Inside The Tragic Life Of Judy Garland

1. She attempted to take her own life twice

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Judy Garland's tragic life was racked with depression. Her depression stemmed from a variety of horrifying incidents in her life which causes emotional trauma, as well as her drug addictions. She would cut herself, and she even attempted to take her life on two separate occasions.

2. She was forced to have abortions

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Judy Garland was not allowed her own free will, her decisions were dictated to her. Even when it came to her own unborn babies. She was forced into having an abortion by those around her, claiming that it would ruin her image as a young aspiring actress.

3. Her own mother forced her to take amphetamines and sleeping pills

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Her own mother pushed Garland into becoming an actress, she would fiercely control every move of her daughter. She moved the family to California in 1926 when Garland was just 10 years old, and pushed to become an actress. She put her on a diet of amphetamines and sleeping pills to make her lose weight.

4. She was sexually harassed as a teenager

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Judy Garland was introduced to the film industry at a young age, and men immediately sought to corrupt her and take advantage. She was continually propositioned and asked by powerful old men to have sex with them. Mayer groped Garland as a teenager and she was also sexually harassed by the actors playing the munchkins as they used to continually put their hands up her dress.

5. She became addicted to drugs at the age of 15

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Garland was addicted to drugs by just the age of 15 years old. Due to her diet of pills made up by her mother, by the age of 15 Garland was totally dependent upon them. Because of this, her health took a huge impact from the sustained drug use her body endured over many years.

6. The studio body shamed her

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To play her role, the studio changed the shape of her nose with prosthetics for no other reason than they wanted her to have a different shape which they thought looked more aesthetically pleasing. They also put her in a corset to make her appear thinner, and monitored her diet which they made sure consisted of chicken soup, black coffee and cigarettes.

7. She was starved in Hollywood

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The bosses at MGM would not leave the topic of Garland's weight alone. Despite being just a girl, they forced her to eat a diet that wasn't even substantial to maintain her health. They would call her ''a fat little pig with pigtails'

and restrict her eating.

8. They also drugged her

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MGM didn't just starve her, they actually gave her drugs and told her to take them. Following on from her mother's instructions, she continued to have drugs pushed on to her. The studio would encourage it so they could make her work for longer hours.

9. She was worked to the bone

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This saying has never been more trye, not only was Judy Garland prevented from eating, she was also worked hours which would never be considered legal in today's world. She would work 18 hour days, six days a week. Her health took a huge battering, both physically and mentally.

10. When she told them to stop sexually abusing her, they threatened her

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Garland was constantly under the control and threats of those powerful men above her. In fact, when she told them to stop trying to coerce her into sex, they sent her messages threatening to ruin her and break her at any cost. The torment and abuse never ended.

11. She was in a huge amount of debt

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Judy Garland had never experience riches. She had the fame, but she had never had the monetary security to come with it. In her final years she actually owed around $500,000 dollars to the IRS. Even her family and friends had to work to help her pay off her debt, including her daughter and friend Frank Sinatra.

12. She was bullied by people older and more powerful than her

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She also endured nasty comments during her work and her acting career. She was called a 'little hunchback' by Myers, the very same man who sexually groped her breast. She was continually facing stigma and body shaming which impacted her mental and physical health.

13. She was plagued by physical illnesses

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Judy Garland had many, many physical illnesses and problems throughout her life and especially later years. She suffered from a variety such as kidney problems, hepatitis, mental breakdowns and physical breakdowns from weight loss as well as injuries sustained from falling due to her drug use.

14. Her drug use caused her hepatitis

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Due to her consistent drug abuse and her her drinking problems over many years, her liver suffered massively as a result. She did permanent damage to her body and she developed hepatitis as a result. She was admitted to hospital in 1959 when she was diagnosed.

15. She had a line of unhappy marriages

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Judy Garland had a string of unhappy and failed marriages. She first married at 19 to evade the control of her mother. She then remarried to man who was having an affair with another man. She then had another unsuccessful marriage before her fifth. Her fifth husband was homosexual. He was named Mark Heron and he abused her. She was only married to her last husband for three months before she died.

16. She was deeply unhappy

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Judy Garland said herself in an interview; ''Do you know how difficult it is to be Judy Garland? And for me to live with me? I've had to do it - and what unkinder life can you think of than the one I've lived?'' 

She lived a life full of control, struggle and deep unhappiness.

17. She died of an overdose

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After learning about the tragic life of Judy Garland which was littered with pills and drug use, it is not so surprising that drugs were the reason she died. She took an accidental overdose when she was just 47 years old, after a life full of addiction.

18. Her father had affairs with young men

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Garland suffered from a completely tumultuous home life. Her father had a string of affairs with young men. These scandals were not something that stayed hidden, and so the family were followed with scandals. Betrayal was of course something that continued to follow her throughout her life.

19. She often couldn't get on stage due to drugs

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Judy Garland continued to perform even when she wasn't physically or mentally fit to do so. But, she forced herself to perform due to the fact she was deep in debt. But she often had to be dragged on stage, or had to leave half way through performances and would be caught slurring her way through as she was so full of drink and pills.

20. She got booed off stage

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Fans were completely unsympathetic to her struggles when they had paid to go and see her performances. So, when Garland failed to live up to the performance that was sold they would often react badly. She got booed off stage on multiple occasions due to her inability to perform.

21. She was found dead on the toilet

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Judy Garland was married to Mickey Deans at the time of her death. As we know, her death was accidental. Many reports claim that her husband found her dead on the floor of the bathroom, however he claims that in reality he walked into the bathroom and she was sat on the toilet no longer living.

22. She hated her mom

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What Garland needed amidst everything else going on in her life was some familial support. But she had none. Her mother was one of the worst in terms of controlling and abusing her. Garland herself actually called her The Wicked Witch of the West and the two had no real relationship with one another.

23. Her daughter thinks she gave up

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Judy's daughter does not believe that her death was related to drug use. In fact, she thinks it was because Judy finally just 'gave up'. She described how her life was so hectic and pressurized and that she was almost like a taut string. When she finally released, she died.

24. She always felt ugly because she'd been told she was

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Because she was told over and over again that she was ugly, she started to think that she really was and this thinking never left her. For the rest of her life, her body image struggles remained due to the fact she had been emotionally abused from being a little girl.

25. She never experienced real happiness

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Her own daughter Liza Minnelli also stated that Judy Garland had never actually experienced true happiness. In fact, she didn't even know what it felt like or what it was. Minnelli claimed in an interview that her mother thought that happiness would mean that life had come to an end.

26. Her mom was jealous of her

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Garland opened up even more about her mother. She revealed ''she was very jealous because she had absolutely no talent. She would stand in the wings...and if I didn't feel good...she'd say, get out and sing or I'll wrap you around the bedpost and break you off short. So I'd go out and sing''. 

Sadly, Garland's life was full of these kinds of threats from not only her mother, but also her bosses.

27. Mayer pretended to love her to emotionally manipulate her

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Mayer, one of her emotional abusers who would frequently try and sexually exploit her, emotionally manipulated her by telling her he loved him when she told him to stop. Mayer tried this tactic before turning to screams and threats to make her quiet.

28. She fell pregnant with another man's baby during her marriage

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While she was married, in an unhappy marriage, she fell pregnant with Sid Luft. The two of them pair did go on to marry one another. However, because she was pregnant before the two of them got married, and they were married to other people, he encouraged her to get an abortion.

29. She struggled to be a mother

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Judy Garland had no motherly role model to look up to. She had no one to model herself on or take inspiration from with her own mothering. Her drug addiction led to extreme highs and lows, even with her children. She would go from extreme love to shouting matches with her children.

30. Her daughter described her as 'damaged'

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Her own daughter Lorna Luft described Garland as 'damaged'. She admitted that her mother had a funny and sweet side. However, she knew from a very young age that her mother suffered from illness and she described that no one could save her, no one apart from herself.