Aurora Starchild
It’s impossible to hear the word “Cabaret” without thinking of Liza Minnelli. The singer, dancer, and actress made waves with her stunning performance as Sally Bowles in the 1972 film. She’s since stayed in the public eye, if not for her artistry, then often for her battles with substance abuse or four marriages. Here is what we know about the Hollywood legend and her four ex-husbands.
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Liza Minnelli’s Early Life
Liza Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946. Her mother was singer and actress Judy Garland, and her father was director Vincente Minnelli. Liza was Hollywood royalty from the very start of her life and spent much of her childhood on film sets, often watching dancers practice their choreography. Liza was in her first film in 1946, In the Good Old Summertime, which starred her mother.
Liza’s mother, Judy Garland, was married and divorced four times. Liza’s father, Vincente, was Judy’s second husband. Because both of her parents remarried and had children from other spouses, Liza grew up with a slew of extended family members, including stepparents and step-siblings.
Because of her parents’ involvement in show business, Liza attended 14 different schools growing up. According to The Guardian, Liza moved to New York when she was only 16, determined to support herself and her burgeoning acting career. Frank Sinatra allegedly sent her $500 to help her on her way, but she returned it.
Liza, who considers herself emblematic of “survival,” allegedly slept on park benches and ditched hotel tabs in order to get by at times. By the time she was 19, she’d made it big, though. So, whatever her methods were, they worked.
Liza Minnelli’s Career
In 1965, Liza Minnelli won her first Tony award, for her role as Flora in The Red Menace. Seven years later, she would win an Oscar for her performance as Sally Bowles in Bob Fosse’s Cabaret. Both awards were for best actress.
Liza has continued her acting career to the present day. Her IMDb mentions 37 credits, including a guest appearance as a performer on Sex and the City in 2010, and her ongoing role as Lucille Austero in Arrested Development.
Much of Liza’s career centered around TV shows and TV movies, where she would often play herself. Liza released 11 studio albums although most of them didn’t perform extraordinarily well. Her 9th album, Results, was a hit, however, which she attributes to collaborators the Pet Shop Boys. Although that album was released in 1989, the singer has maintained a steady following up until the present day. She’s also toured with superstars such as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
Liza Minnelli has had a long list of medical battles, including broken bones and stays at rehab clinics for substance abuse. She needed to get polyps removed from her vocal cords in 1997, which forced her to stop singing for 18 months. However, despite the polyps — as well as two crushed vertebrae, two hip replacements, a wired knee, being confined to a wheelchair after contracting encephalitis, and getting a bridge with fake teeth after part of her jaw was removed, she returned for a sold-out UK tour in 2008.
Liza told The Guardian that the first half of her show was “just songs that I like and a couple that people ask me to sing. Because I’m not a record act.” The second part was a 45-minute choreographed tribute to her godmother, musical artist and author Kay Thompson.
Liza Minnelli’s Four Husbands
Throughout all of her success, Liza managed to get married four times. However, none of those marriages lasted and she’s twice sworn off of ever doing it again. Huffpost reports that in 2010, she told Oprah that marriage had taught her “Don’t do it again!” And in 2012, she told Access Hollywood that she was completely done with marriage.
“If you even hear I’m getting married, hit me over the head and take me outta there!” Liza Minnelli told Billy Bush and Kate Hoover. “Honey, it does not work,… You try and accommodate because you love someone… [and] nowadays why get married? Nobody else does. It’s not like I want to have children, I tried that, didn’t work, unfortunately.”
She elaborated that she does charity work with children who suffer from brain damage and AIDS, which has helped justify her reasoning for not wanting children. But Liza did try to have children during her marriages. She sadly miscarried three times. Here is what we know about her marriages.
1967: Liza Minnelli Marries Peter Allen
Peter Allen was a composer who won an Academy Award for “Arthur Theme (Best That You Can Do).” It was the theme song for the film Arthur, featuring Liza Minnelli and Dudley Moore. It was actually Judy Garland who discovered Allen and help him rise to success, while he was part of a musical duo called The Allen Brothers.
Allen’s life was later showcased in his musical The Boy from Oz, which was about his career. The musical became a Broadway hit, later featuring Hugh Jackman as Allen himself.
As it turns out, Peter Allen and Liza Minnelli’s marriage only lasted eight years. They divorced in 1974, and then Allen came out as gay. He was in a relationship with Texan model Gregory Connell until he passed away from AIDS-related throat cancer in 1992.
Liza once told The Advocate that she was completely unaware that her ex-husband was gay. “[I] married Peter and he didn’t tell me he was gay,” she said. “Everyone knew but me. And I found out…well, let me put it this way: I’ll never surprise anybody coming home as long as I live. I call first!”
1974: Liza Marries Jack Haley
Jack Haley was an acclaimed director. He won an Emmy for producing the 41st Academy Awards and he won a Peabody Award for his documentary series Biography. Haley’s father was, incidentally, the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, starring opposite Liza’s mother, Judy. Liza starred and co-hosted many of his productions, including Life Goes to the Movies and That’s Entertainment!
Liza and Jack’s marriage only lasted five years and they divorced in 1979. He later passed away from respiratory failure in 2001.
Andy Warhol’s diary described Liza and Jack’s relationship as more of a friendship than a love affair. A 1978 entry, quoted by The Guardian, said:
“[Liza’s] life’s very complicated now. Like she was walking down the street with Jack Haley, her husband, and they’d run into Martin Scorsese, who she’s now having an affair with, and Marty attacked her for also having an affair with [Mikhail] Baryshnikov… this is going on with her husband standing there!’ Haley was husband number two and straight, but they were friends rather than lovers.”
1979: Liza Marries Mark Gero
The same year that saw Liza’s divorce from Jack Haley brought in a new love for the Hollywood icon. She married Mark Gero, who was a sculptor and stage manager. His father was Broadway producer Frank Gero. Mark Gero and Liza Minnelli shared a stunning Manhattan apartment that was designed by designer Timothy Macdonald and once featured in Architectural Digest.
While with Mark, Liza suffered three miscarriages. The New York Times publicized the second miscarriage in 1981, noting that the doctor said it was still possible that she could have a baby. However, that never happened. The two divorced in 1992.
2002: Liza Marries David Gest
David Gest was a producer, television personality, and entertainer. Notably, he produced Michael Jackson’s 30th-anniversary celebration, which brought in $20 million, split between him and Jackson.
Liza was 56 when the two got married and the marriage reportedly cost $3.5 million. The two were introduced by Michael Jackson, according to The Washington Post. The marriage only lasted 16 months before they were separated. Their relationship was clouded by arguments and physical abuse, allegedly associated with substance abuse. In 2007, the pair divorced. Gest never remarried, eventually passing away in 2016 of what was later deemed a stroke.
What’s Liza Up to Today?
According to reports, Liza Minnelli currently resides in between her homes in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York, but calls West Hollywood home. Her net worth is anywhere between $50 million and $60 million. And while she’s sworn off marriage, she admits to staying open to dating a wealthy, older man, or a handsome 19-year-old.
