JUDY Garland is remembered by many as the girl with the cute pigtails and gingham dress who was following the yellow brick road in Wizard of Oz.
But in the years that followed the former child star spiralled into drug and alcohol abuse – we take a look at how the iconic star died…
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How did Judy Garland die and how old was she?
Judy Garland was found dead in the bathroom of the London home she shared with her fifth husband Mickey Deans on June 22, 1969.
She was just 47-years-old.
According to the coroner, Judy died of an accidental overdose of barbiturates, saying no evidence suggested she had died by suicide.
Her funeral took place five days later in New York on June 27, 1969 where an estimated 20,000 people lined the streets to pay their respects.
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Did Judy Garland struggle with addiction?
Judy had a turbulent personal life and was plagued with substance and alcohol abuse issues throughout adulthood.
Appearing on This Morning, her daughter Lorna Luft, 66, told how she believes her musical icon mother would have died later had it not been for the ‘stigma’ and lack of education surrounding drug addiction in the 1960s.
She said: “We have so much education about the world of addiction and it’s so prevalent in everybody’s life right now – and the stigma has been taken off. It’s okay to say “I have a problem” and back then it wasn’t.”
Was Judy Garland still performing leading up to her death?
Toward the end of her life Judy played solo concerts in part to pay off the thousands of dollars in back taxes she owed to the IRS.
These shows were often marked by erratic performances and hostile audiences, angered by Judy taking the stage sometimes hours late.
“It took drugs … to get her back to a level place where you could have a conversation with her, where you could get her to sign checks, sign contracts, talk about business,” her manager Stevie Phillips told Inside Edition of the star’s later years.
Judy’s last performance was Copenhagen, Denmark in late March, 1969.
