Judy: The Life, Legend, and Tragedy of an American Icon

The tumultuous life story of Judy Garland, based on more than two hundred interviews and authorized access to her private papers, by the New York Times–bestselling biographer.

Gerold Frank met with legendary singer and actress Judy Garland to collaborate on her autobiography—but he completed the project alone after her fatal overdose in 1969. Drawn from more than two hundred interviews and full access to her personal records and pictures, Frank delves into the superstar’s troubled life, assisted by the cooperation of her family, her doctors, and her friends in Hollywood.

Still vivid in our memory thanks to films like The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, and A Star Is Born, Judy Garland was an incomparable figure whose outsized talent made her an American icon—and her life story, an American tragedy.

“[A] messy and insatiably involving story. . . . Somehow beyond all the mythology of how a star was born and a cult created, Judy’s consuming presence remains—the insecure charm, the mischievous humor, the guts—all programmed on self-destruct.” —Kirkus Reviews

“When [Frank] digs into the roots of her behavior, he makes more sense than anybody else I have read. He is the perfect Dante for this trip into the underworld, the biographer Judy Garland deserves.” —The New York Times