble.’
When Judy was found dead in the bathroom of her London home after taking too many sleeping tablets, Liza was only 23; the pair are pictured in 1962
Liza cried nonstop for ‘about eight days’ when her mother Judy died of an accidental overdose in 1969 at the age of 47; the pair are pictured in 1964
Liza was ‘sabotaged’ by the switch-up and came away feeling ‘very disappointed,’ Michael said on The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM.
Fan worries intensified this summer when she failed to attend the premiere of her new documentary Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story.
It emerged she was not well enough to make the journey from her home in Beverly Hills to New York to appear at the screening at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Yet she maintains a social media presence and even announced she has started recording again, among other ‘spectacular new projects.’
Now she has said that the public does not know ‘that my life is really beautiful. It’s filled with loved ones, laughter, creativity, and emotional as well as financial safety.’
She showered praise on her siblings, including Lorna and Joey Luft, as well as her sister Christina ‘Tina’ Nina, 69, by Vincente’s marriage to Georgette Magnani.
‘My sister Lorna and I get together and giggle. She has the family courage. I love each of my siblings. My brother Joey, my sister Tina. Her kids were here with me for a few days and the press did not find out. Ha!’ said Liza.
She is now putting her memoirs together with Pulitzer-winning journalist Heidi Evans and Josh Getlin, the former New York bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times.
The book is set for publication in spring 2026, accompanied by an audio version with archival material from the last 15 years that has never been made public.
