On June 10, 1922, legendary Hollywood actress and singer Judy Garland was born, and just 16 years later, she was already hard at work on a movie that would come to define the industry.
Garland began acting in a variety of shorts and lesser-known projects early in her childhood, and by her teen years, she was landing significantly larger roles. However, her undisputed breakout role was as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Garland landed the gig when she was still just 16, which is particularly impressive given what the movie required of the young star.
In addition to the demands of acting in a range of unusual scenes, from getting swept up in a tornado and landing in a far away magical land to being abducted by an army of flying monkeys (all of which was done long before the invention of CGI), Garland had to deliver an emotional classic ballad: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
The song has proven to be as timeless as the actress who sang it, and even several decades later, it remains a cultural touchstone—although The Wizard of Oz has never really left the public eye.
From The Wiz in 1978 and Return to Oz in 1985 to Oz the Great and Powerful in 2013 and, of course, Wicked, adaptations of The Wizard of Oz have been going strong for decades, and Judy Garland’s iconic role will forever be a part of that.
The Wizard of Oz wasn’t Garland’s only major role, though. The star went on to appear in a host of major movies, including, in 1954, a remake of A Star Is Born. Notably, Garland also went on to have three children, one of whom, Liza Minnelli, has become famous in her own right.
Sadly, Garland did have a shockingly short life. In June of 1969, when she was just 47 years old, Garland died suddenly and unexpectedly, reportedly from accidental barbiturate overdose. Despite her early death, though, Judy Garland had a massive and lasting impact that, 104 years after she was born, is still being celebrated.
