We loved 33-year-old superstar Lady Gaga‘s performance in A Star Is Born, but we can’t say the same for everyone! Liza Minnelli, 73, daughter of beloved The Wizard of Oz actress Judy Garland, who died in 1969 at the age of 47, recently revealed that her mom wouldn’t have been over-the-moon for Gaga’s rendition of the story that has been told four times in movies throughout the years (in 1937, 1954, 1976, and 2018). “She would have laughed,” Liza told ET Online what her mother, who acted in the second version of A Star Is Born, would think of the 2018 iteration. While that may seem harsh – Liza only seemed to be joking. We’ve included a clip of Judy’s performance (above) and one of Gaga’s (below) so you can decide how to feel about the two differing takes.
“And then she would have gotten into it,” Liza admitted about her mother’s potential take on the film. “I can hear her saying, ‘OK, let’s go! Great to the end!” While Judy also acted in A Star Is Born, her character, Vicki Lester, pursued acting, and not only singing, like Lady Gaga’s Ally.
The 1954 version of the movie went on to be nominated for a whopping 12 Academy Awards, including a Best Actress nom for Judy. Like Judy, Lady Gaga also received critical acclaim for her major motion picture debut. The 2018 remake itself was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and won for Best Original Song for “Shallow,” which Gaga co-wrote with Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt.
While we unfortunately won’t ever be able to know Judy’s true feelings about Gaga in A Star Is Born, Barbra Streisand, 77, who starred in the 1976 version, said she “loved” Gaga’s version in a Sept. 2018 interview with Extra. And if Barbra loved it, well, that’s enough for us!