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She didn't have a childhood -

Born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota on June 10, 1922, Garland was already performing by the age of four, joining her two older sisters' musical act at age seven, all at the insistence of their mother, Ethel.

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The Gumm Sisters -

The family moved to California in 1926, with the Gumm Sisters later becoming the Garland Sisters. At 12, Judy was attracting a lot of attention for the soulful belting that came out of her tiny lungs.

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Signed at 13 -

In 1935, she signed with MGM, one of the world's biggest film studios. Hollywood legend says studio boss Louis B. Mayer signed her without even a screen test.

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The beginning of the end -

These early MGM experiences, where the studio wanted to mold her into a profitable box-office star, laid the groundwork for Garland's lifelong struggles with addiction, body image, and mental health.

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Not like the glamorous actresses -

Her on-screen persona began to take the shape of the "ugly duckling," who wasn't pretty enough and often had unrequited crushes.

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Foundations of addiction -

MGM provided drugs to its young performers, giving them amphetamines to help them power through exhausting shooting schedules, as well as "downers," or barbiturates, to then make sure they got enough sleep.

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Body issues -

To add to that, there was constant pressure and comments about Garland's appearance, which involved the studio policing her meals. Even on her birthday, pictured here at Mayer's home, she reportedly wasn't allowed to have cake.

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Sexually harassed at work - Gerald Clarke wrote in 'Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland,' based on notes the star wrote herself from a partial memoir, that from ages 16 to 20 she was approached for sex repeatedly by Mayer himself and other studio executives.

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She felt alone - "My life was a combination of absolute chaos and absolute solitude," Garland later said while reflecting on her adolescence.

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Her first marriage -

The first of Garland's five marriages was at age 19, to composer David Rose. They divorced after three years.

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Second marriage - As her father was reported to be gay, the New York Times reported, "Always drawn to gay men, Garland finally married one, the director Vincente Minnelli, who became her second husband." The director also fathered her first daughter, Liza Minnelli.

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Liza Minnelli's childhood - Liza Minnelli recalled in 1970 that they were constantly moving homes and schools because, she believed, her mother owed money to landlords. While Minnelli enjoyed the company of Hollywood, taking care of her mother's depressive episodes became a regular chore.

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Suicide attempts -

After filming 'The Pirate' (1947), Garland made her first suicide attempt and was forced to enter a sanitarium. When she got out, her behavior was still erratic, and MGM fired her in 1950, leading to another attempt. She and Minnelli divorced in 1951.

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End of film career, beginning of third marriage -

Garland's film career, except for 'A Star Is Born' (1954), a box-office failure, was essentially over. Her third husband, Sid Luft, became her manager and helped organize live performances to keep her afloat.

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Another divorce - After 11 years of marriage and two children, they split. In the proceedings, Garland accused Luft of domestic abuse and dependence on alcohol, and eventually won custody of their two children, Lorna and Joey.

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Her children tried to help -

Liza and Lorna would reportedly empty out three quarters of their mother's sleeping capsules and refill them with sugar.

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Another short-lived marriage -

Garland married American actor Mark Herron in 1965, though they only lasted five months.

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Her fifth and final marriage -

The truth of how Garland met nightclub manager Mickey Deans, 12 years her junior, is not like the movie. According to TIME, they met when he delivered drugs to her hotel in New York in 1966, and they tied the knot three years later in London.

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Contradicting accounts of their relationship -

Some reports claim Garland said of Deans, "Finally, finally, I am loved."

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Contradicting accounts of their relationship -

Other reports, mostly anecdotes from the time, claim that he often forced her to perform in London despite her being too unwell.

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Her London performances were a mixed bag -

Some had grand theatrics, and some were ridiculed and called "seances" because her old magic just wasn't there.

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Overdose -

At the end of her life, Garland was reportedly consuming large quantities of alcohol and barbiturates, as well as up to 20 Ritalin tablets a day. Deans found her dead at age 47, on June 22, 1969.

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It was ruled an accident -

"She let her guard down. She didn't die from an overdose. I think she just got tired," Liza Minnelli told TIME in 1972. "She lived like a taut wire. I don't think she ever looked for real happiness, because she always thought happiness would mean the end."

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One of the first victims to stardom -

As journalist Anne Helen Petersen, author of 'Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema,' wrote: "Garland was the first public victim of stardom, and certainly not the last."

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Shady business - According to Judy Garland tribute artist Peter Mac, Garland's daughter Lorna Luft recalled sharing a limousine with Deans after her mother's funeral in 1969. He apparently stopped at a Manhattan office to strike a book deal just hours after the service.

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An LGBT icon -

Garland was and remains beloved by gay men, though in her lifetime this was framed in a somewhat derogatory manner, whereas now it's nothing but celebrated.

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An LGBT icon -

Garland's funeral in NYC has also been cited, somewhat controversially, as one of the inciting factors of the Stonewall riots. Thousands of fans showed up to pay their respects to Garland at her funeral on June 27, 1969. That night, the Stonewall Inn was raided by police, and the riots began.

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Her legacy lives on -

According to Richard Dyer, author of 'Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society,' Garland came to represent "gay men's resilience in the face of oppression," as a star who had been knocked down only to rise back up again. Pictured is her daughter Lorna at the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative Launch.

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'Judy' (2019) -

Renée Zellweger earned an Oscar for her role as Judy Garland in the 2019 eponymous film which, as you can now see, has only given a narrow view of the end of Garland's life. 

See also: Actors who look like their real-life character

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