Liza - Born a Star: A Biography

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Biographer of Arnold Schwarzenegger, coauthor of Zsa Zsa Gabor's memoirs, Leigh now turns a pitiless light on the renowned entertainer Liza Minnelli. Born in 1946 to mega-star Judy Garland and gifted film director Vincente Minnelli, Liza was only five years old when her parents divorced. Those interviewed by Leigh remember Liza as worshipful of her father and devoted to her mother--but jealously competing with her for fame. Liza's talent and drive earned her the first of three Tony awards by age 19 and, by 27, an Oscar (for Cabaret ). Needy still, Liza became an emotional vagrant. Her first husband, singer Peter Allen, was a ``brother figure'' to her; with Desi Arnaz Jr., Bob Fosse, Peter Sellers, Martin Scorsese and others, she conducted a series of sometimes scandalous affairs. Drugs threatened to derail her career, but Liza saved herself by a timely stay at the Betty Ford clinic; that constitutes the good news here. Otherwise this volume is more expose than biography, revealing Liza and almost all of her intimates at their worst. Photos not seen by PW. (Jan.)

Library Journal

This tedious, unauthorized biography of Liza Minnelli offers about the same excitement as an entry in a biographical encyclopedia, only it's a lot longer. In a pedestrian, fawning manner, Leigh, author of a controversial biography of Arnold Schwarzenegger ( Arnold , Congdon & Weed, dist. by Contemporary Bks., 1990), drags the reader through the shows, movies, lovers, husbands, triumphs, and neuroses of Minnelli. There is a bibliography of related materials and a curious list of acknowledgments (which include Eva and Zsa Zsa Gabor), but no quote is documented. When Liza decides to tell her own story, interest will certainly be big. In the meantime, this book can be skipped.-- Diane H. Albosta, Episcopal H.S. Lib., Alexandria, Va.

Ilene Cooper

With the preponderance of tabloid reporting, it's difficult for star biographers to come up with much that readers haven't already learned at the checkout counter. Leigh's life of Liza Minnelli offers a few racy items (including one detailing a very public sexual encounter between Liza and Mikhail Baryshnikov), but the book is mostly standard fare, a cut-and-paste job significantly bolstered by interviews. It's best at the beginning, when Leigh takes the time to explore Minnelli's relationships with her mother, Judy Garland, and her father, Vincente Minnelli. By the conclusion, though, Leigh seems to be in a hurry to finish, giving the last several years of Liza's life only 10 pages. Leigh also has the annoying habit of designating almost every male in Minnelli's life as either a father figure or a brother figure. Some of Liza's many men must have been just boyfriends. On the plus side, Leigh does not sensationalize Minnelli's years of drinks, drugs, and discos, choosing instead to temper her subject's excesses with quotes from friends and acquaintances who describe her as loving and kind (though incredibly needy). A survivor story that should elicit interest among fans.