One of Broadway's most iconic and beloved performers is once again battling the demons of addiction, but 69-year-old Liza Minnelli appears to be doing exceptionally well in her latest rehab effort.
One report reveals Minnelli has checked into a rehab facility to battle her alcohol addiction. She has also spent time at rehab over the decades, dating back to 1984, to deal with her addiction to pain medications.
"Minnelli has valiantly battled substance abuse over the years and whenever she has needed to seek treatment she has done so," said spokesman Scott Gorenstein. "She is currently making excellent progress at an undisclosed facility."
One of the most well-known entertainers in the past five decades, Minnelli has been in and out of rehab ever since an initial injury early in her career as a stage dancer and singer. She's one of the few entertainers who have won an Emmy, Oscar, Tony and Grammy for her versatile acting, singing and dancing skills. She won the Academy Oscar award for her role as cabaret singer Sally Bowles in the film "Cabaret."
Most recently she's been cast in a number of TV roles, and special guest star segments, including "Arrested Development."
The latest rehab stint follows her latest back surgery last fall. That injury prevented her from attending the funeral of comedian Joan Rivers, a life-long friend.
Minnelli's mother, Judy Garland, wrestled with very similar health and addiction issues during her long stage and film career. Garland died from an overdose of sleeping pills in 1969.
Minnelli's first-ever show business role was as a toddler in the musical comedy that starred her mother, "In the Good Ole Summertime," in 1949 though her career didn't take off till many years later as a teenager.
Fame came fast to Minnelli, and not because of her parents and their show business ties. As a 19-year-old she was one of the youngest Broadway actresses to win a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, for her role at Flora in "The Red Menace" in 1965.
