Judy Garland's 3 Children: All AboutThe Wizard of OzStar’s Daughters and Son (and Their Thoughts onWicked!)

Mar. 15, 2025

Judy Garland and her children Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft waiting for their flight to London in the Idlewild lounge at the airport.Photo:Getty

Getty

Judy Garland, a legend of the silver screen known for her show-stopping voice, was devoted to her children:Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft.

The Wizard of Ozstar and her second husband, director Vincente Minnelli, welcomed their daughter Liza on March 12, 1946. After they divorced, Garland remarried to producer Sid Luft, with whom she shared daughter Lorna, born Nov. 21, 1952, and son Joey, born March 29, 1955.

“I know this is going to sound strange, but I’ve said it so many times, it was our normal,” she toldEntertainment Tonightin 2022. “We didn’t know they were famous; we didn’t know they were different. They were our parents' friends. That was the neighborhood.”

Sadly, Garland died at the age of 47 of an overdose of barbiturates on June 22, 1969. At the time of their mother’s death, Liza was 23, Lorna was 16 and Joey was 14.

While Joey lives a more private life today, both Liza and Lorna have had stellar careers as performers on both stage and screen.Liza won her first major awardat only 19 years old and Lorna has honored Garland through music, books and an award-nominating show.

Now, decades later, Garland’s legacy lives on through modern iterations of her work, including theWickedlive-action movie. Ahead of its premiere on Nov. 22, Lorna attended a screening and she described it as “everything I wanted it to be.”

Here’s everything to know about Judy Garland’s children: Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft.

They made their Hollywood debuts in Garland’s projects

Liza Minnelli is shown with her mother, Judy Garland, as the two rehearse for her mother’s television show.Getty

Garland introduced her kids to the spotlight early on in their lives, involving them in her different productions.

Lorna’s first performance was also onThe Judy Garland Showwhen, at age 11, she performed “Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in 1963.

She later appeared alongside Joey at Garland’s 1967 shows at the Palace Theater on Broadway. Both the concerts at the Palace and in London were released as albums.

They carry on Garland’s sense of humor

Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft, pose together. ; Judy Garland in 1950.Getty; Smith Collection/Gado/Getty

Despite Garland’s personal struggles and untimely death, Lorna told PEOPLE in 1998 that she was more than her public image. Throughout her career in Hollywood, Garland dealt with drug and alcohol addiction, which started when she was 16.

“People would love my mother to be unloved and tragic,but she wasn’t,” Lorna said, adding that she saw her mom as a victim of addiction. “No one could have saved her but herself."

Since then, Liza and Lorna have said that their mother’s sense of humor has shaped their coping mechanisms when life gets difficult.

“There’s a good side to all of it,” Liza toldThe Guardianin 2008. “I think that’s the greatest gift one can have: point of view. You know? I’ve come to believe that if you have a bad memory of something, change it. … Rewrite it for yourself and it becomes funny. It’s up to you, how you feel, and what you look at and what you concentrate on.”

Lorna echoed this sentiment during a conversation withEntertainment Tonightin 2022.

“Our mom had such an extraordinary sense of humor, and that was her survival guide,” she explained. “We just find the funny because I think that is the way that we were raised and brought up and we watched a woman who found the funny.”

Liza is an EGOT winner

Liza Minnelli holds Oscar she won as Best Actress for “Cabaret” at the Academy Awards Ceremony.Getty

As a child, Liza was well on her way to a career in performing. By the time she was 19 in 1965, Liza had already won a Tony award for her role inFlora the Red Menace.

She went on to winan Oscarin 1972 for her performance inCabaret;her performance as Sally Bowles on stage and screen has become one of her most enduring legacies.

The following year, Liza won an Emmy forLiza with a Z. After earning another Tony forThe Act, she appearedin modern classic films likeArthurand released several albums of both Broadway standards and pop music.

After being awardeda Grammy in 1990, she became one of only 27 peopleto achieve an EGOTfor winning each award. In the subsequent years, Liza also won another Tony and three Golden Globes.

Lorna is a Broadway star and author

Lorna Luft attends the Out/Advocate Pride Cover Party 2024: Pride of Broadway on June 03, 2024 in New York City.Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Lorna has also had a successful career on the stage and screen, despite the pressures of their family legacy.

“When your mother was the greatest, I mean,it was a little heavy,” Liza told PEOPLE in 1980. “Lorna has to deal with that and with me.”

Since first stepping into the limelight at age 11, Lorna has continued performing in front of different audiences.

She made her debut on Broadway inPromises, Promisesin 1971 and followed it up with Grease in 1980. Lorna later joined touring productions of shows likeGuys and Dolls, GypsyandWhite Christmasfrom 1992 to 2007.

In the midst of her live performances, Lorna also landed roles in shows likeMurder She WroteandTrapper John, M.D.In addition, she has written books, including the 1998 memoirMe And My Shadows: A Family Memoir.

Joey pursued a career behind the camera

Judy Garland poses with her three children Liza, Lorna and Joey on arrival at Grand Central Station.Getty

Despite being in front of the camera when he was young, Joey chose a career behind it.

He studied photography and sound and has worked on various movie sets. “I’ve been more behind the camera,” he told theLos Angeles Timesin 2014.

Still, Joey has childhood memories that have stayed with him. “I have a life that has been fascinating. I can tell stories for days,” he added.

Reflecting on who his mom was, Joey shared that he wanted to remember her in the good times.

“She was a performer. She was a mother. She loved people,” he said. “She was the most caring person. She had the greatest sense of humor.”

Joey wrote a one-man show about Garland

Lorna Luft, Joey Luft and Liza Minnelli attend the Oscars held at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California.Jason Merritt/Getty

Jason Merritt/Getty

In 2014, Joey debutedA Judy Garland Concert with Joey Luftat the Pasadena Playhouse, outside of Los Angeles.

“They know ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ but people don’t even know Judy,” he told theLos Angeles Times. “The show is to educate people and show who she was and what she did and what she was all about — one of the world’s greatest entertainers.”

Though it took him until he was 59 to stage the project, he’s happy that he did it.

“It’s just so fun just getting out there and talking about her and letting people know, ‘Here’s what really happened,’ ” Joey explained.

source: people.com