Liza May Minnelli

She is the daughter of actress and singer Judy Garland and Garland's second husband, film director Vincente Minnelli. In 1972, Liza Minnelli won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Cabaret and two of her records have been certified gold.

Minnelli was born in Hollywood, California into a well known artistic family; her maternal lineage had entertainers in the family going back six generations. Her famous mother, Judy Garland, had legendary success in film and in music, and her aunts had been part of a singing group, "The Gumm Sisters", with her mother. Her father, also from a theatrical family including circus performers, was acclaimed MGM film director Vincente Minnelli. Her godparents were Ira Gershwin and Kay Thompson.

Although her first appearances were with her superstar mother, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli has been able to step out of her mother’s shadow to establish a substantial career as a performer. She first attracted critical acclaim for her dramatic performances in the movies The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970). Minnelli rose to international stardom for her appearance as Sally Bowles in the 1972 film version of the Broadway musical, Cabaret, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Minnelli became one of the most versatile, highly regarded and best-selling entertainers in television, beginning with Liza with a Z in 1972, and on stage in the Broadway productions of Flora the Red Menace, The Act and The Rink. Minnelli also toured internationally and did shows such as Liza Minnelli: At Carnegie Hall, Frank, Liza & Sammy: The Ultimate Event, and Liza Live from Radio City Music Hall.

Liza Minnelli keeping things simple and having fun on 2014 concert tour by Robert Sokol @robertsokol The iconic Liza Minnelli, pictured at the 2014 Oscars ceremony, brings a scaled-down show to Davies Symphony Hall this weekend.

   The iconic Liza Minnelli, pictured at the 2014 Oscars ceremony, brings a scaled-down show to Davies Symphony Hall this weekend.

Some performers are mononyms by design, like Cher or Madonna. Others evolve into mononyms because the sheer force of their talent and personality makes a surname, no matter how celebrated, superfluous. The point will be proven Friday when Davies Symphony Hall is home to “Simply Liza.”

The concert title is unintentionally ironic, since there’s rarely been anything simple about Liza Minnelli. Complexity is in her genes. The triple-threat artist — the child of Judy Garland, one of the world’s legendary performers, and masterful film director Vincent Minnelli — has been in the spotlight since she made her film debut as a toddler in her parents’ film “In the Good Old Summertime” in 1949.

“This one’s called ‘Simply Liza’ because it’s small,” says Minnelli. “There’s only six or seven musicians and me. That’s it!”

She laughs at the suggestion that it could have been called “Unencumbered Liza” when compared with her lavish and Emmy-winning television concert “Liza with a Z” or her many returns to Broadway’s Palace Theater. “Absolutely! But I’m having such fun with this one.” Where's the story? PointsMentioned Map 2 Points Mentioned

She’s having fun with lots of things. She turned 68 this month and is making several tour stops in California. In between concerts she continues her philanthropic efforts, including appearing at a Los Angeles fundraiser last week.

The event was hosted by drag performer Miss Coco Peru and Liza commented online, “Coco and I are going to share an intimate conversation between a couple of girlfriends and raise a whole bunch of money for the LGBT homeless youth.”

Earlier this month, Minnelli had another drag moment, but only by proxy, when Oscar ceremony host Ellen DeGeneres made reference to her as “one of the most amazing Liza Minnelli impersonators I have ever seen in my life,” closing with, “Good job, sir!”

Minnelli shrugged it off, later commenting that she didn’t think the joke landed, as comedians say, and that she didn’t think Ellen meant anything disrespectful on the night when Minnelli was there with half-siblings Lorna and Joe Luft to pay tribute to their mother, an experience she called “so emotional and so thrilling.”

Honoring her parental legacy — the Minnellis are the only Oscar-winning mother-father-daughter clan, among so many other accomplishments — has always been important to the also Tony-winning star. Still, she demurs when asked about what she sees as her own legacy.

“I think you think about that when you think you’re gonna die, don’t you?” She’d rather keep it in the present. “I’m excited about the new show,” she says, “and I’m really excited about coming to you!”