'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUI/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgP/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAM3Rw0//xAAdEAACAQQDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAwIEBRESEDFh/9oACAEBAAE/ALXRyfYbs+KVEJKgXT7hnY4j6dDx/8QAFhEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAh/9oACAECAQE/AB1v/8QAFxEBAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgABEf/aAAgBAwEBPwBVhM//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On April 18, 2025, Liza Minnelli made a last-minute reveal on RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 finale. According to Entertainment Weekly, the 79-year-old actress and singer unleashed a short lip sync rendition of her song Ring Them Bells — her first public vocal performance in years.
While the moment was a celebration of her star power, it also highlighted Minnelli's decades-long struggles with health, from neurological illnesses to addiction.
The singer brandished jingle bells while mouthing the lyrics and striking iconic poses seated on her chair. The segment ended with RuPaul awarding her the "Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award," which prompted a standing ovation from the audience.
Minnelli said to RuPaul:
“I don’t know what else to say, except, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be me.”
RuPaul quipped back:
“Well, you made us, actually!”
Minnelli's deep impact on drag culture is evident as four Drag Race contestants have impersonated her on the show's Snatch Game challenge.
More about Liza Minnelli's health struggles
Liza Minnelli's rare appearances in recent years have often sparked concern among fans. As per Distractify, the singer reportedly suffers from dementia, which has caused her to lose some of her cognitive abilities and experience tremors. Minnelli has also been candid about her history of alcohol and Valium abuse, especially in the tumultuous years after the passing of her mother, Judy Garland.
The Cabaret actress's participation at the 2022 Oscars, where she appeared in a wheelchair to present the Best Picture award with Lady Gaga, contributed to the perpetuation of her fragile image.
However, Liza's friend Michael Feinstein spoke to The Jess Cagle Show in 2022 and claimed that Minnelli's Oscar appearance had been "sabotaged". He said:
“Sabotaged. That’s a terrible word to use but she only agreed to appear on the Oscars if she was in a director’s chair, because she’s been having back trouble.
Feinstein continued:
Then literally five minutes before she went on, when she sat in the director’s chair back there, and because I guess they were all shaken up because of everything that had happened earlier (referring to Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock), the stage manager said, ‘Well, she has to be in a wheelchair.'"
He added that Liza's confused stage appearance was partly due to the last-minute change of plans.
Liza Minnelli also urged her fans to take care of their bodies in a conversation with Interview Magazine in October 2024.
“I have one piece of advice: Take care of your body ’cause you might live longer than you expect to. I just keep replacing parts and moving forward. You just deal with it and be happy, and as Dick Van Dyke sang and taught to me, ‘Put on a Happy Face.’ ”
Liza Minnelli also expressed her appreciation for her family and appeared amused at the fact that the public believed certain stories and rumors about her that suggested otherwise.
