Lorna Luft, the daughter of Judy Garland and producer Sidney Luft, and half-sister of Liza Minnelli, was born in 1952 in Santa Monica, California. According to her autobiography "Me and My Shadows" (1998),she and her younger brother Joey Luft lived an idyllic childhood in Bel Air, oblivious to the problems her mother's ongoing drug addiction and parents' marriage may have posed.
By the time she was 12, her parents were divorced, and she was forced to confront her mother's serious drug problem head-on. Despite this, she remained devoted to her mother, administering her medication, monitoring her intake, and dealing with her erratic behavior. Eventually, however, she could no longer cope and had a mental breakdown.
After a painful period, she and her brother left their mother and went to live with their father. Several months later, Garland overdosed and died. Lorna was devastated and filled with guilt, struggling to come to terms with the inevitability of her mother's death.
Lorna followed in her mother's and sister's footsteps into show business, becoming a professional singer. Although she never achieved the same level of success as her mother and sister, she appeared on Broadway in "Promises, Promises" and "Snoopy", and in summer stock productions of "Grease" and "Guys and Dolls".
She also made a few films, including "Grease 2" (1982) and "Where the Boys Are" (1984),as well as small appearances in "Studio 54" (1998) and "My Giant" (1998). In 1985, she took a supporting role in the sitcom "Trapper John, M.D." as a nurse, but the show ended its seven-year run after a year and a half.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Lorna struggled with cocaine addiction, but is now drug-free. She has also had to confront her sister Liza's drug addictions, helping her get into the Betty Ford Center. Lorna was married to rocker Jake Hooker, who later became her manager, but the marriage was unhappy and they are now divorced.
She lives in California with her children and second husband, musician Colin Freeman. Currently, plans are underway for a miniseries based on her book, with Lorna serving as executive producer on the project.
