Liza Minnelli to Discuss Parents' Legacy on Turner Classic Movies

Hollywood icon Liza Minnelli - whose brilliant career has earned her an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and four Tony Awards - will sit down with Turner Classic Movies (TCM) host Robert Osborne for PRIVATE SCREENINGS: Liza Minnelli, an in-depth interview special slated to premiere Saturday, Dec. 11, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). Rather than focusing on Minnelli herself, this special will take the unique approach of centering on the lives and careers of Minnelli's legendary parents, Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli. In conjunction with the premiere, TCM will pack two nights (Dec. 11-12) with films starring Garland, directed by Vincente Minnelli and/or starring Liza Minnelli.

"Liza Minnelli has a perspective about Hollywood unlike anyone else," says Osborne. "She is an Academy Award-winning actress with parents who both were also Oscar winners (Judy Garland in 1939 and Vincente Minnelli in 1958). Her playground was soundstages, where she watched her parents and other film icons work, so she has insights into their world, which became her world. Her story is at once fascinating, dramatic and touching and has never been extensively told before. We're very excited to be able to devote two nights to celebrating the lives and work of this extraordinary family."

Among the memorable films slated to air Dec. 11-12 in conjunction with PRIVATE SCREENINGS: Liza Minnelli are Cabaret (1972), An American in Paris (1951), Gigi (1958), The Pirate (1949) and an Essentials screening of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), hosted by Robert Osborne and Alec Baldwin. Also featured on the schedule are The Clock (1945), Madame Bovary (1949), The Bad the Beautiful (1952), Home from the Hill (1960) and A Matter of Time (1976), as well as the 1987 documentary Minnelli on Minnelli.

Liza Minnelli was born in 1946 and wasted little time in getting in front of the camera. She appeared in the 1949 film In the Good Old Summertime, starring her mother. She was then seen as a wedding guest in the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz comedy The Long, Long Trailer (1954), directed by her father. But unfortunately her scenes wound up on the cutting-room floor. Blossoming into a vibrant young woman, she co-starred in Albert Finney's Charlie Bubbles (1967), followed by The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), which earned her an Academy Award nomination; Tell Me that You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970); and Bob Fosse's Cabaret (1972), which earned her the Oscar for Best Actress. Minnelli's subsequent film credits include Martin Scorsese's New York, New York (1977); the comedy blockbuster Arthur (1981); and, most recently, Sex and the City 2 (2010). Minnelli is equally famous for her energetic stage and television performances in such concerts as Liza with a "Z" and Liza's at the Palace.