Liza Minnelli’s 10 Best Roles

Liza Minnelli turns 75 today, March 12, and one of the entertainment legends and one of the greatest LGBTQ + icons of all time couldn’t fail to earn a CinePOP tribute.

The owner of an Oscar, four Tony Awards, an Honorary Grammy and an Emmy, Liza is part of the core group titled EGOT – and her performances marked an era and continue to be applauded as being among the best in history. From the well-known and flawless ‘Cabaret’ to its surrender in ‘The Act’, making a list celebrating your best roles is no easy task (but we do our best).

Check out Minnelli’s ten best performances below, be it on TV, in the movies or in the theater, and tell us which one is your favorite:

Created by: George Abbott and Robert Russell

Before moving to theaters, Minnelli made her Broadway stage debut with the musical “Flore the Red Menace”. Starring the titular character, the story rose to fame for featuring a strong heroine and poignant political critiques as it unfolds. Liza’s performance earned her her first Tony Award.

CHARLIE BUBBLES – THE MASK AND THE FACE (1968)

Director: Albert Finney

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“Charlie Bubbles” was not Liza Minnelli’s first leading role, but the first to which she can be given credit. In this British comedy film directed and performed by Albert Finney, Minnelli makes a big impact playing Eliza, a secretary who has a romantic affair with her boss, Charlie – much to his wife’s dismay and hatred.

Director: Alan J. Pakula

In “The Green Years,” Minnelli made his official debut as the protagonist of a feature film – something that would only achieve indescribable fame. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, she brought Pookie Adams to life, a weird and lonely young woman who rejects anyone she considers bizarre. That is, until I met Jerry, whose friendship leads us to understand that life is not just honey, not just salt – but bittersweet.

Director: Bob Fosse

When you see Bob Fosse and Liza Minnelli together on a project, it is very difficult for the result to fall below expectations. Easily the most prestigious role of the performer, “ Cabaret ” cemented her versatile career bringing her as Sally Bowles, an American singer who becomes the attraction of the Kit Kat Club and must face both to his profession, his loves and his ascension. of Nazism.

Director: Stanley Donen

Despite the lukewarm reception from critics, “ The Lucky Lady’s Adventurers ” once again brings out the best of Liza, now playing Claire, a cabaret dancer who helps two men pass booze amid American Prohibition. While the script is too shallow to take seriously, Minnelli does her best with what’s delivered to her – and deserves to be seen alongside Gene Hackman and Burt Reynolds.

Created by: George Furth

Released in 1977 on Broadway, the musical “The Act” brought Minnelli back to her theatrical roots. Here, she brings to life Michelle Craig, a broke movie star trying to make her long-awaited comeback as a singer in Las Vegas. The performance, once again applauded by specialist critics and audiences alike, secured Tony for Best Actress in a Musical.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK (1977)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Paying homage to one of the most famous cities on the planet, Martin Scorsese commissioned “New York, New York” as a tribute to musical, jazz and his homeland. Here, Liza co-starred with Robert De Niro, both living in a duo of musicians and lovers who married soon after the end of WWII.

ARTHUR, THE MILLIONARY SEDUCER (1981)

403117 01: Actor Dudley Moore poses with actress Liza Minnelli on the set of the movie “Arthur”, circa 1981. Moore, 66, died on March 27, 2002 in Plainfield, NJ. Moore suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy, a disease similar to Parkinson’s disease. At the time of his death, Moore had pneumonia. Films like “10” and “Arthur” put him in the limelight. (Photo by Getty Images)

Director: Steve Gordon

Investing effort in her more comedic side, Liza played Linda Marolla in the famed ‘Arthur the Glamorous Millionaire’, opposite opposing names like Dudley Moore and Geraldine Fitzgerald. In the feature film, she plays a poor girl, aspiring to be a writer and tour guide – who takes the heart of the titular protagonist.

L> R: Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera
Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera in “The Rink”

Created by: Terrence McNally

Liza is one of the most important names in the theatrical world, and in 1984 she received another Tony Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in “The Rink”. The story centers on Anna, who owns an ice rink who decides to sell it to other developers – but things get complicated when her lavish daughter, Angel (Minnelli), comes home to reconnect with people and people. that you left behind.

Created by: Mitchell Hurwitz

Proving once again that she could achieve enormous critical and commercial success outside of musical roles, Liza Minnelli lent all her iconic lines to Lucille Austero in “Arrested Development”. Praised for her superb work on the original series and revival, the actress played the worst nightmare and main rival to self-styled Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter).

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