Liza Minnelli, 79, Lets Loose on Lovers, Drugs and What Happened with Lady Gaga at the Oscars in Bombshell Memoir 

Liza Minnelli long insisted she would never write a memoir. As she once joked to her close friend Michael Feinstein, “You can tell everything after I’m dead.” But as she nears her 80th birthday on March 12, Minnelli has decided to tell her story herself.

Her new memoir, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This, arriving March 10, draws from more than a decade of conversations and interviews with Feinstein. He describes the book as nothing less than a personal triumph for the legendary performer.

Born to two icons — Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli — Liza opens up about a life shaped by extraordinary highs and painful struggles. She reflects on her childhood caring for her mother, the whirlwind of superstardom, nights at Studio 54, turbulent romances, and her long battle with addiction. Now sober for 11 years, Minnelli says she has found a sense of peace and hopes her journey may inspire others facing similar challenges.

In the book, Minnelli recalls the pivotal moment her mother offered Lorna and her a choice: remain in school in Los Angeles or join her on tour. Joey was still a baby. Life on the road would mean constant travel, endless hotels, and an ever-changing list of schools — she would eventually attend 22.

Their answer came instantly: “When do we leave?”

By age 13, Minnelli had taken on a role far beyond her years. She became her mother’s caretaker, managing doctors, prescriptions, and crises no child should shoulder.

“I lost count of how many times I called doctors,” she writes. “I’d plead, ‘I’m just a kid. Please refill my mama’s prescription.’”

Minnelli left high school to pursue performing, and at 18 shared the stage with Garland at the London Palladium. That night brought a profound realization. She began as Judy Garland’s daughter — but by evening’s end, she stood as her own artist.

Her career soared. A Tony Award in 1965 was followed by an Oscar nomination for The Sterile Cuckoo. Yet even as success mounted, heartbreak arrived. Garland’s death in 1969 devastated Minnelli.

“I cried for eight straight days.”

What began as a doctor’s prescription for Valium became the start of a long struggle with addiction — a battle that would shadow much of her life.

Despite personal turmoil, Minnelli’s professional achievements continued. Her electrifying performance in Cabaret earned her an Academy Award and cemented her place in entertainment history. Still, beneath the spotlight, substance use tightened its grip.

“I thought I had it under control,” she admits. “What nonsense.”

Relationships came and went, each carrying its own intensity — from Peter Allen to Jack Haley Jr., Martin Scorsese, and beyond. Alongside love and passion were deep personal losses, including miscarriages that Minnelli describes with enduring sorrow.

As the years passed, physical pain joined emotional strain. Multiple surgeries and chronic discomfort led to reliance on powerful medications.

“OxyContin became my drug of choice for relief.”

Minnelli’s memoir also revisits her brief marriage to David Gest, which she portrays as a deeply unhappy chapter marked by control and disillusionment.

After repeated returns to rehab — including interventions from loved ones like Elizabeth Taylor — Minnelli ultimately made a decisive choice.

“One morning, reaching for my pills, I realized my nine lives might be gone.”

Today, she maintains strict boundaries with both substances and medication.

“There’s no going back.”

Minnelli closes her reflections with a note of resilience — a theme that defines her life story.

“There’s always a rainbow,” she writes. “If you know where to look.”

Kids, Wait Till You Hear This will be published March 10 by Grand Central Publishing.

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