Before she was anything else, Liza Minnelli was the daughter of two Hollywood icons: Vincente Minnelli (who won an Oscar for directing "Gigi," per The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and Judy Garland. Garland achieved worldwide fame while she was still a teenager, after starring as Dorothy in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" (via Vogue). But as the years passed, Garland also became famous for being seriously abused by Hollywood directors. She was the lowest-paid (human) actor in the movie, and her MGM bosses were obsessed with keeping her thin. According to Biography, they would call her "a fat little pig with pigtails" and subject her to a diet of soup, coffee, cigarettes, and pills.
Garland died of a barbiturates overdose at the age of 47, after a lifelong struggle with addiction and mood swings. Of course, this impacted her daughter, too. As Minnelli's ex-husband Peter Allen told Rolling Stone, Minnelli often had to take care of her mother: "When she was a kid, a doctor told her that Judy could not take more than a couple of Nembutals a day, that more might kill her, but that she had to believe she was taking more, so it was up to Liza to empty out most of the capsules and fill them with sugar." So, while Minnelli had the road paved to stardom from the start, she was also witness to the lowest lows of showbiz from a very young age.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
