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60 free Judy Garland trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Judy Garland trivia quiz follows the girl born Frances Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, from a chorus of 'Jingle Bells' at age two through the Gumm Sisters, the name George Jessel gave her, the MGM audition without a screen test, and the studio that called her its 'little hunchback' and fed her chicken soup and pills. Then the films: the blonde wig they tried on Dorothy, the Juvenile Oscar, Mickey Rooney and the backyard musicals, Meet Me in St. Louis and Vincente Minnelli, Easter Parade, 'Get Happy', the firings from Annie Get Your Gun and Royal Wedding, and A Star Is Born and 'the biggest robbery since Brinks'. The last stretch covers the comebacks and the crash: the London Palladium and the Palace, the Special Tony, Carnegie Hall and the first Album of the Year Grammy won by a woman, the CBS series scheduled against Bonanza, the March on Washington, the Melbourne walk-off, five husbands, the IRS liens, and the London bathroom where it ended at 47. Then the legacy: 'Over the Rainbow' as the AFI's number-one movie song, two stamps, and Renee Zellweger's Oscar. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on every question. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Try our Wizard of Oz and Classic Hollywood quizzes next.
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Q 01What was Judy Garland's birth name?
Frances Ethel Gumm
She was named after both parents and called 'Baby' by the family; the Gumm Sisters became the Garland Sisters in 1934.
Q 02In which state was Garland born?
Minnesota
Her vaudevillian parents ran a movie theatre in Grand Rapids; the family moved to Lancaster, California, in 1926.
Q 03Which song did two-year-old Garland sing with her sisters in her first performance?
Jingle Bells
The Gumm Sisters played her father's theatre for years with their mother on piano.
Q 04Which entertainer urged the Gumm Sisters to change their name in 1934 and later claimed credit for 'Judy Garland'?
George Jessel
Legend says a Chicago theatre once billed them as 'The Glum Sisters'; Jessel gave at least three different origin stories.
Q 05Frances took the first name 'Judy' from a popular song by which composer?
Hoagy Carmichael
The Garland Sisters broke up in 1935 when Suzanne eloped to Reno with a bandleader.
Q 06Which two songs did the 13-year-old Garland sing at her impromptu MGM audition in 1935?
'Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart' and 'Eli, Eli'
The studio signed her on the spot, reportedly without a screen test, then had no idea what to do with her.
Q 07How tall was Garland?
4 ft 11.5 in
MGM had her wear caps on her teeth and rubber discs to reshape her nose; Louis B. Mayer called her his 'little hunchback'.
Q 08Garland got MGM's attention singing 'You Made Me Love You' at whose birthday party?
Clark Gable's
She repeated it in Broadway Melody of 1938, singing to his photograph.
Q 09Garland's MGM 'backyard musicals', starting with Thoroughbreds Don't Cry, co-starred whom?
Mickey Rooney
They made nine films together; Rooney later denied MGM had given her any drugs.
Q 10When Garland ordered a regular meal, the MGM commissary was instructed to serve her only what?
Chicken soup and black coffee
Her weight was healthy, but the studio demanded constant dieting; she said the amphetamines and barbiturates began then.
Q 11Which child star did Louis B. Mayer first try to borrow from Fox to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz?
Shirley Temple
Fox declined, Deanna Durbin was unavailable, and Garland got the part at 16.
Q 12What was Garland initially made to wear as Dorothy before producers dropped the idea?
A blonde wig
Her blue gingham dress was chosen because it blurred her figure and made her look younger.
Q 13Which honour, given to only 12 actors ever, did Garland receive for The Wizard of Oz?
Academy Juvenile Award
It was her only Oscar; the film did not turn a profit until its 1940s re-release.
Q 21Garland was fired from playing which title role in 1949 and replaced by Betty Hutton?
Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun
She was undergoing electroconvulsive therapy and feuding with director Busby Berkeley at the time.
Q 22Which number, filmed last after she lost 15 pounds, did Garland insist on adding to Summer Stock?
'Get Happy'
Summer Stock was her final MGM picture; delays she caused left it $80,000 in the red.
Q 23Which friend brought Judy Garland onto his radio show in 1950, telling listeners 'she needs our love'?
Bing Crosby
Q 14Which bandleader broke the teenage Garland's heart by eloping with Lana Turner in 1940?
Artie Shaw
She married bandleader David Rose the following year, at 19, despite MGM's disapproval.
Q 15Whose first screen appearance came opposite Garland in For Me and My Gal (1942)?
Gene Kelly's
They reunited for The Pirate and Summer Stock, her last MGM film.
Q 16Which three standards did Garland introduce in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)?
'The Trolley Song', 'The Boy Next Door' and 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'
Make-up artist Dorothy Ponedel remade her look for the film and was written into her contract for the rest of her MGM career.
Q 17Whom did Garland marry in June 1945 after clashing with him on the set of Meet Me in St. Louis?
Vincente Minnelli
The director became father of Liza, born in March 1946.
Q 18Which Oscar-winning song did Garland introduce in The Harvey Girls (1946)?
'On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe'
The Clock, her first straight dramatic role, came out the year before; fans wanted her to sing.
Q 19Fred Astaire replaced whom as Garland's co-star in Easter Parade (1948)?
Gene Kelly, who broke his ankle
It was Hollywood's highest-grossing musical of the year and their only film together.
Q 20Who replaced Garland when MGM suspended her from The Barkleys of Broadway in 1948?
Ginger Rogers
She was missing days with migraines, barbiturates and morphine pills; the film reunited Rogers with Astaire.
'And she came out and that place went crazy. And she just blossomed'; eight appearances that season relaunched her.
Q 24At which London venue did Garland say 'Judy Garland was reborn' in April 1951?
The Palladium
She played complete shows as tributes to Al Jolson there and at the Palace in New York later that year.
Q 25For what did Garland get a Special Tony Award after her record 1951 run at the Palace Theatre?
Reviving vaudeville
The engagement was called 'one of the greatest personal triumphs in show business history'.
Q 26Whom did Garland marry in June 1952, her tour manager and later producer of A Star Is Born?
Sidney Luft
They had Lorna and Joey; she sued for divorce in 1963 citing mental cruelty.
Q 27Which medley was inserted into Garland's 1954 A Star Is Born at Sid Luft's suggestion, over Cukor's objections?
'Born in a Trunk'
After first-run engagements Warner cut about 30 minutes; the film still lost money and Garland got nothing from it.
Q 28Who beat Garland to the 1954 Best Actress Oscar, with a TV crew already set up in her hospital room?
Grace Kelly
Groucho Marx wired her that it was 'the biggest robbery since Brinks'; the crew packed up before Kelly reached the stage.
Q 29Which co-star of A Star Is Born later gave the eulogy at Garland's funeral?
James Mason
'She could wring tears out of hearts of rock,' he said.
Q 30For which 1961 film did Garland earn a Best Supporting Actress nomination?
Judgment at Nuremberg
I Could Go On Singing (1963), with Dirk Bogarde, was her final film.