Liza Minnelli misses her mother, Judy Garland, and it is evident. On June 10, the American singer and actress shared a message to honor her late mother, Judy Garland, on what would have been Garland’s 103rd birthday. Minnelli wrote a personal note that moved fans and family alike alongside a black-and-white throwback photo of herself with Garland.
Judy Garland’s career began in vaudeville, and she rose to fame with The Wizard of Oz in 1939. Despite her stardom, Garland lived a tough life, with health struggles, addiction, and the pressures of early fame. She married director Vincente Minnelli in 1945 during the making of Meet Me in St. Louis. Together, they welcomed their daughter, Liza, in 1946. But the marriage ended in divorce in 1951.
Judy Garland would have been 103 years old
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Liza Minnelli is remembering her mother on her birthday, five decades after she passed away. “Happy Birthday Mama!” Minnelli wrote, recalling one of Garland’s favorite songs, ‘Through the Years,’ where she sang, ‘I’ll come to you smiling through the years.’ She noted that, though absent, Garland has kept her promise to keep smiling over the family, Joey, Lorna, and her, through the years.
Fans could not keep their admiration and tributes to themselves either. The post struck a chord across generations, and comments poured in from those who remembered Garland for her talent and the emotional connection she created with fans. “Your mama means so much to our world,” one user wrote. “She was a saving grace.” Others recalled how her music and movies offered comfort in their childhoods.
Personal life
A significant part of Judy Garland’s life started when she married producer Sid Luft in 1952. They had two children: Lorna, born in 1952, and Joey, born in 1955. Luft played a crucial role in reviving Garland’s career with her return in A Star Is Born (1954). The movie earned Garland her second Oscar nomination, but their marriage eventually ended.
Judy Garland later married Mark Herron, and finally, Mickey Deans, a musician who became her fifth husband in 1969. Just three months later, Deans discovered Garland had died of a barbiturate overdose in their London home at age 47.