Oscar-winning singer-actress Liza Minnelli was discharged Monday from a Florida hospital where she had spent 11 days in treatment for viral encephalitis, a spokeswoman for the hospital, Jackie Weder said.
A smiling Minnelli, 54, left Fort Lauderdale's Cleveland Clinic Hospital in a wheelchair, accompanied by her sister Lorna Luft, according to television images.
Earlier Monday, a publicist for the star, Michael Hartmann, said Minnelli would be in convalescence for a number of months.
"She will spend the next few months recovering from home with attendants," Hartmann said.
Minnelli, who won an Oscar in 1972 for her performance in "Cabaret," was first admitted to the clinic after suffering a stroke on October 8, but was released on October 16.
Three days later she was re-hospitalized, suffering from viral encephalitis, which causes swelling of the brain and is usually contracted through an insect bite.
Her driver and friend Mohamed Coumayah had called for help after she fainted at home, according to an article in the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
The paper quoted an emergency services officer who said she had been found lying on the floor semi-conscious and disoriented.
Minnelli is the daughter of cinema director Vincent Minnelli and actress Judy Garland. In recent years, she has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse and weight problems as well as a two-year voice loss.
She is also reported to have been hospitalized several times earlier this year with hip and back complaints. Hip problems in May caused her to cancel some appearances in a musical tribute to her father, "Minnelli on Minnelli."
Minnelli's musical talents and vivacious acting style took her to the heights of stardom in the 1970s and early 1980s, with, in addition to "Cabaret," "New York, New York," (1977) in which she co-starred with Robert de Niro, and "Arthur" (1981), in which she played opposite Dudley Moore. – AFP.
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