Liza Minnelli was born on March 12th, 1946 in Hollywood, California to Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli. Her parents were both active in the film industry her father was an acclaimed film director and her mother was successful in both film and music. While in High School she went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Performing Arts in New York.

At the young age of three Minnelli first appeared on film in a movie with her mother called In The Good Old Summertime. It wouldn’t be until 1963 that Minnelli would first start performing professionally on a regular basis. She won the Theatre World Award for her performance in The Best Foot Forward in 1963.

Minnelli was also active in the music industry when she was 19 she made her debut as a nightclub singer at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. In the years to follow she would appear in stage performances in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and even New York City. It would be this success that would give her the opportunity to record a number of albums for Capitol Records including Liza! Liza.

It wouldn’t be until the late sixties that Minnelli would steer away from only recording live performance records. In 1968 she recorded an album with pop songs which was entitled Liza Minnelli. She also recorded albums of soft rock and disco style music. At this point in her music career, Minnelli appeared to be very versatile but she is still best known for her live performances rather than as a recording artist.

Minnelli’s first role on film that she received credit for was in Charlie Bubbles in 1967. It would be in 1969 that she would receive a role in a feature film titled The Sterile Cuckoo. Minnelli received her first nomination for an Academy Award as a result of her performance in this film. Minnelli is probably best known for her performance in the film version of Cabaret in which she played the part of Sally Bowles.

She won her first Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Cabaret. At this point she appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines in the same week which was a first for anyone ever. Minnelli continued to pursue her acting career throughout the 70’s but by the 80’s she was making fewer appearances in film. It wouldn’t be until 1997 that Minnelli would return to the stage where she would replace Julie Andrews in the musical Victor/Victoria.

In 2000 Minnelli was diagnosed with a severe case of viral encephalitis and her doctors feared she would be confined to a wheelchair for the reminder of her life. She refused to accept this as her fate so she started taking dance lessons to assist in her recovery. By 2002 she had recovered enough to return to the stage in Liza’s Back, which received great reviews in London and New York.

Minnelli still remains slightly active in the film and television world to this day. She also remains active in the music industry and she was most recently nominated for a Grammy Award for her album Liza’s at The Palace.