Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm) was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, later becoming one of the most celebrated American entertainers of the 20th century.
Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the youngest of three daughters of vaudeville performers Frank and Ethel Gumm. Her parents operated a movie theater that also hosted live performances, and Frances made her stage debut at the age of two, singing 'Jingle Bells' during a family act.
Recognizing her prodigious talent, her mother pushed the family toward Hollywood, and by her early teens Frances had adopted the stage name Judy Garland and signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). This early start in show business set the stage for a career that would make her one of the defining entertainers of American cinema and music.
Her birth marks the beginning of a life that, despite immense professional triumphs, was also marked by the pressures of child stardom under the studio system, including strict diet and work regimens imposed by MGM. Nevertheless, Garland's innate talent for singing and acting, combined with an emotionally resonant voice, would carry her to global stardom, culminating in her legendary portrayal of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939) just seventeen years after her birth in small-town Minnesota.
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