Since Liza Minnelli and Lady Gaga shared a touching moment at the 2022 Oscars many people want to know who is the aged starlet and what were her best roles?
At the climatic moment of the Academy Award ceremony, Gaga and Minnelli appeared on stage together to present the Best Picture award, which was won by Sian Heder’s CODA.
A Touching Moment
During their time on stage the House of Gucci actress praised the 76-year-old, saying she was ‘honoured’ to be presenting the award with her.
She said: ‘The public, they love you. I’m finally honoured to present the final award of the evening with the true showbusiness legend. She’s celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cabaret. Oscar-winning actress, Liza Minnelli.’.
Then at one point the Oscar-winner was trying to read her lines on the teleprompter when the Bad Romance singer leaned over and said: ‘I got you.’ Minnelli instantly responded by saying: ‘I know.’
This touching moment went viral as many people were truly moved by the moment they shared.
Who is Liza Minnelli?
This moment also had a lot of people wondering just exactly who Liza Minnelli is. Minnelli was born in 1946, the Golden Age of Hollywood, to her Oscar-winning parents, Judy Garland – who you may know as none other than ‘Dorothy’ in The Wizard of Oz – and the renowned award-winning director Vincente Minnelli.
Minnelli might today have been known as a ‘nepotism baby’ – the children of celebrities who are following in the footsteps of their parents and pursuing careers in the spotlight, think Dakota Johnson or Zoë Kravitz. But in her life, she racked up a series of amazing movie performances and even got her own Academy Award for ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ for her performance in Cabaret in 1972.
The star has also won one Primetime Emmy Award, four Tony Awards and was honoured at the Grammys.
Liza Minnelli’s Best Roles
Between her time on stage, television and the silver screen Minelli has actually collected hundreds of roles in her active years, but here are some of her best:
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970)
This movie follows the story of three wildly neurotic characters: A facially disfigured girl, a homosexual paraplegic and an introvert epileptic who, after leaving the hospital, set up housekeeping together in a cottage where they support each other. Minnelli plays the titular character. If you love book to movie adaptions this is the one for you and Minnelli shines.
Cabaret (1972)
In the film that earned Minnellie her Oscar, she takes on the role of the young American Sally Bowles performing at the Kit Kat Klub. Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931,
under the presence of the growing Nazi Party, the film is loosely based on the 1966 Broadway musical Cabaret by Kander and Ebb and is an absolute musical masterpiece.
New York, New York (1977)
Set in New York City (obviously) the film stars Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli as a pair of musicians and lovers. Although in love the saxophonist’s outrageously volatile personality places a continual strain on their relationship, and after they have a baby, their marriage crumbles. This Martin Scorsese-directed film was thrust on the back of the success of his previous hit Taxi Driver and although didn’t do as well it was an incredibly emotive performance from Minnelli.
A Matter of Time (1976)
This seemed to be kind of a father-daughter project as Minnelli was directed by her dad in this movie based loosely on the life of the infamous Italian eccentric, Marchesa Casati. The screenplay, by John Gay, is based on the novel The Film of Memory (La Volupté d’être) by Maurice Druon.
Arthur (1981)
This film follows the story of an alcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach who must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. Then he falls in love with a poor waitress (played by Minnelli) and must decide if he wants to choose love or money. Although this film didn’t earn Minnelli another Academy Award it did receive the Oscar for Best Original Song.
The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)
This book to movie adaptation tells the story of an eccentric young couple whose relationship deepens despite their differences and inadequacies and earned Minnelli her first Academy Award nomination – even if she didn’t win it’s a testament to her performance.
Lucky Lady (1975)
The film, which is set in 1930s Prohibition America, stars Minnelli alongside Gene Hackman and Burt Reynolds. The three play rum-runners who also help smuggle Mexican immigrants across the US border.
Charlie Bubbles (1968)
This was Minnelli’s first role where she wasn’t either uncredited or had her scenes deleted and follows the story of a Manchester writer who has an affair with his secretary, played by Minnelli.