Liza Minnelli Not Seen in Public for 294 Days: Dementia Fears for Stage Icon, 77, Who is Receiving ‘Round-the-clock’ Care
Tragic Liza Minnelli is locked in a desperate and losing struggle with dementia, friends fear.
The 77-year-old Cabaret legend has not been seen publicly since she stepped out for dinner in September last year, 294 days ago, appearing frail and needing to be held up by two individuals.
Multiple sources close to the Oscar-winning songbird told RadarOnline.com that they fear Minnelli has begun to lose her cognitive abilities.
They said Minnelli — the daughter of Judy Garland — now receives “round-the-clock” care from a nurse at her home in Los Angeles.
“Liza often fidgets, her hands shake, and she looks look horrible,” said the source.
“She sometimes doesn’t know who she’s talking to and has a hard time focusing.”
Another friend told RadarOnline.com that Minelli is “fine” and reports about her decline are overblown.
Minelli also seemed frail and bewildered at the Academy Awards in March last year. It was there she flubbed her presentation of the Best Picture nominees with Lady Gaga.
“Liza rarely leaves the house anymore, so the Oscars were supposed to be such an important moment for her,” said the insider.
“It turned out horribly, though, when she was brought out in a wheelchair instead of being seated in a producer’s char, as she was expecting. She didn’t want people to remember her that way.”
Liza was too sick to travel from Los Angeles to New York City for the funeral.
The source claimed Minnelli has been increasingly cut off from her friends, family, and finances.
“Liza is almost broke,” the insider said, adding the star had previously supported a number of family members who are no longer receiving any help.
“It’s a tragic situation for everyone involved.”
Minnelli lost most of her $50 million fortune to her fourth husband David Gest during a five-year marriage that ended in 2007.
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The friend said that she now lives quietly in a modest home that’s a far cry from the glamour of her younger life.
The 77-year-old singer also caused concern last month when she failed to appear for the opening night of the Broadway musical New York, New York – the play based on the movie and song that changed her life.
"There's no way Liza would miss this unless something was seriously wrong," said an insider in May. "Her health isn't good. She's using a wheelchair and doesn't get out much — and after moving to California, the trip back to New York would have been too much."