Theater During 1961, Minnelli was an apprentice at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in
Hyannis, Massachusetts. She appeared in the chorus of
Flower Drum Song and played the part of Muriel in
Take Me Along. She began performing professionally at the age of 17 in 1963 in an Off-Broadway revival of the musical
Best Foot Forward, for which she received the Theatre World Award, and also toured in
The Fantasticks, opposite
Elliott Gould. The next year, her mother invited her to perform with her in concert at the
London Palladium. Both concerts were recorded and released as an album. Minnelli attended
Scarsdale High School for one year, starring in a production of
The Diary of Anne Frank that then went to Israel on tour. She turned to Broadway at 19, and won her first Tony Award as a leading actress for
Flora the Red Menace. It was the first time that she worked with the musical pair
John Kander and
Fred Ebb.
Music Minnelli began as a nightclub singer as a teenager, making her professional nightclub debut at the age of 19 at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. That same year she began appearing in other clubs and on stage in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and New York City. Her success as a live performer led her to record several albums for
Capitol Records:
Liza! Liza! (1964),
It Amazes Me (1965), and
There Is a Time (1966). In her early years, she recorded
traditional pop standards as well as show tunes from various musicals in which she starred. Because of this fact, William Ruhlmann named her "
Barbra Streisand's little sister". The Capitol albums
Liza! Liza!,
It Amazes Me, and
There Is a Time were reissued on the two-CD compilation
The Capitol Years in 2001, in their entirety. From 1968 to the 1970s, Minnelli also recorded her albums
Liza Minnelli (1968),
Come Saturday Morning and ''
New Feelin''' (both 1970) for
A&M Records. In 1973, Minnelli sang back up with
Ronnie Spector for
Alice Cooper's song "
Teenage Lament '74" from the album
Muscle of Love (1973). She released her solo albums
The Singer (1973) and
Tropical Nights (1977) on
Columbia Records. In 1989, Minnelli collaborated with the
Pet Shop Boys on
Results, an electronic dance-style album. The release hit the top 10 in the UK and charted in the U.S., spawning four singles: "
Losing My Mind"; "
Don't Drop Bombs"; "
So Sorry, I Said"; and "
Love Pains". Later that year, she performed "Losing My Mind" live at the Grammy Awards ceremony before receiving a Grammy Legend Award (the first Grammy Legend Awards were issued in 1990 to Minnelli,
Andrew Lloyd Webber,
Smokey Robinson, and
Willie Nelson). With this award, she became one of only 16 people—
a list that includes composer
Richard Rodgers,
Whoopi Goldberg,
Barbra Streisand, and
John Gielgud and others—to win an
Emmy,
Grammy,
Tony Award and
Academy Award. In April 1992, Minnelli appeared at the
tribute concert for her late friend
Freddie Mercury, performing "
We Are the Champions" with the surviving members of the rock band
Queen at Wembley Stadium in London. In 1996, Minnelli released a studio album titled
Gently. It was a recording of jazz standards and included contemporary songs such as the cover of
Does He Love You which she performed as a duet with
Donna Summer. This album brought her a Grammy nomination for
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. In 2006, Minnelli appeared on
My Chemical Romance's album
The Black Parade, providing backing vocals and singing a solo part with
Gerard Way on the track "
Mama". Minnelli was nominated in 2009 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her studio recording ''
Liza's at the Palace...!, based on her hit Broadway show. Minnelli released an album on the Decca Records label titled Confessions'' on September 21, 2010.
Film in
Cabaret, 1972|294x294px Minnelli's first appearance on film is as the baby in the final shot of her mother's film
In the Good Old Summertime (1949). Her first credited film role was as the love interest in
Charlie Bubbles (1967),
Albert Finney's only film as director and star, although four years earlier, she did voiceover work for the animated film
Journey Back to Oz, a sequel to
The Wizard of Oz. Minnelli was the voice of Dorothy (a character played in the earlier film by her mother, Judy Garland) in what would have been her first credited film role had it been released in 1964 as planned—the
Filmation production was delayed, eventually being released in the UK during 1972. Minnelli appeared in
The Sterile Cuckoo (1969),
Alan J. Pakula's first feature film as Director, as Pookie Adams, a needy, eccentric teenager. Her performance was nominated for the Academy Award for
Best Actress in a Leading Role. She played another eccentric character in
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970), directed by
Otto Preminger. A nude scene in that film, filmed in a Massachusetts cemetery, resulted in a
misdemeanor complaint by family of those buried there, and a "Liza Minnelli Bill" was introduced the following year to penalise filming in Massachusetts cemeteries without permission. Minnelli appeared in her best-known film role,
Sally Bowles, in the film version of
Cabaret (1972). She said that one of the things she did to prepare was to study photographs of actresses
Louise Glaum and
Louise Brooks and the dark-haired women of the era in which the film is set. Minnelli won the Academy Award for
Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance, along with a
Golden Globe Award,
BAFTA Award, and also
Sant Jordi Award and
David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress. Following the success of
Cabaret,
Bob Fosse and Minnelli teamed for
Liza with a "Z", a concert for television that aired twice, then was not seen again until a 2005 restoration. Minnelli appeared in three expensive flops in three years, with
Variety suggesting by 1978 that she was the number-one choice for box office poison. First was
Lucky Lady (1975), then she worked with her father in
A Matter of Time (1976), co-starring
Ingrid Bergman and then
New York, New York (1977), which gave Minnelli her best known
signature song. She sometimes performed duets on stage with
Frank Sinatra, who recorded a cover version (for his
Trilogy: Past Present Future album). Minnelli made fewer film appearances from then on, but her next film,
Arthur (1981), where she starred as
Dudley Moore's love interest, was a big hit. She returned to film for ''
and Arthur 2: On the Rocks (both 1988) and Stepping Out (1991), a musical comedy drama. She later appeared in The Oh in Ohio'' in 2006, which received only a
limited release in theaters.
Television in
Baryshnikov on Broadway, 1980|285x285px During the 1950s, Minnelli appeared as a child guest on
Art Linkletter's show and sang and danced with
Gene Kelly on his first television special in 1959. She was a guest star in one episode of
Ben Casey and was a frequent guest on chat shows of the day, including making numerous appearances on shows hosted by
Jack Paar,
Merv Griffin,
Mike Douglas,
Joe Franklin,
Dinah Shore and
Johnny Carson. During the 1960s, she made several guest appearances on ''
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as well as other variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Judy Garland Show''. In 1964, Minnelli appeared as Minnie in her first television dramatic role in the episode "Nightingale for Sale" on
Craig Stevens's short-lived series
Mr. Broadway. In 1965, she starred in the television special,
The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood. A soundtrack was released to coincide with the specials. In 1970, she headlined her first television special, entitled
Liza, with guest stars
Anthony Newley, and
Randy Newman. In 1972, she starred in the Bob Fosse-directed
Liza with a Z. In 1980, she made two television specials,
Goldie and Liza Together, with
Goldie Hawn, and
An Evening with Liza Minnelli. In 1984, she made a guest appearance as Princess Alecia in "The Princess and the Pea" episode of
Faerie Tale Theatre. In 1985, she starred in a made-for-TV movie,
A Time to Live, and in 1988, she appeared in
Sam Found Out: A Triple Play. In December 1992, American Public Television aired
Liza Minnelli Live from Radio City Music Hall produced by Phil Ramone and Chris Giordano. The show received six Emmy nominations and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics, awarded to Fred Ebb and John Kander. This was followed by appearances in two more made-for-TV movies:
Parallel Lives, and
The West Side Waltz, in 1994 and 1995, respectively. Much later in her career, Minnelli made appearances on shows such as a recurring role on
Arrested Development and guest spots on
Law & Order: Criminal Intent,
Drop Dead Diva, and
Smash. In the UK, she appeared on the
Ruby Wax,
Graham Norton and
Jonathan Ross shows, and in October 2006, participated in a comedy skit on
Charlotte Church's show and was featured on
Michael Parkinson's show. In November 2009, American Public Television aired ''Liza's at the Palace'', taped from September 30 to October 1, 2009, in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hollywood Theater. The executive producers of the taping, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, were previously involved with the 2005 rerelease of 1972's Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning
Liza with a Z.
Later career Minnelli returned to Broadway in 1997, taking over the title role in the musical
Victor/Victoria, replacing
Julie Andrews. In his review,
New York Times critic Ben Brantley wrote "her every stage appearance is perceived as a victory of show-business stamina over psychic frailty. She asks for love so nakedly and earnestly, it seems downright vicious not to respond." After a serious case of
viral encephalitis in 2000, doctors predicted that Minnelli would spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair and perhaps not be able to speak again. However, taking vocal and dance lessons daily (especially with
Sam Harris,
Luigi Faccuito, Ron Lewis, and Angela Bacari), she managed to recover. She appeared on a September 19, 2001, episode of ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'', notable because it was Rosie's first show back following the September 11 attacks. Despite having had vocal surgery shortly before, she sang her signature song, "New York, New York", and received an enthusiastic ovation. She also returned to the stage in 2001 when asked by long-time friend
Michael Jackson to perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City where she sang "Never Never Land" and the televised "You Are Not Alone" at the
Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special concert produced by future husband
David Gest. Minnelli told reporters: "I am stable as a table." , 2006 Gest was so impressed with Minnelli's stamina and ability to stun audiences that he produced her in ''
Liza's Back'' in Spring 2002, performing to rave reviews in London and New York City. The tour featured a tribute to her mother: after years of declining fans' pleas for her to sing Garland's signature song "
Over the Rainbow", she concluded Act 1 with the final refrain of her mother's anthem to an instant ovation. From 2003 through 2005, she appeared as a recurring character on the Emmy Award-winning TV sitcom
Arrested Development as
Lucille Austero (also known as "Lucille 2"), the lover of both the sexually and socially awkward
Buster Bluth and Buster's brother
Gob. Minnelli appeared in the role for the show's fourth season in 2013. On December 14, 2004, Minnelli made her first appearance in the UK after a long absence, performing as a special guest at the annual
Royal Variety Performance. The performance was presented by the BBC, and was attended by
Charles, Prince of Wales. It was staged at the
London Coliseum, celebrating both its centenary year and the theater's re-opening after an extensive four-year restoration. In 2005, Minnelli made her first film appearance in more than 15 years, in
The Oh in Ohio. In September 2006, Minnelli made a guest appearance on the long-running drama
Law & Order: Criminal Intent in "Masquerade", a Halloween-themed episode, broadcast on October 31, 2006. Minnelli also completed guest vocals on
My Chemical Romance's 2006 concept album
The Black Parade, portraying "Mother War", a dark conception of the main character's mother in the song "
Mama". In 2007, it was announced that Minnelli was working on an album in tribute to
Kay Thompson. This turned into Minnelli's return to Broadway in a new solo concert at the
Palace Theatre titled ''
Liza's at The Palace...!'', which ran from December 3, 2008, through January 4, 2009. In her second act, she performed a series of numbers created by Thompson. campaign, 2011 Minnelli was a character in the Australian musical
The Boy from Oz (a biography of her first husband, Peter Allen) starring
Hugh Jackman. In the show's Broadway production, she was portrayed by
Stephanie J. Block. In October 2009, Minnelli toured Australia and appeared on
Australian Idol as a mentor and guest judge. Minnelli made a cameo appearance in the May 2010 release of
Sex and the City 2, in which she covered
Beyoncé's hit "
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and Cole Porter's "
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye". She made a starring appearance in December 2010 in
The Apprentice. Also in 2010, Minnelli released an album of a number of American standards "unplugged" with long-time collaborator Billy Stritch, showing a sultrier and softer, more interpretive side to her artistry. The songs are said to have been recorded several years prior and later released as the album
Confessions. On June 14, 2012, Minnelli headlined at
Hampton Court Palace Festival. On May 9, 2014, Minnelli had a guest appearance on
Cher's
Dressed to Kill Tour in Brooklyn, performing "
Girls Just Want to Have Fun" with
Cyndi Lauper and
Rosie O'Donnell. Her memoir,
Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, was published in March 2026. On January 21, 2026, Minnelli released the single "Kids Wait Till You Hear This". The song used
AI technology and was created by
ElevenLabs for an AI-assisted album. After a backlash for using AI, Minnelli released a statement, saying:"What I will not allow [the song's producer] to do? Create, clone or copy my voice! On this dance track, "Kids Wait Till You Hear This" which is a tease for my book, we used AI arrangements. Not AI vocals. A few trolls didn't bother to read the truth, check with me or my partners. The shout outs are all mine! Go listen, enjoy, and shake your pretty buns to the music, as we glide down the runway to send my book into the world and your very own hot hands." ==Personal life==