Judy Garland

American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

Judy Garland was an American actress, singer, and dancer who attained international stardom and critical acclaim. She received numerous awards, including a Golden Globe and an Academy Juvenile Award, and was renowned for her versatility and iconic performances in films like The Wizard of Oz and A Star Is Born.

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About the Judy Garland

Judy Garlandwas an American actress, singer, vaudevillian and dancer. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received a Golden Globe Award, a Special Tony Award and was one of twelve people in history to receive an Academy Juvenile Award.

Garland began performing as a child, with her two elder sisters, in a vaudeville group, The Gumm Sisters, and was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. She appeared in more than two dozen films for MGM, including The Wizard of Ozand legal drama Judgment at Nurembergrecipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in the film industry.

Throughout her career, Garland recorded and introduced numerous songs including “Over the Rainbow”, which became her signature song, the Christmas classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and the Saint Patrick’s Day anthem “It’s a Great Day for the Irish”. She won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for her 1961 live recording, Judy at Carnegie Hall; she was the first woman to win that award.

Garland struggled in her personal life from an early age. The pressures of early stardom affected her physical and mental health from the time she was a teenager; her self-image was influenced by constant criticism from film executives who believed that she was physically unattractive and who manipulated her onscreen physical appearance. She had financial troubles, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. Throughout her adulthood, she struggled with substance use disorder involving both drugs and alcohol; she died from an accidental barbiturate overdose in 1969, at age 47. In 1997, Garland was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 1999 the American Film Institute ranked her as the eighth-greatest female screen legend of classic Hollywood cinema.

Frequently Asked Questions

Judy Garland’s real name was Frances Ethel Gumm. She was born on June 10, 1922.

Judy Garland appeared in more than two dozen films for MGM, including classic musicals like The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, and Easter Parade.

Judy Garland received a Golden Globe Award, a Special Tony Award, and was one of only twelve people in history to receive an Academy Juvenile Award.

Judy Garland received Academy Award nominations for her performances in the musical drama A Star Is Born and the courtroom drama Judgment at Nuremberg.

Judy Garland’s signature song was ,Over the Rainbow, from the film The Wizard of Oz.

Judy Garland became the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for her 1961 live recording, Judy at Carnegie Hall.

Judy Garland died from an accidental barbiturate overdose in 1969 at the age of 47, having struggled with substance use disorder throughout her adulthood.

21 Quotes by Judy Garland

  1. 1.

    Behind every cloud is another cloud.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  2. 2.

    You are never so alone as when you are ill on stage. The most nightmarish feeling in the world is suddenly to feel like throwing up in front of four thousand people.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  3. 3.

    For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  4. 4.

    I’ve always taken ‘The Wizard of Oz’ very seriously, you know. I believe in the idea of the rainbow. And I’ve spent my entire life trying to get over it.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  5. 5.

    ‘Twas not my lips you kissed but my soul.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  6. 6.

    I’ve seen the ticket, and I still can’t believe it. When I see the money, I hope I don’t hit the floor.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  7. 7.

    I can live without money, but I cannot live without love.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  8. 8.

    If I’m such a legend, then why am I so lonely? Let me tell you, legends are all very well if you’ve got somebody around who loves you.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  9. 9.

    It’s lonely and cold on the top… lonely and cold.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  10. 10.

    I try to bring the audience’s own drama – tears and laughter they know about – to them.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  11. 11.

    We cast away priceless time in dreams, born of imagination, fed upon illusion, and put to death by reality.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  12. 12.

    There have been times when I have deliberately tried to take my life… I think I must have been crying for some attention.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  13. 13.

    Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  14. 14.

    How strange when an illusion dies. It’s as though you’ve lost a child.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  15. 15.

    In the silence of night I have often wished for just a few words of love from one man, rather than the applause of thousands of people.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  16. 16.

    If I am a legend, then why am I so lonely?

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  17. 17.

    I’ve never looked through a keyhole without finding someone was looking back.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  18. 18.

    If you have to be in a soap opera try not to get the worst role.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  19. 19.

    I think there’s something peculiar about me that I haven’t died. It doesn’t make sense but I refuse to die.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  20. 20.

    I’m the original take-orders girl.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)

  21. 21.

    I was born at the age of twelve on an MGM lot.

    Judy Garland

    American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian (1922-1969)