A Guide to Judy Garland’s 5 Husbands — Inside Marriages to Sid Luft, Vincente Minnelli and More

Judy Garland and David Rose (1941–1944)

In July 1941, at the age of just 19, Judy married David — who was 12 years older than her. She said “I do” to the famed musician to the disapproval of her mom and the studio to which she was contracted to, MGM.

Things got tricky when Judy became pregnant with David’s child during the first year of their marriage. In the book The Golden Girls of MGM, author Jane Ellen Wayne wrote about how the girls and women employed by MGM “maintained their virginal image” and, as a result, Judy was forced to get an abortion.

The “Get Happy” singer and David had no children together and they divorced in 1944.

David died on August 23, 1990 at age 80.

Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli (1945-1951)

The love story between Judy and Vincente is one often heard in Hollywood: love at first sight on the set. He was her director for 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis — the movie responsible for giving us “The Trolley Song” as well as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” — and they married the following year, in June 1945.

It was during this marriage that Judy became a mother for the first time. She welcomed a daughter — Liza, who also became a huge star in her own right — with Vincente in March 1946. “[It was like living in] the land of dreams,” Liza, 73, told Closer Weekly in 2017 about growing up with her parents.

That said, it’s not as if there weren’t ups and downs for her. “If she was happy, she wasn’t just happy. She was ecstatic. And when she was sad, she was sadder than anyone. There were no middles,” she revealed. “I was used only to screaming attacks or excessive love bouts, rivers of money or no money at all, seeing my mother constantly or not seeing her for weeks.”

In the end, though, Liza is proud to to call Judy her mom. “For the rest of my life, I will be proud to be Judy Garland’s daughter,” Liza sweetly said.

Judy and Vincente reunited for two other works on the big screen, first for 1945’s The Clock and then for 1948’s The Pirate. They stayed together until divorcing in 1951.

Vincente died on July 25, 1986 at age 83.

Judy Garland and Sid Luft (1952-1965)

Judy and Sid met in 1950 and they married in June 1952. Perhaps the most important thing to come of this union — besides their daughter Lorna, born in November 1952, and son Joey, born in March 1955 — it’s the 1954 film A Star Is Born. The two produced the movie (which was a remake and has been remade a twice since) together and it was meant to be a big comeback for Judy — and it largely was. She was nominated for an Oscar for her performance, ultimately losing out to Grace Kelly.

Outside of that, their relationship was tested by Judy’s reliance on pills to get through the day. They separated in 1963 and divorced in 1965.

“My father was like a tough guy out of Guys and Dolls, and my mother felt that was a lot of fun,” Lorna exclusively told Closer Weekly. “They loved each other and had a real bond, but their relationship could be volatile because my dad had a temper and wouldn’t say no… and she had a temper and wouldn’t say no. So that got interesting!”

Luft died on September 15, 2005 at age 89.

Judy Garland and Mark Herron (1965-1969)

Judy’s marriage to Mark was a blip — and a dramatic one at that.

She married him in November 1965 after he had produced her two London Palladium shows with daughter Liza the year prior. After just five months together, though, they separated. She accused Mark of beating her and, in his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, he said he “only hit her in self-defense.”

Their divorce was finalized in 1969.

Mark died on January 13, 1996 at age 67.

Judy Garland and Mickey Deans (1969-1969)

Somehow Judy’s final marriage was the shortest of all — because of her tragic passing.

Having first met in three years prior, she dated Mickey until they finally tied the knot in March 1969. Just three months later, she was found dead.

Mickey died July 11, 2003 at age 68.