Judy Garland was born Frances Gumm. She got on the stage and stole the show with a rendition of Jingle Bells; She was two and a half years old and was soon known as Baby Gumm. Garland was signed at the age of 13 by Louis B. Mayer to a contract with MGM. She first got noticed by studio executives after singing You Made Me Love You to Clark Gable at a studio held birthday party. Her rendition proved so popular that MGM placed Garland in their all-star extravaganza Broadway Melody of 1938.

At the age of 16, she got the role of Dorothy in the film of The Wizard of Oz (1939), and was forever afterwards associated with the song, Over the Rainbow. After Oz, Garland became one of MGM's most bankable stars. To keep up with a frenetic pace of making one movie after another, Garland (and other young performers) were given amphetamines, as well as barbiturates. She was plagued with self-doubt throughout life and needed constant reassurance that she was talented, in spite of filling concert halls to hear her, high critical praise, and several awards.

Throughout the 40s her films increased in popularity, the most critically and financially successful being the 1944 classic Meet Me in St. Louis. She received an honorary Academy Award for her performance in The Wizard of Oz, and was nominated for Best Actress in A Star is Born.