Judy Garland's 10 Most Vivacious Style Moments
The singer and actress commanded the silver screen, showing up big with her talents and personal style.
Judy Garland, the talented starlet behind such iconic movies at The Wizard of Oz, A Star Is Born, and Meet Me in St. Louis, lived an amazing, but also tragic, life. Born Frances Ethel Gumm in 1922 in Minnesota, Garland was the youngest of three girls, with whom she performed until she signed with MGM as a teenager in 1935. Garland's mother was known for being the ultimate stage mom, pushing her daughters past their limits, moving them from Minnesota to California to pursue their careers, and even giving a young Judy drugs to help her sleep at night and keep her energized during long days.
Garland's clear singing voice and acting chops made her a favorite of the MGM studio, which began creating films centered around her singing. Movies like Every Sunday, Pigskin Parade, and The Wizard of Oz, in which she sang Over the Rainbow and, consequently, won her only Academy Award, shot Garland to the top of the starlet ladder. But despite her success, Garland struggled with abuse from her mother, mental health issues, and drug problems for most of her life.
The actress and singer was married five times and divorced four times before sadly passing from a drug overdose in 1969. She had three children: Liza Minnelli (with her second husband Vincente Minnelli), and Lorna and Joey Luft (with Sid Luft). In spite of the hardship in her life, Garland told Barbara Walters that she had a "very nice life." Garland shone brightly because of her bubbly personality and approachable style. Here, we look at 10 of those shining moments from Garland's life.
1938
Garland, who was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and was the youngest of three sisters, chats with her mother, Ethel Marion Gumm, in a restaurant dressed in a felt hat, leather gloves, and a tweed overcoat.
1939
Singer and actress Garland gives her 1939 Packard Six some special attention during the filming of the The Wizard of Oz, the musical that became one of her career's crowning achievements.
1939
Garland, pictured here with fellow child actor Mickey Rooney and dressed in a fur coat and tulle dress, leaves her signature in the cement outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
1943
A still from a scene in Presenting Lily Mars shows a young and beautiful Garland wearing a feminine chiffon blouse and her signature soft wave hairstyle.
1945
Garland and her husband, film director Vincente Minnelli, pose for a shot at their wedding. The two met on the set of Meet Me in St. Louis, of which Minnelli was the director, and eventually had their daughter, Liza Minnelli, together.
1945
Garland bikes down a street dressed in a charming checked romper and sporting a soft curl in her hair, a true American, girl-next-door look for this time that she wore so well.
1945
Clad in a white dress and colorful striped cardigan, Garland poses with her badminton racquet on her way to the court.
1950
Garland and Minnelli were photographed together at Ciro's in Hollywood. Garland wears a wide-brimmed hat, oversize stud earrings, and a black evening dress, looking utterly chic.
1950
Here, Garland sports her signature beauty look: short bangs with slicked hair decorated with a sparkly barrette, dark eyeliner, and a bold red lip.
1968
A beaded and embellished suit sparkles on a short-haired Garland as she steps out in low heels for an evening on the town.
Rachael Burrow is the Style Director at VERANDA, covering the latest design and market trends, from jewelry to fashion, tabletop to furnishings, and everything in between.
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