Judy Garland

Garland was married five times. She was married to composer David Rose from 1941 to 1944, director Vincente Minnelli from 1945 to 1951, producer Sidney Luft from 1952 to 1965, actor Mark Herron from 1965 to 1967, and Mickey Deans from 1969 until her death.

Her marriage to Minnelli produced her daughter Liza Minnelli, born in 1946. She and Luft had two more children, Lorna Luft, born in 1952, and Joseph Luft, born in 1955. Liza and Lorna later became singers.

Born Frances Ethel Gumm, Garland made her stage debut at about age 2 when she sang “Jingle Bells” at her parents’ theater in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She performed with her older sisters, Mary Jane and Virginia, as the Gumm Sisters. After the family moved to California in 1926, the sisters appeared in stage, radio, and film performances arranged by their mother, Ethel Gumm.

Comedian George Jessel suggested the surname Garland in 1934, and Frances adopted the first name Judy after the popular song “Judy.” MGM signed her in September 1935 without a screen test, when she was 13. Her early screen appearances included Every Sunday and Pigskin Parade, followed by Broadway Melody of 1938, where she sang “You Made Me Love You.”

Garland developed a popular screen partnership with Mickey Rooney. They appeared together in Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry, Love Finds Andy Hardy, Babes in Arms, Strike Up the Band, Babes on Broadway, and Girl Crazy.

Garland became an international star in 1939 when she played Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. Her performance of “Over the Rainbow” became one of her signature achievements, and the film established her as one of Hollywood’s leading young performers.

For the role, Garland received a special Academy Award for outstanding performance by a screen juvenile. She followed the film with a series of successful MGM musicals, including Babes in Arms, Strike Up the Band, Babes on Broadway, For Me and My Gal, and Meet Me in St. Louis. Her performance in Meet Me in St. Louis, directed by her future husband Vincente Minnelli, included “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “The Boy Next Door.”

Garland moved into adult roles with The Clock in 1945 and continued appearing in musicals such as Ziegfeld Follies, The Harvey Girls, Easter Parade, and The Pirate. She starred opposite Fred Astaire in Easter Parade, which became the highest-grossing musical of 1948. MGM released her from her contract in September 1950 after years of health difficulties, missed work, and substance dependence.

She rebuilt her career through stage performances and returned to film in A Star Is Born in 1954. Playing Esther Blodgett, a performer whose career rose as her relationship suffered, Garland earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress. She later received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961.

Her final film performances included A Child Is Waiting and I Could Go on Singing, released in 1963. She also provided the voice of Mewsette in the animated film Gay Purr-ee in 1962.

After leaving MGM, Garland returned to the stage with performances at the London Palladium and New York’s Palace Theatre. Her first Palace engagement in 1951 ran for more than 20 weeks and earned her a special Tony Award. She later gave more than 1,100 theater, nightclub, and concert performances between 1951 and 1969.

Garland’s concert career reached a high point with her 1960-1961 performances around the world and her engagement at Carnegie Hall. The resulting two-disc album, Judy at Carnegie Hall, won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal Performance. It topped the charts for 13 weeks and remained on the charts for about a year and a half.

She hosted The Judy Garland Show during the 1963-1964 television season. The variety series ran for 26 episodes and earned her an Emmy Award nomination. Her daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft, along with Mickey Rooney, appeared on the program.

Garland experienced severe pressure during her years as an MGM child star. The studio controlled her diet and schedule, and she was given amphetamines to maintain long working hours and sleeping pills afterward. Her dependence on prescription drugs and later struggles with alcohol affected her health, work, and personal life.

Garland died in London on June 22, 1969, at age 47, from an accidental barbiturate overdose. Her funeral in New York City drew approximately 22,000 mourners.

Her performances in The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, Easter Parade, and A Star Is Born secured her place as a major Hollywood figure. She was also remembered as an important gay icon, and the Judy Garland Museum opened in her hometown of Grand Rapids in 1975. Her album Judy at Carnegie Hall was added to the National Recording Registry in 2003, and she received a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.