Judy Garland

Born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, she began performing as a child with her sisters in the vaudeville group "The Gumm Sisters." She was later signed to MGM as a teenager, appearing in films such as The Wizard of Oz (1939), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), The Harvey Girls (1946), Easter Parade (1948), and Summer Stock (1950). With MGM, she often starred opposite Mickey Rooney and Gene Kelly, and she collaborated with director Vincente Minnelli, her second husband. She won an Academy Juvenile Award and a Golden Globe Award, and she was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, for her 1961 live recording Judy at Carnegie Hall.

After leaving MGM in 1950, Garland continued acting, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for A Star Is Born (1954) and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). She also hosted The Judy Garland Show from 1963 to 1964, which earned an Emmy nomination. In 1962, at age 39, she became the youngest and first female recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. The American Film Institute later ranked her as the eighth-greatest female screen legend.

Garland faced personal struggles from an early age. Physical and mental health issues, fueled by criticism from film executives, led to a substance use disorder that affected her finances and relationships. She married five times, and she died from an accidental barbiturate overdose on June 22, 1969, at age 47.