Age, Biography, and Wiki
Judy Garland was born on June 10, 1922, as Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She rose to fame at a young age with her powerful contralto voice and versatility in acting and singing. Garland's most iconic role was as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz," which cemented her place in cinematic history. Despite her success, she faced financial difficulties and personal struggles throughout her life. She passed away on June 22, 1969, at the age of 47.
| Occupation | Stage Actress |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 10 June 1922 |
| Age | 103 Years |
| Birth Place | Grand Rapids, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | England |
| Date of death | 22 June, 1969 |
| Died Place | Belgravia, London, England |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 4 feet 11 inches (150 cm)
- Weight: Approximately 110 lbs (50 kg) at her peak
- Measurements: Not detailed in available sources
Garland's weight was within a healthy range, but the studio demanded she constantly diet. They even went so far as to serve her only a bowl of chicken soup and black coffee when she ordered a regular meal. She was plagued with self-doubt throughout her life; despite successful film and recording careers, awards, critical praise and her ability to fill concert halls worldwide, she required constant reassurance that she was talented and attractive.
| Height | 4 feet 11 inches |
| Weight | 110 lbs |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Judy Garland was married five times:
- David Rose (married 1941–1944)
- Vincente Minnelli (married 1945–1951), with whom she had her daughter Liza Minnelli
- Sidney Luft (married 1952–1965)
- Mark Herron (married 1964–1967)
- Mickey Deans (married 1969, until her death)
Born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Garland was the youngest child of vaudevillians Ethel Marion Milne and Francis Avent Gumm. The family settled in Grand Rapids, where her parents operated a movie theater showcasing vaudeville acts. She was of Irish, English, Scottish, and Huguenot ancestry, named after both of her parents and baptized at a local Episcopal church. "Baby" (as she was called by her parents and sisters) shared her family's flair for song and dance. Her first appearance came at the age of two, when she joined her elder sisters Mary Jane "Suzy/Suzanne" Gumm and Dorothy Virginia "Jimmie" Gumm on the stage of her father's movie theater during a Christmas show and sang a chorus of "Jingle Bells". The Gumm Sisters performed there for the next few years, accompanied by their mother on piano. The family relocated to Lancaster, California, in June 1926, following rumors that her father had homosexual inclinations. Frank bought and operated another theater in Lancaster, and Ethel began managing her daughters and working to get them into motion pictures.
Several stories persist regarding the origin of their use of the name Garland. One is that it was originated by Jessel after Carole Lombard's character Lily Garland in the film Twentieth Century (1934), which was then playing at the Oriental in Chicago; another is that the girls chose the surname after drama critic Robert Garland. Garland's daughter Lorna Luft stated that her mother selected the name when Jessel announced that the trio "looked prettier than a garland of flowers". A TV special was filmed in Hollywood at the Pantages Theatre premiere of A Star Is Born on September 29, 1954, in which Jessel stated:
In September 1935, Louis B. Mayer asked songwriter Burton Lane to go to the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles to watch the Garland Sisters' vaudeville act and to report to him. A few days later, Garland and her father were brought for an impromptu audition at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City. Garland performed "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and "Eli, Eli", a Yiddish song written in 1896 and regularly performed in vaudeville. The studio immediately signed Garland to a contract with MGM, presumably without a screen test, though she had made a test for the studio several months earlier. The studio did not know what to do with her; aged thirteen, she was older than the traditional child star, but too young for adult roles. Her physical appearance was a dilemma for MGM. She was only 4 ft and her "cute" or "girl-next-door" looks did not exemplify the glamorous persona then required of leading female performers. She was self-conscious and anxious about her appearance. Garland went to school at Metro with Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, "real beauties", said Charles Walters, who directed her in a number of films. "Judy was the big money-maker at the time, a big success, but she was the ugly duckling ... I think it had a very damaging effect on her emotionally for a long time. I think it lasted forever, really." Her insecurity was exacerbated by the attitude of studio chief Mayer, who referred to her as his "little hunchback".
On November 16, 1935, 13-year-old Garland was in the midst of preparing for a radio performance on the Shell Chateaux Hour when she learned that her father had been hospitalized with meningitis and his medical condition had taken a turn for the worse. He died the following morning at age 49, leaving her devastated.
Garland starred in three films which were released in 1940: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band and Little Nellie Kelly. In the last, she played her first adult role, a dual role of both mother and daughter. Little Nellie Kelly was purchased from George M. Cohan as a vehicle for her to display both her audience appeal and her physical appearance. The role was a challenge for her, requiring the use of an accent, her first adult kiss and the only death scene of her career. Her co-star George Murphy regarded the kiss as embarrassing. He said it felt like "a hillbilly with a child bride".
During that time, Garland was still in her teens when she experienced her first serious adult romance with bandleader Artie Shaw. She was deeply devoted to him and was devastated in early 1940 when he eloped with Lana Turner. In the early 1940s, Garland began a relationship with musician David Rose, 12 years her senior. On her 18th birthday, he proposed to her. MGM disapproved of the relationship because, at the time, he was married to actress and singer Martha Raye. They agreed to wait a year to allow for his divorce to become final. During that time, Garland had a brief affair with songwriter Johnny Mercer. After her breakup with Mercer, Garland and Rose were wed on July 27, 1941, when Garland was only 19 years old. The media called the relationship "a true rarity". Together, they moved into a house in Bel Air, Los Angeles, where Rose had room to build miniature trains in the backyard. Though life together was initially enjoyable, MGM still disapproved of the relationship and allegedly tried to separate them. They, along with Garland's mother, feared the relationship would ruin Garland's image. In 1941, while she was pregnant with Rose's child, Garland had an abortion at the insistence of her mother, Rose, and the studio executives, who disapproved of the pregnancy. According to Woman's World, Rose was even hostile toward Garland. The couple agreed to undergo a trial separation in January 1943 and they divorced in 1944. In her next film, For Me and My Gal (1942), Garland performed with Gene Kelly in his first screen appearance. She was given the "glamor treatment" in Presenting Lily Mars (1943), in which she was dressed in "grown-up" gowns. Her lightened hair was also pulled up in a stylish fashion. However, no matter how glamorous or beautiful she appeared on screen or in photographs, she was never confident about her appearance and never escaped the "girl-next-door" image that the studio had created for her. She had a second abortion in 1943 when she became pregnant during an affair with actor Tyrone Power.
During the filming of Meet Me in St. Louis, Garland and Minnelli had some initial conflicts, but they entered into a relationship and they got married on June 15, 1945.
| Parents | |
| Husband | David Rose (m. 1941-1944) Vincente Minnelli (m. 1945-1951) Sidney Luft (m. 1952-1965) Mark Herron (m. 1965-1969) Mickey Deans (m. 1969) |
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Net Worth and Salary
At the time of her death, Judy Garland's net worth was estimated to be $40,000, which is equivalent to approximately $300,000 in today's dollars after inflation. Throughout her career, she earned nearly $10 million, or roughly $100 million when adjusted for inflation. Despite her earnings, financial issues plagued her life due to lavish spending and legal costs.
The Wizard of Oz was a tremendous critical success, though its high budget and estimated promotion costs of $4 million (equivalent to $ million in ), coupled with the lower revenue that was generated by discounted children's tickets, meant that the film did not return a profit until it was re-released in the 1940s and on subsequent occasions. At the 1939 Academy Awards ceremony, Garland received her only Academy Award, an Academy Juvenile Award for her performances in 1939, including The Wizard of Oz and Babes in Arms. She was the fourth person to receive the award as well as only one of twelve in history to ever be presented with one. After the film, Garland was one of the most bankable actresses in the United States.
Career, Business, and Investments
Judy Garland's career spanned film, television, and concert performances. She was one of the highest-paid entertainers in her time, earning significant sums from her work in Las Vegas and television specials. Despite her financial challenges, her legacy has continued to generate substantial income from her films and music.
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. Garland achieved international recognition for her portrayal of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Her recording of "Over the Rainbow" became an enduring song in American popular music. Over a career spanning more than forty-five years, she recorded eleven studio albums, and several of her recordings were later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
At the age of two, Garland began her career by performing with her two sisters as a vaudeville act, The Gumm Sisters. In 1935, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at thirteen and appeared in supporting roles in ensemble musicals such as Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937) and Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937). The success of The Wizard of Oz propelled her into leading roles in MGM musicals including Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Easter Parade (1948) and Summer Stock (1950). In the 1950s and early 1960s she expanded her range with dramatic performances in A Star Is Born (1954) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), both of which earned her Academy Award nominations and demonstrated her capacity to convey vulnerability and resilience on screen.
Beyond her film work, Garland cultivated a distinguished career in live performance and recordings. Her 1961 live album Judy at Carnegie Hall won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, capping a series of sold-out engagements at the Hollywood Bowl and concerts. That same year she became the first woman—and, at thirty-nine, the youngest recipient—of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures. Her honors also included a Golden Globe Award, an Academy Juvenile Award for her early contributions, and a Special Tony Award for her role in reviving vaudeville. In 1997 she was posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1999 the American Film Institute ranked her eighth among the greatest female screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema.
One of Garland's most successful films for MGM was Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), in which she introduced three standards: "The Trolley Song", "The Boy Next Door" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". This was one of the first films in her career that gave her the opportunity to be the attractive leading lady. Vincente Minnelli was assigned to direct and he requested that make-up artist Dorothy Ponedel be assigned to Garland. Ponedel refined her appearance in several ways which included extending and reshaping her eyebrows, changing her hairline, modifying her lip line and removing her nose discs and dental caps. She appreciated the results so much that Ponedel was written into her contract for all her remaining pictures at MGM.
Social Network
Judy Garland passed away before the advent of modern social media platforms, so she did not have an official presence on these networks. However, her legacy is celebrated on various fan pages and tribute accounts.
"I think that I ought to tell the folks that it was I who named Judy Garland, 'Judy Garland.' Not that it would have made any difference –you couldn't have hid[den] that great talent if you'd called her 'Tel Aviv Windsor Shell', you know, but her name when I first met her was Frances Gumm and it wasn't the kind of a name that so sensitive a great actress like that should have; ... and so we called her Judy Garland and I think she's a combination of Helen Hayes and Al Jolson and maybe Jenny Lind and Sarah Bernhardt."
A later explanation surfaced when Jessel was a guest on Garland's television show in 1963. He said that he had sent actress Judith Anderson a telegram containing the word "garland" and it stuck in his mind. However, Garland asked Jessel just moments later if this story was true and he blithely replied "No".
Education
Judy Garland did not have formal education beyond her early years. Her career in entertainment began at a very young age, with her family encouraging her to perform.
Today, Judy Garland's legacy is celebrated through her iconic performances and the continued success of her daughter, Liza Minnelli. The Garland-Minnelli family dynasty is valued at approximately $53.5 million, reflecting the enduring impact of their work in the entertainment industry.
In 1928, the Gumm Sisters enrolled in a dance school run by Ethel Meglin, proprietor of the Meglin Kiddies dance troupe. They appeared with the troupe at its annual Christmas show. Through the Meglin Kiddies, they made their film debut in a short subject called The Big Revue (1929), where they performed a song-and-dance number called "That's the Good Old Sunny South". This was followed by appearances in two Vitaphone shorts the following year: A Holiday in Storyland (featuring Garland's first on-screen solo) and The Wedding of Jack and Jill. They next appeared together in Bubbles (1930). Their final on-screen appearance was in an MGM Technicolor short entitled La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935).
Her song for the Shell Chateau Hour was her first professional rendition of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", a song that became a standard in many of her concerts. Garland performed at various studio functions and was eventually cast opposite Deanna Durbin in the musical short Every Sunday (1936). The film contrasted her vocal range and swing style with Durbin's operatic soprano and served as an extended screen test for them, as studio executives were questioning the wisdom of having two girl singers on the roster.Garland's first feature-length film was a loan-out to Fox titled Pigskin Parade, a football-themed musical comedy, where she was billed tenth after Stuart Erwin, Jack Haley, Patsy Kelly, Betty Grable and others. Garland sang three solos, including "The Texas Tornado" and "The Balboa".Garland came to the attention of studio executives when she sang a special arrangement of "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" to Clark Gable at a birthday party that the studio arranged for the actor. Her rendition was so well regarded that she performed the song in the all-star extravaganza Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), when she sang to a photograph of him.
