Legendary actress Judy Garland may have been adored on screen, but her real-life relationships were slightly more tumultuous.
Known for starring in classics such as The Wizard of Oz, A Star is Born, and Meet Me in St. Louis, Garland was not only a prolific actress but a wife and mother as well. Along with her well-known struggles with depression and substance abuse, the Tony Award winner spent most of her life searching for love, tying to knot five times over five decades.
The Minnesota native married her first husband David Rose in 1941 when she was only 19. The two were together for three years before calling it quits in 1944. Garland subsequently moved on with Vincente Minnelli, marrying the director in 1945. The couple welcomed their daughter Liza less than a year later. Garland and Minnelli separated in 1949 after the Harvey Girls actress’ mental health began to drastically decline.
After multiple suicide attempts and difficult divorce, Garland entered her longest marriage with Sid Luft, whom she had known since the late 1930s. Luft took over the Easter Parade star’s career as a manager, helping to book television specials and shows at Carnegie Hall.
“She was so incredibly talented that I knew she could land on her feet if she had some help. So what if the movies didn’t want her? She could always sing,” the producer once told The Telegraph in June 2001.
Garland and Luft tied the knot in June 1952, welcoming daughter Lorna just a few months later. In 1954, Luft produced A Star Is Born for the movie star, serving as a comeback for Garland. — though the film’s success wasn’t enough to solve all of their problems. While the pair welcomed son Joey the following year, Garland’s struggles with. mental health and suicidal ideation seemed to cloud the couple’s marriage. She and Luft divorced in 1965, and he wrote about Garland’s issues with depression in his memoir, Judy and I: My Life With Judy Garland.
Despite their split — and Garland’s next two marriages — Luft remained the one man in the I Could Go On Singing star’s life that remained a present figure until her death in 1969.
“My father was like a tough guy out of Guys and Dolls and my mother felt that was a lot of fun,” Garland and Luft’s daughter Lorna told Closer Weekly in August 2019 of her parent’s relationship. “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,” she continued. “And she had a temper and wouldn’t say no. So that got interesting!”
Scroll down to learn more about the legendary actress’ five husbands: