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Liza Minnelli Gushes Life With Mom Judy Garland Was Like Living in a “Land of Dreams”
Nearly 50 years after Judy Garland‘s untimely death, her three children, Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft are exclusively opening up to Closer Weekly about their life with the iconic Hollywood star!
“[It was like living in] the land of dreams,” Liza, 71 — whose father was Judy’s second husband, Vincente Minnelli — said of being raised by her famous mom. “She was really amazing,” Joey, 62, told Closer. “And she loved all of us a lot.”
“As long as Mama was there, everything would be fine,” Lorna, 64, added.
Though Judy’s three children lived an extraordinary life with the actress, Liza, Lorna, and Joey also faced many hardships — especially when their mother was struggling with her prescription drug addiction.
Judy with her three children in 1964. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
“There were times when my mom wasn’t acting right, so I’d ask my dad, [Sid Luft], ‘Is she sick?’ and he explained it all to me. It was exceptionally hard to deal with as a kid. I was powerless. She was a great person, but she had that addiction,” Joey told Closer.
MORE: Judy Garland’s Personal Assistant Opens Up About Working With the Troubled Star (EXCLUSIVE)
“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,” Liza said. “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.”
Though Judy’s third husband, Sid — who was the father of her two youngest children, Lorna and Joey — was the star’s primary caretaker when she was struggling, the burden later fell on Judy’s children when the couple divorced in 1965.
“To my mom, taking care of her was part of loving her. Dad would miss us, but he would be OK,” Lorna said of her parents’ split. “My mother, on the other hand, couldn’t get along without us.”
MORE: Judy Garland on Suicide, Drugs and Her Hatred of Hollywood
In June 1969, Judy’s fifth husband, Mickey Deans, found her dead in their London home from an accidental drug overdose. The Wizard of Oz star was just 47 years old. “I think she was just tired, like a flower that blooms and gives joy and beauty to the world and then wilts away,” Liza told Closer. “She lived eight lives in one, and yet I thought she would outlive us all.”
Lorna, Joey, and Liza in 2014. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
“She was funny and sweet and gifted beyond belief, but she was also damaged. There wasn’t enough love in the world, enough attention in the world, to save my mother. No one could have saved her but herself,” Lorna said of her mom’s passing.
“For the rest of my life, I will be proud to be Judy Garland’s daughter,” Liza sweetly added.
For more on Judy Garland and her family, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!
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