Her place was the envy of her Hollywood playmates.
Candice Bergen reflected back to Liza’s wonderland in her memoir, saying that she remembers always asking to go to Liza’s to play dress-up when they were kids.
Vincente and his second wife, Georgette Magnani, took up residence upon completion. With little Liza living there half of the year, he spared no expense.
Vincente absolutely adored his daughter. The child-sized dollhouse in the backyard was not only constructed just for her, it was commissioned by stage and film artist Tony Duquette.
Inside the playhouse, a magical wardrobe awaited.
He commissioned MGM costume designers directly to custom make replica dress-up gowns, just Liza’s size, fashioned after leading women’s costumes in famous movies like 'Gone With the Wind' and 'The King and I'.
In 1999, Lee Minnelli welcomed the Los Angeles Times inside of her intriguing home for an interview. Within the doors, details like python skin-covered foyer walls and a den punctuated with Vincente Minnelli’s Oscar for 'Gigi' greeted the observer.
Lee’s closet, an inventory of designer clothing, reflected the widow’s preferences—Chanel, Adolfo, Givenchy and De la Renta. The closets themselves were vast and accessed through glass doors from expansive dressing rooms. She showed off Vincente’s suite, a large, bright bedroom, preserved since his death.
Lee left everything exactly the way it had been. After 13 years, she didn’t alter a thing.
Even his easel and oil paints were sitting in the middle of the room, just as he had left it after having painted his last stroke.