Chances are, you've never heard of Frances Ethel Gumm, but you might just know her by another name, Judy Garland. Judy was a well-known movie star during her era. She wasn't only a popular from acting; she was an above ordinary songstress and winner of a Grammy Award. But despite her amazing accomplishments, Judy's life was sad and filled with fake smiles, prescription drug abuse, and a repeated desire to end her life. Six months before she turned three, she started acting with her big sisters, Jimmie and Susie. At 13, she was under contract for her first film. At age 47, Judy died.

See how she started far away from Hollywood and found her way back home>>

Her Mother Had Her Own Plans For Her Life

The early success that Judy had was not so much a matter of chance as it was a result of her mother's ambition. Ethel Marion Milne Gumm, who used to be a vaudeville entertainer, but wasn't particularly talented, forced her daughters to get into the entertainment business to earn tons of money. She realized when her daughters were young that Judy was the most talented, so she expected her to go the farthest and highest in the business. She paid particular attention to her. Ethel, of course, did not become as famous.

Physical Manipulation Begins

Judy started touring the U.S. singing solo. Ethel, her mother, gave her sleeping pills starting at age ten so that she would sleep while they were traveling. She showed no regard for Judy's health or mental well-being. Her mother only thought about making cash and Judy being alert to be able to perform at the next stop. Sources said that Judy remarked that the real "Wicked Witch of the West" was her mother, referencing the evil character in one of her movies known best by people - The Wizard of Oz.

Her Mother Stuck To Her Game Plan

In '67, while doing an interview with Barbara Walters, Judy had revealed that her mom Ethel was an unkind showbiz mother and that she was envious of Judy because she herself lacked talent. Judy related how her mother would stay by the wings, and if Judy did not feel well, she would threaten to wrap her around a bedpost and break off a piece of her if she didn't get out on stage and sing. Well, parents should always care for their children, and in the case of Judy, it seemed the opposite.

Finally, Success!

When Judy was 13 years old, she was placed under a contract with MGM after she auditioned with Louis B. Mayer, one of the founders of the movie studio. He was simply floored by how enchanting her singing was and did not need a screen test. Judy was, of course, also a pretty girl with her sparkling eyes and brown hair. The contract was immediately signed and that was the breakthrough that Judy's mother was working to achieve. However, it was not the wonderful dream she had hoped for, but a nightmare coming to life.

They're Like Her Mother Times One-Thousand!

MGM was cruel. Not wanting Judy to be above a certain weight, they regulated her food intake. Frequently, she was denied optimum nutrition, resulting in her always being hungry. And not wanting to displease them, she went along with what they were doing. Let's not forget her mother's nagging threat that she would tie her on a bedpost and break a piece off of her! The studio's treatment toward her resulted in Judy never being secure about how her body looked her whole life through. What an utter nightmare to live in!

A Manipulation Of Another Kind

MGM didn't only deprive Judy of food; they had caused her to be dependent on drugs that lasted her whole life. Apparently, the studio frequently forced its stars to their uttermost point. So Judy, at times, would work six days a week for eighteen hours each day.  MGM, as it turned out, gave the teen prescription drugs to ensure that she could keep on working, and remain slim also because her looks were the key to success, apparently. They gave her amphetamines to remain alert, then sleeping pills to come back down.

She Tried To Be Normal But They Threw Her Back In

After Judy died, Roger Ebert, the movie critic, did a write-up about her acting for the musical, A Star Is Born, released in '54. The critic recounted how a lady who was employed in the team that produced the movie, revealed that Judy was made to work extremely hard. He revealed that when the movie's filming started to fall behind schedule, Judy was made to take medications again, notwithstanding that she had been drug-free at the start of filming. Judy, nonetheless, had to put on a smile for the cameras.

Why Did They Do It?

MGM used what they termed 'a solution' going back to ten to fifteen years in the past. The drill was that if Judy was in danger of not being able to maintain her energy level for the long hours, they'd give her tablets. The studio hadn't evolved beyond their old tactics of mistreating their stars and behaved as if they were merely living and breathing properties to manipulate. So they sped her up and slowed her down at will, running her like you would a wind up a clock or a puppet.

A Decades-Old Case of #MeToo

As if her other problems with the studio weren't bad enough, author Gerald Clarke, who penned, Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland explained another matter about Judy's horrible life. The story, printed on The Seattle Times, that another problem Judy had at MGM was that the starlet was intimately harassed by studio people. As soon as she turned 16, various people kept making physical advances towards her. Such behavior was sheer child abuse! Judy didn't like their behavior but didn't know how to speak up as a teen. She must have felt powerless.

He Wouldn't Keep His Hands To Himself

Judy was writing her memoir but didn't finish the Random House book. Gerald Clarke discovered it while doing his research for his biography. In it, Judy reveals how men Studio honcho Louis B. Mayer would pay tribute to her singing by putting his hand on her left breast while pretending to be physically connecting to her heart! If only she could have stood for herself or have her family do it for her, she could have hired a lawyer and bring the matter to justice. But, she was unlucky and all alone.

Just Say No

Based on what Mayer would do to her when he had the chance to, Judy frequently said to herself that she was fortunate she did not do singing using another part of her body. He'd probably touch her there too and make his comment. It was clearly a grave personal abuse! She chafed under the situation for years, and finally felt brave enough to call a stop to his behavior at 20 years old. In her memoir, she said that Mayer was in tears when she did so. He claimed that he loved her.

An Attempt to Force Her To Give In

Judy said she was ill-treated by one more studio bigwig at least. She did not say who he was but said that when she did not accept his proposition, he gave a loud, piercing cry, and tried to bully her by saying he'd ruin her career and make her pliant if in life it was the last thing he achieved. That's an old tactic used by people who proposition women when they have a position of power over them. Many women have had to get an attorney in order to fight for this!

He Loves Me ...

So in need of love, Judy wed five times. The first time was in 1941 when she was 19. She became David Rose's bride. He was a composer. Both MGM and her mom attempted to stop it from taking place because they were worried about the effect of marriage on Judy's public image. So the couple went to Las Vegas and eloped. However, the marriage lasted only three years. In 1944, they filed for a divorce and Judy was single again, exactly how her image makers wanted her to be.

He Loves Me Not ...

Judy didn't remain single for very long. One year later, she married husband number two, a director named Vincente Minnelli. Judy gave birth to a baby girl they named Liza, who later in life became an actress like her mother and a big hit on Broadway. Hopefully, she did not get the same treatment her poor mother did. Despite becoming parents, this marriage also quickly fell apart. In 1951, Judy and Vincente got a divorce.  The reason behind this was partly because Vincente was attracted to men. What a turn of events!

Third Time's The Charm?

Again one year later, in 1952, Judy got married to Sid Luft. Sid was a businessman. This union produced two kids - Lorna and Joey, so it seemed to be a happy situation. However, another divorce came Judy's way during 1965. It was her third this time. Judy said that Sid was abusing and beating her, so she didn't want to remain in the union any longer. And she already had more than enough of people’s abusive behaviors by then. But he said this wasn't true and there were other circumstances at play in the marriage that made it no longer possible.

Still Another Chance At Love

Judy was so unlucky in love. She thought she had picked a good match with her fourth husband, Mark Herron, this time, an actor like she was. Eventually, she claimed that he beat her as well;  and the two separated after only a few months of togetherness. It so happened that just as in the matter with Vincente, Mark also wanted to be with men. We bet that Judy had never imagined that her partner's infidelity (for the second time) would involve the opposite gender! Later in his life, Mark formed a long-standing bond with another actor.

This Time, Perhaps?

Amazingly, Judy married for the fifth time. She felt she had finally found the right one. He wasn't secretly interested in men, and he seemed to really love her. Friends hoped that this would finally be "it" for Judy. There'd be no cheating and they'd both be happy. Only three months later, Mickey Deans, her spouse, came across her dead body lying in the bathroom they shared. He never got married again, choosing instead to stay faithful to her memory. And just when you think life has smiled upon you this time, tragedy strikes.

Made To Delay Motherhood

Judy became a mother to three kids eventually, however that was later on in her life. Vanity Fair exposed that the first time she was with child, she was 19 years and married to her first husband, but the pregnancy was terminated. It wasn't something that she wanted to do, as she wanted her baby. But although abortion was illegal at the time, Judy's mother and MGM made all the preparations, and the procedure was done quietly. Since marrying was already damaging to her image, becoming a mother must have been even worse according to them.

Other Starlets Were In The Same Boat

In Hollywood during that period, quiet abortions were commonly done like a type of birth control, because film studios did not wish to have the facade they had built up about the stars as intimate symbols, ruined.  In Judy's situation, they didn't want her as a feminine symbol but wanted to portray her as a child star for a longer time. A fair number of Judy's peers, like Ava Gardner and Bette Davis, had allegedly undergone abortion procedures also to retain their profession in acting. What a cruel environment to live in!

"If Only I Could Do It All Over Again ..."

As it happened, Sid Luft, while he was her boyfriend, encouraged her to terminate a pregnancy in 1951. Yes, they had their wedding after a while, but they were then married to different persons and having an affair. Sid said concerning the abortion, that his thoughts were for her profession. However, he came to be filled with regret after a while (well, that did not do much good, did it?). The businessman's autobiography called Judy and I, and published by way of The New Yorker, included Sid describing himself as not sensitive and not justified.

They Make It Look So Easy In The Movies

Maybe it was because she didn't have the benefit of a solid maternal role model, that Judy experienced relations with her kids that were somewhat unstable. Joey Luft, Judy's son, said in an interview that as a mother, Judy gave her love, however, she was fighting a drug addiction that made her behavior unpredictable. He added that sometimes, her behavior was odd, therefore he asked his father if she was sick, and he spelled it out for him.

The Pendulum Swings On Her Emotions

Liza Minelli, Joey's sister, related how their mom would go through sudden extreme mood changes, affecting the kids. So if she felt elated, it wasn't a regular elation, but she was supremely elated. On the other hand, when she felt down, it was deeper in the depths of sadness than other regular folks. It was amazing that no one seemed to have offered Judy drug counseling! Liza added that Judy would go from extreme love fits and into loud high-pitched yelling at the kids.

Her Emotional Needs Were High

One of Judy's daughters, Lorna Luft, revealed that apart from being sweet and amusing, Judy was marred. She added that the world did not provide enough attention or love to rescue her mom and that she was the only one that could've done that job. Lorna was deeply and negatively affected by her mother's behavior. She wanted her to be alright and for more stability to be present at home. Family counseling is designed to help families like these, which apparently Judy and the kids did not have.

The Problem Existed For A Long Time

Judy's injurious experiences as a child, along with her reliance on drugs, resulted in a large amount of unrest in her life as an adult. Judy and I, a book by Sid Luft her former husband, described Judy's emotional unpredictability. The New Yorker recounts that based on Sid's memories, Judy took revivers and tablets for diet and weight loss so as to keep a slim size for the camera, a compulsion remaining from the times in her life when MGM took meals away from the teen starlet.

It Had Become A Self-Imposed Manipulation

Sid stated that Judy was not taking the tablets only because she had a warped view of herself physically, but that it was additionally a convenient explanation for her to continue on the drugs she had gotten so accustomed to taking since she was a child. She had no self-confidence without them. Judy actually admitted that she did not find it possible to maintain a work mindset before the camera unless she had taken medicine of some sort.

Hooked

To compound matters, Judy experienced depression after giving birth and was prescribed additional medicines that she took with the ones she had personally sought for herself. Sid believed he was able to help his spouse control her need for drugs. He said he never thought of her as being ill clinically, but was very concerned that something terrible had befallen the sparkly, highly intelligent lady he adored. Sid was concerned about what one saw beyond Judy's perfect smile.

Life Begins To Fall Apart

Judy's actions were destroying her. But they did not stop her from using drugs. MGM released her from her employment with them in 1950 and following this, two times, she had tried to commit suicide. This was during the period when she was married to husband number two, Vincente Minnelli. Her despondency took a toll on the relationship and played a huge role in causing the eventual divorce. In such cases, couples therapy can be of great benefit, but it is uncertain whether or not this was pursued.

Life Lost Its Value & Meaning

While Sid Luft's wife, Judy slashed her own throat. He found her in their bathroom. People magazine wrote that in the book Judy and I, he expressed being shocked that she would take pills that would drive her to try to kill herself. In another attempt, Judy slit her wrists, then while copiously bleeding, she calmly showed them to her spouse. Indeed, Judy was in dire need of depression treatment.  A Los Angeles Times obituary stated that Judy attempted suicide on twenty occasions during the thirteen years of that union.

Attempting To Create Their Personal Swan

The Independent reported that one of the directors who did work with Judy, Charles Waters, made reference to her as the industry's ugly duckling, who they were always trying to make into a beautiful swan through their cruel methods. He said the things the studio did to her were harmful to her well-being, making her insecure about her looks when she otherwise wouldn't have had it. She didn't get positive reinforcement about herself as a teen, only negative. He felt they did her permanent damage.

Putting A Positive Spin On Life

Despite reports in the media that said the opposite, Judy kept stating that she wasn't unhappy; well not in 1960. According to Parade, during a recorded chat with Herbert Kretzmer, which was referenced in a publication Judy Garland on Judy Garland: Interviews and Encounters, Judy said she was tired of being seen as mentally disturbed and in a state of depression. She insisted that her life wasn't tragic and that she was always laughing at life and her circumstances.

Positive Spins Run Dry

By the time it got to '67, Judy's vivaciousness was declining. Parade had also stated that Judy divulged to McCall that life had been very difficult for her. She said it was very tough being her and having to live with herself; adding that she couldn't image a meaner existence than what she had endured. Behind all the fame, glamor, fortune, and cosmetics, Judy was apparently very deeply hurt and disturbed all throughout her life.

Life Begins To Tank

As her career neared its end, Judy's money and popularity were steadily reducing. By way of Star Tribune, Lorna Luft, Judy's daughter, noted in Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir, that by the time the middle of the '60s came around, her mother was as broke as a homeless person. For a fee of only $100 per night, she sang in bars. At this time, Liza Minnelli, her first daughter, was starting to have success in her career, and she assisted with Judy's financial needs.

A New Lease On Life, But An Old Millstone Brings Her Demise

Around the period that she died of accidentally ingesting too high a dosage of barbiturates, Judy's career was composed of acts here and there. But she seemed to be more content then than she did for quite some time. Friends said she had appeared to be in high spirits with good mental health the evening prior to her being discovered dead. She'd also wed Mickey Deans recently. The Los Angeles Times said that Judy was ecstatic with the union, saying that finally, she had all that she'd always desired, and was at last loved.