Liza Minnelli's Great Disappointment in Life Is 'Not Being a Mother,' Says Friend of 50 Years: 'So Much to Give'

For a woman who once faced the enormous challenge of stepping out of the shadow of her legendary mother (The Wizard of Oz star Judy Garland), Liza Minnelli has done an incredible job of securing a solid legacy as an entertainer.

She won an Oscar (for the 1972 film Cabaret) and countless other awards during a decade-long career. Some would even venture to say that her achievements as an entertainer equal – perhaps even surpass – those of her mother, who died in 1969 at the age of 47.

Liza Minnelli cried for 8 days when Judy Garland’s mom died – and more revelations from her new documentary

But according to some of her friends, the big disappointment in the 78-year-old star’s life was that she never had the family she craved all her life.

“I desperately want a family. I really want a family,” he tells Geraldo Rivera in a vintage interview included in the new documentary Liza: Really great, absolutely true storywhich premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and is currently playing in select theaters.

Liza Minnelli in 1987.

Bob Riha, Jr./Getty

After the clip, the documentary shows three headlines announcing the various pregnancy losses of the singer who was married and divorced four times.

“We were with Liza through all her emotional setbacks, like the miscarriage,” says Allan Lazare, who was friends with Minnelli for more than 50 years before his death in February 2024. In the documentary, Lazare is interviewed along with his wife, Arlene. had to choose the one thing she’s disappointed in in her life, and that’s not being a mother,” continues Lazare. “She would have been a great mother. She has so much to give. She was so wonderful with our children.”

Liza Minnelli in 1983.

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He then goes on to describe Minnelli’s close relationship with his and Arlene’s daughter. “We have a picture of our daughter when she was 3 around the Christmas tree [with] Liza hugs her, and then 35 years later, when our daughter was 3, we have a picture around that same Christmas tree.”

His wife Arlene adds: “She taught our daughter to sing when she was 6 years old [Minnelli’s signature song] ‘Liza with Z’… Our daughter was so proud to sing it, and she sang it everywhere for everyone.”

Mia Farrow (left) and Liza Minnelli in 2006.

Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock

Mia Farrow, 79, who has been friends with Minnelli for most of her life, also talks about the bond Minnelli shares with her children.

“She’s godmother to my twins, who are now 50, and she’s never missed a birthday, nothing.”

Minnella’s longtime friend Michael Feinstein, 68, explains in the document that maintaining a close relationship with her friends’ children provided her with a degree of comfort. “Even though she couldn’t have children of her own, she seems to have created her own family through all the children that came into her life and all the godchildren,” he says.

‘Liza: A really great, absolutely true story’.

Kii Arens/Courtesy of Atlas Media Corp

But of course, as several of her friends have admitted, the regret that she never had the chance to have a family of her own remains.

“She would have been an amazing mother, and life wasn’t perfect,” says Lazare. “But she moved on and became part of our family. I think that’s part of our attraction to her. We kept that connection with a kind of family that she didn’t have.”

Liza: Really great, absolutely true story currently playing in select theaters.

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Source: HIS Education