Liza Minnelli celebrates her birthday today, and she's still going, she's still crowing strong. In honor of her life and career, we look to eight essential Liza performances—from the Oscar-winning to the less familiar.
"Mein Herr" from Cabaret
Already Oscar nominated (and a Tony winner) by the time she filmed Cabaret, this is the movie that made Liza Minnelli into an icon.
"Liza With a Z"
Liza's CBS special Liza With a Z came the same year as Cabaret—and if that movie made her into Liza, this was what cemented her as a concert performer: warm, self-deprecating, and almost careless with her talent (check out that dancing in "I Gotcha!").
"But the World Goes 'Round" from New York, New York
You undoubtedly know her performance of the title song at the end of this 1977 musical (all those sequins and that peach scarf!), but check out this clip of her as big band singer Francine Evans, recording this Kander and Ebb original in one take in a recording studio as the camera slowly zooms in for a close-up.
"Arthur in the Afternoon" from The Act
Liza won her second Tony for The Act, and surely part of that win was attributable to her no-holds-barred performance of this Kander and Ebb classic, which she recreated during a 1980s filmed concert.
"Bad Girls" from Goldie and Liza Together
Did you know that Goldie Hawn and Liza Minnelli did a 1980 TV special together, which culminated in them basically auditioning for the Chicago film adaptation with "All That Jazz"? Look it up. But our favorite Liza moment from that special came earlier, when she delivered a dreamy, memorable take on Donna Summer's "Bad Girls."
"The Music That Makes Me Dance" from Baryshnikov on Broadway
Yes, Liza more than holds her own opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov in the big dance medley of classic Broadway musicals from this 1980 special. But she also blows him away with this Funny Girl song—just watch the admiration on his face as she delivers it the way only Liza could.
"Losing My Mind" from Results
In 1989, Liza released Results, an album recorded with the Pet Shop Boys. One of the singles was a very then-contemporary take on Stephen Sondheim's "Losing My Mind," which came with a video that offers fans plenty of reasons to hit pause—from a tub filled with Polaroids to Liza drawing herself in a mirror with pink lipstick. But no matter how campy the situation (even her hanging laundry in the mountains), she delivers 110 percent.
"Some People" from Aznavour and Minnelli
And of course, we couldn't leave off Liza's hard-charging, "get the hell outta my way, boys!" take on the Gypsy classic. That choreography alone earns it a spot on this list, even if this list could easily have been triple its length.
