Liza Minnelli documentary reveals her biggest 'disappointment'
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As an Oscar winner, a Broadway star, and the daughter of Hollywood legends Judy Garland and Vicente Minnelli, one might assume Liza Minnelli could get everything she ever wanted.
But the new documentary, Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story, reveals there was something the 78-year-old icon "desperately" wanted throughout her life: a baby.
The Cabaret star suffered three miscarriages throughout her life. The first miscarriage was with second husband Jack Haley Jr., a producer and director to whom she was married from 1974 to 1979. She then suffered two more miscarriages while married to sculptor and stage manager Mark Gero, whom she wed in 1979 and divorced in 1992.
In the documentary, longtime friend Alan Lazare spoke to the filmmakers about being there for Minnelli after these losses. "If she had to pick one thing that she's disappointed in her life and that's not being a mother," said Lazare, a dentist and New York City socialite who died in February 2024. "She would have been a great mother. She has so much to give. She's been so wonderful with our children."
In an older interview clip used in the documentary, the Arthur actress spoke to talk show host Geraldo Rivera about her desire for children. "I desperately want a family. I really want a family," the actress explained.
Minnelli has been married and divorced four times. Prior to her marriages to Haley and Gero, she was married to musician and entertainer Peter Allen from 1967 to 1974. She later married David Gest, a concert promoter, in 2002, but they separated in 2003 and divorced in 2007.
Despite her regret about never having biological children, Minnelli's friends and loved ones said she has been a devoted presence in the lives of their kids.
Actress Mia Farrow said, "She's godmother to my twins, who are 50 now, and she's never missed a birthday, anything." Lazare, for his part, told the filmmakers, "We have a picture when our daughter was 3 years old around a Christmas tree Liza hugging her and then 35 years later, when our daughter had a 3 year old, we have a picture around that same Christmas tree."
