Minnelli's first film appearance was at the age of three in the final scene of the 1949 musical In the Good Old Summertime, starring her mother and Van Johnson. Minnelli started performing at age 16, in 1963, in an Off-Broadway revival of the musical Best Foot Forward, for which she received good notices. The next year, her mother invited Minnelli to perform with her at the London Palladium. The audience loved her, launching her musical career. She returned to Broadway at 19, and won a 1965 Tony Award for Flora the Red Menace. Minnelli would also receive Tony Awards for The Act in 1978 and a special Tony in 1974. She was nominated in 1984 for The Rink but lost to her costar, Chita Rivera.
The film The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), in which Minnelli starred as a love-seeking teenage misfit, garnered the young actress her first Academy Award nomination. In 1972, Minnelli won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Sally Bowles in the movie version of Cabaret, along with Joel Grey who won an Oscar reprising his role from the original Broadway production (that of the Emcee).
Minnelli has the distinction of being one of the few Academy Award winners whose parents are both Academy Award nominees. She has also won an Emmy Award for the 1972 TV special Liza with a Z. Minnelli received a 1990 Grammy Legend Award. She received Golden Globe Awards for Cabaret and for the TV movie A Time to Live.
Minnelli, like her mother, is known for her powerful vocal style, as in her trademark songs "Cabaret" and "Theme from New York, New York". Minnelli's original version of the latter, for the film in which she was a co-star with Robert DeNiro, preceded Frank Sinatra's successful cover version (for his Trilogy album), by two years.
After her performance as leading lady to Dudley Moore in 1981's Arthur, Minnelli made fewer, and fewer successful, film appearances.
She returned to Broadway in 1997, taking over the title role in the musical Victor/Victoria, replacing Julie Andrews. In his review, New York Times critic Ben Brantley commented, "her every stage appearance is perceived as a victory of show-business stamina over psychic frailty... She asks for love so nakedly and earnestly, it seems downright vicious not to respond."
Following her 2002 wedding to David Gest, Minnelli and Gest signed with the American cable network VH1 to star in their own reality series, but production of the series was cancelled at the last minute.
In 2004 and 2005 she appeared as a recurring guest star on the critically acclaimed TV sitcom Arrested Development as the lover of sexually and socially awkward Buster Bluth.
On January 1, 2006, she sang "New York, New York" at the second inauguration of New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Other famous performances were at the 1978 Studio 54 party honoring New York City's revival, at which a guest was Mayor Ed Koch; the reopening of the Statue of Liberty on July 4, 1986; and at a 2001 New York Mets baseball game that was the metro area's first major sporting event after the September 11 attacks.
In 2013, she guest-starred on the NBC musical drama Smash, where she performed the number A Love Letter From the Times. She also reprised her role in the fourth season of Arrested Development.
Stepping Out
Liza Minnelli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Live Like Legends"
When it rains, it pours
There will be blood in the water
Cold to the core
Faith falls hard on our shoulders
This is our time
No turning back
We could live, we could live like legends
This is our time
No turning back
We could live, we could live like legends
Live like legends
We could live like legends
This is our time
No turning back
This is our time
No turning back
We could live, we could live like legends
This is our time
No turning back
We could live, we could live like legends
Live like legends
We could live like legends
Faith falls hard on our shoulders
But legends never die
The lyrics to Liza Minnelli's song "Stepping Out" speak to the idea of seizing the moment and living life to the fullest. The opening lines speak to the tough times that we all face in life, likening them to a storm, and acknowledging the fact that sometimes, we must wade through difficult waters. However, the chorus then takes an optimistic turn, encouraging the listener to see these challenges as an opportunity to live like legends. As the lines assert, "This is our time / No turning back / We could live, we could live like legends / Live like legends."
The repeated use of the line "This is our time / No turning back" underscores the importance of seizing the moment, suggesting that life is too short for regrets or hesitations. The lyrics urge listeners to embrace their faith, even when it is trying, highlighting the fact that legends are not born out of easy circumstances. As the final lines of the song assert, "Faith falls hard on our shoulders / But legends never die."
Overall, "Stepping Out" is an empowering anthem that speaks to the importance of resilience, courage, and seizing the moment. The song encourages listeners to view life's challenges as opportunities to rise to the occasion and leave a mark on the world.
Line by Line Meaning
When it rains, it pours
Difficult times come and go in waves
There will be blood in the water
Change is coming and there will be sacrifice
Cold to the core
Feeling vulnerable and exposed
Faith falls hard on our shoulders
We are burdened by the weight of our beliefs
This is our time
We have an opportunity to make a difference
No turning back
We must move forward, no matter the cost
We could live, we could live like legends
We have the potential to live extraordinary lives
Live like legends
Embrace our potential and live the best lives we can
Faith falls hard on our shoulders
We will experience setbacks and challenges
But legends never die
Our legacy will live on long after we are gone
Writer(s): Fred Ebb, John Kander
Contributed by Camden L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Teija Flink
Liza is absolutely incredible, the love and pure joy she has for performing just shines. The whole dance group seemed so filled with joy and I absolutely love the different ages and sizes in the dance group, they where amazing.
John Scott
I couldn't agree more! The dance number is pure, unadulterated joy and the girls are all utterly fabulous! So much talent on display 💕
Lyn Harrod
She can dance, she can sing, she can act....She is an ACT!! Brilliant!!
Teija Flink
How both a mother and a daughter can have this much talent, just incredible.
Alexander Pytko
She truly is her mother's(Judy Garland) child.
Summer Tea
Liza just has a love affair with her audience and knows how to entertain them. You can't take your eyes off her for one minute or you might think you'll miss something. I wish I could've seen this show live.
Tina20
Me too.
Ed Halvey
Spot on!
McKenzie Price
I have so much respect for the way she names out her backup dancers (and band) during her shows. Pure class and mutual respect for everyone else who makes her shows with her.
Garry Westwell
Simply outstanding and what a talent Liza has.... Our contemporary wannabe’s should take note of this..... Star quality is something that you are born with and cannot be manufactured at any cost.... Bravo Liza, simply the best xx