Judy Garland parents: Meet Francis Avent Gumm & Ethel Marion Milne

Judy Garland was an American actress, singer, dancer, and vaudevillian who lived from June 10, 1922, until June 22, 1969. She was praised for a variety of parts during her career, but Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz (1939) is the one for which she is best remembered.

She became a well-known performer on record, on the concert stage, and as an actor in both serious and musical parts. She won a Special Tony Award, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Juvenile Award for her versatility. Garland, for her 1961 live album titled Judy at Carnegie Hall, became the first female recipient of the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Judy Garland parents: Meet Francis Avent Gumm & Ethel Marion Milne

On June 10, 1922, Frances Ethel Gumm was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She was the youngest child of Francis “Frank” Avent Gumm (1886-1935) and Ethel Marion Gumm (née Milne; 1896-1953). Her parents were vaudevillians who relocated to Grand Rapids and managed a cinema theater where vaudeville performances were shown.