He also alleged that Minnelli repeatedly beat him. In 2004, Minnelli was sued by M'hammed Soumayah, her former bodyguard and chauffeur, who alleged that he was forced to have sex with Minnelli as a condition for keeping his job. In 2002, Minnelli was sued by Vincente Minnelli's widow, Lee Anderson Minnelli, for elder abuse, refusing to pay housekeeping or utility bills, and allowing her stepmother's Sunset Boulevard house to fall into disrepair. During their divorce, Gest accused Minnelli of repeatedly beating him while they were married, while she claimed he had stolen $2 million. According to VH1's lawsuit, Gest's behavior went 'far beyond the acceptable bounds of show business eccentricity' - he demanded that VH1 pay for his wardrobe, would not allow crew members to sit on the furniture, and repeatedly disrupted filming when he felt he did not look his best. While Gest and Minnelli were married, VH1 planned to air a reality show set in their reality, but the show was scuttled before its debut. Her fourth husband, concert producer David Gest, collects Shirley Temple memorabilia, and Tito and Michael Jackson shared best man duties at their wedding.

Her third husband was Mark Gero, whose father had been the stage manager for her Broadway debut years earlier. Her second husband, Jack Haley, Jr., was the son of the actor who played The Tin Man in her mother's The Wizard of Oz. Minnelli & Allen eventually divorced, but remained friends until his death from AIDS. He was already widely rumored to be gay when they married, and reportedly spent their wedding night with a boyfriend. Her mother introduced Minnelli to Broadway and pop songwriter Peter Allen, who became Minnelli's first husband. She hung out at Andy Warhol's studio, did cocaine and other recreational drugs, and has battled alcoholism for decades. In addition to her lengthy list of performing accomplishments, Minnelli is also perceived as one of the strangest celebrities of our time. She is the only Oscar-winner whose parents were also both Oscar winners. She won an Oscar in 1972 as Best Actress for Caberet, and won an Emmy in 1973 for her Bob Fosse-produced special, Liza with a 'Z'. In films, Minelli is probably best known as Dudley Moore's long-suffering girlfriend and wife in Arthur and Arthur 2: On the Rocks. She has gone on to win three Tonys, including a special award in 1974 'for adding luster to the Broadway season'. Minnelli later starred in the Broadway runs of Chicago and Victor/Victoria. She made her Broadway debut at 19 in Flora, The Red Menace, and won a Tony for her performance. Minnelli sang on stage with her mother as a teen in London, and their album Live at the London Palladium is a double-nova star turn with both singers at their best. She was 18 when her aunt (Garland's sister) committed suicide, and 23 when her mother overdosed on barbiturates. She was five when her parents divorced, and shuttled between them for the rest of her childhood.

The daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, and the goddaughter of Ira Gershwin, Minnelli was raised on sets and in studios, and made her film debut at age 2½, in her mother's In the Good Old Summertime.

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