‘Through good times and bad, we also laugh like hell’, she writes about her mother
Liza Minnelli is opening up about her complicated but enduring bond with her late mother, Judy Garland.
In her new memoir Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, the 79-year-old entertainer reflects on her childhood with the legendary Wizard of Oz star and reveals that she still feels deeply connected to her decades after her death.
“My beautiful mother is still here with me. She always will be,” Minnelli writes in the book. “Through the good times and bad. We talk to each other every day. And we laugh like hell.”
Minnelli’s memoir details the complex relationship she had with Garland, who struggled with addiction, depression and financial problems during much of Minnelli’s childhood. According to the book, Garland would sometimes stay in bed for days while battling mental health issues and substance abuse.
Minnelli says she often stepped into a caretaker role at a very young age.
“At 13, I was my mother’s caretaker — a nurse, doctor, pharmacologist and psychiatrist rolled into one,” she recalls.
The book also recounts tense moments at home, including violent arguments between Garland and her then-husband Sid Luft. During those times, Minnelli says she would often seek refuge with her father, film director Vincente Minnelli.
Garland died in 1969 at age 47 from an accidental overdose when Minnelli was 23. Despite the turmoil surrounding her childhood, Minnelli writes that her mother’s influence and legacy remain a constant presence in her life.
In Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, Minnelli also opens up about her Hollywood romances, her decades-long battle with addiction and her path to sobriety.
