Liza Minnelli believes her descent into addiction began at her mother’s funeral.
Liza Minnelli struggled with addiction for years
The Cabaret star “cried for eight straight days” after Judy Garland passed away from an accidental overdose in June 1969, and Liza believes her “final gift” from her mom was inheriting her battle against substance abuse.
In an extract from her new memoir, Kids, Wait Til You Hear This! shared by People magazine, Liza wrote: “I cried for eight straight days.
“Stress and tension overwhelmed me. I was reeling, and a doctor prescribed Valium to help me relax just before the funeral. What began as a one-day blessing soon turned into a habit, then a full-blown case of addiction in the years ahead.
“It was a final gift, a genetic inheritance from Mama I could not escape.”
The 79-year-old singer-and-actress’ sister Lorna convinced her to go to rehab in 1984, but Liza was “convinced” she didn’t have a problem.
She recalled: “When aides asked if I took any medications, I said, ‘Only a few, on weekends.’ The intake guys didn’t bat an eye.
“I’d had a front-row seat to Mama’s demons. But I was convinced I was different. I used cocaine, but so did everybody else. Baby, I had it all under control. What bulls***.”
Less than a year later, Dame Elizabeth Taylor – who was herself newly sober – urged Liza to go back to rehab and take her problem seriously.
She said: “I’ll never forget the urgency in her voice and her words: ‘Liza, this disease is going to kill you if you don’t do the right thing.’ she said. ‘Please, no more lies. Look in the mirror and see what we all see. You look like hell, and you feel even worse. You’re not able to do this alone.’ ”
The Arthur actress checked into rehab again in 2015 and takes her sobriety seriously these days.
She wrote: “One morning, as I reached for my pills before breakfast, I realized that maybe my nine lives were up. I was not even remotely cautious about the medications I was taking, and the world knows what an incautious overdose did to our family years ago.
“I’d be damned if I let that happen to me now.
“These days, if someone offers me a glass of champagne at a party, I thank them, and put it down without a sip. Medication is a different story. I still have lower back pain, and I do get anxious from time to time.
“But the drugs are now strictly controlled. And baby, there’s no going back.”
