Liza Minnelli and Darren Criss ‘Fell in Love With Each Other’

TL;DR: 

• Liza Minnelli went into show business long before Darren Criss was born.
• Liza Minnelli became close friends with Darren Criss, who was a fan.
• Long before this, her best friend was the designer Halston.

Liza Minnelli is a showbusiness legend who has inspired many people, including actor Darren Criss. He was a fan of the Oscar-winning performer for years. At one point, a friend of Minnelli’s introduced the two of them. He shared that Criss and Minnelli practically fell in love at first sight.

Liza Minnelli has been in show business for years

Liza Minnelli’s mother was actor and performer Judy Garland, and her father was director Vincente Minnelli. Because of this, she has been around showbusiness since before she could walk. Still, Garland wasn’t sure if she wanted her daughter to be a performer.

“I look at my three fine children and wonder whether I would want them to be entertainers, too,” Garland once wrote, per The New York Times. “Applause alone doesn’t sustain you at 3 a.m. when you can’t sleep.”

Despite this, Garland was reluctantly supportive when Minnelli decided that she wanted to drop out of school to pursue a career in theater. She offered the advice, “Watch me, learn from me and learn from my mistakes.” The decision paid off — Minnelli won her first Tony award when she was 19 years old.

Liza Minnelli and Darren Criss became close friends

As a performing legend, Minnelli has picked up a number of close friends in showbusiness. Her longtime friend Michael Feinstein spoke about the people Minnelli considered good friends.

“She’s close to Michelle Lee and she’s close to George Hamilton,” Feinstein told The Hollywood Reporter. “Marisa Berenson’s daughter had a baby, so Marisa — who did Cabaret with Liza — comes to California from Paris quite often. They’ll see each other whenever she’s here. Michael York, also from Cabaret, she loves him.”

A newer friend was Criss, who was a fan of Minnelli for years.

“Recently we had a little party and I introduced Liza to Darren Criss and his fiancee Mia Swier, because Darren is a big Liza fan,” he explained. “They kind of fell in love with each other, so I think Darren will become part of the parties that we have where we have music and just kind of hang out. It’s a lot of fun.”

Liza Minnelli’s best friend was the designer Halston

Years before she met Criss, Minnelli was extremely good friends with the designer Halston. She met him after a friend saw how much Minnelli liked his clothes.

“We got along instantly, and he became my fashion mate,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “I did what he said. He really took care of me.”

She said that she learned how to dress well with his guidance, developing her signature look. Sometimes the fashion was so eye-catching that it made a room go silent.

“I thought, ‘Oh, crap, what did I do wrong?’ and then I looked at the other women, and they had poufs and layers,” she said, recalling a time when she wore a simple purple dress. “I thought, ‘Oh, my God, am I underdressed?’ Then I thought, ‘No, I trust H.,’ so I walked in. And that year I was on the best-dressed list.”