Stage and screen legend and songstress Liza Minnelli, winner of four Tony Awards, an Oscar, a special “Legends” Grammy, two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy, is one of the entertainment world’s consummate performers. In film, on stage and in television, Minnelli has won critical acclaim, a multitude of fans, and recognition from her peers in show business, giving new dimension and credibility to the word “superstar.”Minnelli, the daughter of award-winning performer Judy Garland and acclaimed film director Vincente Minnelli, won her first professional recognition – The Theatre World Award – at age 16 in 1963 for an Off-Broadway revival of the musical BEST FOOT FORWARD. At 19, in 1965, she became the youngest woman ever to win a leading actress Tony Award for the musical FLORA THE RED MENACE.
Over the years, Minnelli’s other Broadway appearances have been memorable. In 1975 her enormous strength and talent were put to the test when she agreed to replace an ailing Gwen Verdon in the original Broadway run of Bob Fosse’s CHICAGO. With only one-week’s rehearsal, and no public announcement, Liza played to sold-out audiences for a period of five weeks. In 1984, Liza reunited with her CHICAGO co-star Chita Rivera in the Kander and Ebb musical THE RINK. It garnered Liza a Best Actress Tony nomination. In 1997, Liza took over for one month only for an ailing Julie Andrews in Broadway’s VICTOR/VICTORIA.
A special Tony was awarded to Minnelli for breaking the box-office record at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1973 for her one-woman show. In 1977, she returned to the Broadway stage in a starring role in the Kander and Ebb musical THE ACT, for which she was awarded her third Tony. The musical was directed by Martin Scorsese, who had just directed her on the big screen in NEW YORK, NEW YORK opposite Robert DeNiro.
Her first starring film role, however, was as the love-interest in Albert Finney’s only film as director and star, CHARLIE BUBBLES (1967). In 1969, she appeared in THE STERILE CUCKOO and subsequently earned her first Academy Award nomination for the role. The following year, she appeared in Otto Preminger’s TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON.
In 1972 her movie career peaked when she played Sally Bowles in Bob Fosse’s now iconic film adaptation of the musical CABARET. The film won eight Oscars, including Best Actress for Minnelli. The role also earned her a Golden Globe and a British Film Academy Award. The unqualified success of CABARET put Minnelli on the covers of both Time and Newsweek in the same week. In 1981, she co-starred with Dudley Moore on the big screen in the classic ARTHUR, going on to make the sequel ARTHUR 2 in 1988.
Minnelli starred in the first concert ever filmed live for television in 1972. The seminal LIZA WITH A Z (directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse) produced a Top 20 album and won the Emmy for Outstanding Single Program and the prestigious Peabody Award. It has been released in recent years on DVD and aired on Showtime.
Minnelli emerged as a dramatic television actress in the made-for-TV drama A TIME TO LIVE as the mother of a child with muscular dystrophy. The role won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and universal acclaim from television critics and writers around the world.
In between her many TV and film roles, Minnelli never stopped touring and has long been considered one of the most exciting concert performers, electrifying audiences around the world and setting records at the most prestigious venues.
In 2000, Minnelli was hospitalized for encephalitis. The prognosis was grim: she was told she would never walk, talk, dance or sing again. But Liza’s incredible will, determination and relentless hard work proved the doctors wrong, and by June 2002, she was back on stage at the Beacon Theater in New York. Her triumphant comeback CD entitled “Liza’s Back!” was released in October 2002, and she was seen the following year as Lucille Austero on FOX TV’s critically acclaimed ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.
Minnelli made a triumphant return to Broadway in 2008 with LIZA’S AT THE PALACE … which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. She recreated the show at the MGM Grand where her performance was filmed for a public television special and a DVD. The show’s cast recording was nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 2010, following a much talked about cameo in SEX AND THE CITY 2, Minnelli released “Confessions” which was recorded with her longtime collaborator, pianist Billy Stritch.
Throughout her lifetime, Minnelli has supported various charities and causes. She served on the board of directors of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential for 20 years. She also has dedicated much time and performance proceeds to amFAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.
Today, she works with students at The Actor’s Studio teaching master classes in acting and singing. Her well-known generosity of spirit, enthusiasm and commitment to her craft are unequaled in the entertainment industry, where she continues her extraordinary career with ongoing concert tours around the world.
Liza Minnelli will be at the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on Tuesday April 10, 2012.
