People News

Liza Minnelli not taken in by lavish lifestyle

Mar 13, 2012, 11:40 GMT

Liza Minnelli

Liza Minnelli finds it 'weird' that so many of her showbiz friends have died.

The legendary singer-and-actress was shown a picture of herself with late pals Whitney Houston, Dame Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson by talk show host Rosie O'Donnell and she admitted she finds it strange that she is the only person in the photograph that is still alive.

She said: 'It's weird, It's really weird.'

Elizabeth died last year aged 79 of heart failure, while Michael died in 2009 of acute Propofol intoxication aged 50. Whitney passed away in February aged 48, after allegedly ingesting prescription drugs and alcohol.

Liza - daughter of Hollywood star Judy Garland - added she always felt different from her friends as she was never into 'the pomp and the circumstance' of a lavish lifestyle that wealth and fame made possible.

She added: 'I'd seen all that when I was little. What impressed me was people who were funny and talented and adored life. And that's what I wanted to be like.'

Liza, 66, also talked about her unusual upbringing as the daughter of superstar Judy, who was married five times and had problems with alcohol and financial instability.

Speaking on 'The Rosie Show' - set to air in the US tonight (13.03.12) - she added: 'Mamma always kept us with her, she gave us a choice me, my brother and sister, she said, 'You should have a normal life, and you can. Or you can come with me and we'll do the best we can.'

We all said, 'We're with you.' '

Liza admitted Judy was never a strict mother but she insists she did well at school.

Asked if Judy had pressured her to do well academically, Liza replied: 'No and also I didn't talk about it very much, but I got good grades in certain things, like English and History and Theatre.'