"But my brother Joey was there, and my sister Tina Nina Minnelli was there"
About this Quote
Minnelli grew up inside a dynasty that functioned like a public utility: always on, always performing, always watched. In that kind of life, family is both refuge and brand. The doubled "Tina Nina" reads like affectionate teasing, but it also signals the way identity gets multiplied in show business. You're not just a person; you're a set of credits, nicknames, relations, headlines. She can't say "my sister" without the extra syllables of persona clinging to it.
There's a subtle insistence here, too: I wasn't alone. Celebrity memoirs and interviews often flirt with isolation, the lonely spotlight. Minnelli counters that trope by anchoring herself in a backstage chorus of kin. It suggests a specific kind of survival strategy in entertainment culture: when your life is perpetually narrated by others, you narrate it back through the people who knew you before the lights, and who can vouch that you existed offstage. The humor is the sugar; the subtext is the need for witnesses.
Quote Details
| Topic | Family |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Minnelli, Liza. (2026, January 17). But my brother Joey was there, and my sister Tina Nina Minnelli was there. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-my-brother-joey-was-there-and-my-sister-tina-81413/
Chicago Style
Minnelli, Liza. "But my brother Joey was there, and my sister Tina Nina Minnelli was there." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-my-brother-joey-was-there-and-my-sister-tina-81413/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"But my brother Joey was there, and my sister Tina Nina Minnelli was there." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-my-brother-joey-was-there-and-my-sister-tina-81413/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.






