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Born June 10, 1922 in Minnesota, Frances Ethel Gumm, or better known by her adopted stage name, Judy Garland, was born into a family of performers. Judy's parents owned a vaudevillian movie theater where she and her two older sisters would often perform. Judy was just 4-years-old when her family moved to California, and it wouldn't take long for her to become a well-known figure in Hollywood!
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In her early career, Judy Garland would share the spotlight singing and dancing with her older sisters, and The Gumm Sisters would make their first film debut in 1929's The Big Revue. Realizing that Gumm wasn't the most attractive stage name to have, the sisters would adopt the surname Garland in the 1930s.
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The group would break up in 1935 when Judy's eldest sister Mary Jane, later known by Suzanne, married musician Lee Kahn. This would only mark the beginning of Judy's career, however, and it didn't take long for Judy to score a contract with MGM Studios. One of Judy's first big roles came in 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. After considering actresses Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin for the role of "Dorothy", eventually Judy, who was 17 at the time, was cast, and the rest is history!
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After her childhood success, Judy would go on to to find even more in her adult years. Judy’s first big successful role of her adult career would come in 1944 when she was cast as the leading lady in musical film Meet Me in St. Louis. The film would produce three songs for which Judy has become well-known, "The Trolley Song", "The Boy Next Door", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".
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Judy Garland continued to work with MGM until the late 1940s when she began to suffer from nervous breakdowns. While Judy was going through many personal struggles, she would find success with 1946 musical film The Harvey Girls. For her song "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe", Judy would win an Academy Award and was at the height of her career!
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One of Judy Garland's last big roles for MGM came in 1948 with the critically acclaimed film Easter Parade starring Garland and Fred Astaire. The film would be Judy's highest grossing for MGM, leading to her casting in 1949 musical The Barkley's of Broadway. However, Judy's struggle with pills and alcohol began not long after and would lead to her suspension from the film and replacement by actress Ginger Rogers.
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While Judy would take time off to get medical help following the filming of Easter Parade, when she returned to film 1950's Summer Stock opposite the handsome Gene Kelly, she had gained significant weight and resorted once again to taking pills to lose the extra pounds. The film was hugely successful and fans were happy to see Garland back, but it would mark her last MGM film.
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Taking a break from film, Judy spent a good part of the 1950s focusing on her singing, and appeared numerous times on radio shows hosted by her good friend Bing Crosby. Feeling refreshed, in 1954, Judy felt it was time to make her return to film. Self-producing and starring in the hugely successful A Star is Born with her then husband Sidney Luft proved to be too much too fast for Judy though and her anxieties returned.
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Despite her personal issues, Judy Garland continued to produce a number of successful films in the early 1960s including 1961's Judgement at Nuremberg and her final film 1963's I Could Go on Singing. During this time Judy was also working on an autobiography that chronicled her experiences, and although it was never completed, portions have been included in Randy L. Schmidt's 2014 biography Judy Garland on Judy Garland: Interviews and Encounters.
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In addition to film, Judy Garland also took on her own television show from 1963-64, titled The Judy Garland Show. With appearances by stars like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Barbra Streisand, the show was hugely successful and nominated for four Emmy Awards.
Although her time on Earth was short lived, American actress and singer Judy Garland has made an everlasting impression on Hollywood and is remembered for her versatility and endearing personality. In memory of her June birthday, here is a look back at her incredible career!
Enjoy!