Liza Minnelli surprises fans with dramatic appearance at GLAAD Media Awards

Liza Minnelli has been keeping relatively out of the spotlight as of late, but when she does make an entrance, it’s with a bang.

The 79-year-old icon surprised fans with a rare appearance on Thursday, attending the 2026 GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles.

Liza was presented with the inaugural Liza Minnelli Storyteller Award in honor of her upcoming memoir, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, and her entrance to the stage was filled with dramatic flair.

After an in-depth look at her legacy and impact, narrated by RuPaul, the Cabaret star appeared onstage flanked by an ensemble of dancers, sparking great fanfare and a standing ovation from the audience at the Beverly Hilton.

Liza looked elated and touched by the warm reception and admired the dancers as she sat in a chair in the center of the stage, decked out in head-to-toe black sequins.

Addressing the crowd at the awards, which honors excellence in queer media, Liza said: “I’m so glad to be with you, all of you. You make me proud because you’re strong and you stand up for what you believe in.

“You really do, and it’s so nice to be here with you. I feel like a five-year-old. I didn’t make a speech, so now I’m just rattling away.”

It wasn’t just the star-studded audience that was surprised that night, as Liza was also shocked when she was presented with a cake and the entire room sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her in honor of her 80th birthday on March 12.

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Just two days before the milestone, Liza will release her memoir on March 12. The book will, of course, include reflections on her intense relationship with her mother, Judy Garland, who shared her with her second of five husbands, film director Vincente Minnelli, with whom she was married from 1945 to 1951.

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Per People, in her book, she writes how by age 13, she “was my mother’s caretaker — a nurse, doctor, pharmacologist and psychiatrist rolled into one.”

Documented as Judy and Liza’s complex relationship has been, however, she brushes it off now, telling the outlet: “Everybody has problems with their mother? It ain’t just me and you know it.”

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Judy died when Liza was 23 years old, aged 47, from an accidental overdose while in London, on June 22, 1969.

Liza also has had a well-documented struggle with substance abuse, which she also reflects on in her book, now that she is 11 years sober.

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“If I can laugh, I can get through anything,” she said, adding that her life is “amazing” now, and how she hopes her own candor helps others in their own battles with addiction.

“If I fell off the program, I’d go right back in and fight again,” she maintained, emphasizing: “Don’t give up. There’s good out there.”