PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (July 14, 2026) — The granddaughter of Judy Garland will appear at the Plaza Theatre next month as part of a special screening of “The Wizard of Oz,” the 1939 film that made her grandmother a household name.

Vanessa O’Neil, who runs the Judy Garland Estate’s official social media accounts, will introduce the film and answer audience questions afterward. The screening is set for Saturday, Aug. 22, at 3 p.m. at the theater, 128 S. Palm Canyon Drive.

Vanessa O’Neil

Tickets start at $20 and are on sale now through the theater’s website.

O’Neil never met her grandmother, who died in 1969, two decades before O’Neil was born in Los Angeles in 1990. Her mother is Lorna Luft, Garland’s daughter and a concert performer, actress and author. Her father, Jake Hooker, was a guitarist and songwriter who co-wrote the rock anthem “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

“Grandma died two decades before I was born, but I have always felt so close to her,” O’Neil said. “As I’ve grown up, I’ve had an unwavering desire to connect with those who also share a deep devotion and love for her.”

O’Neil worked in hotel management and later in the fitness industry before taking on a more public role representing her family’s legacy. She has appeared at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, the Academy Museum, the TCM Classic Film Festival and Oz-Stravaganza, an annual festival devoted to the film. She has also appeared alongside her aunt, Liza Minnelli, and entertainer Michael Feinstein at the Million Dollar Theatre in Los Angeles, and represented the Garland estate at The Sphere in Las Vegas with her mother. She has been featured in People magazine and on “The Today Show.”

O’Neil lives in Southern California with her husband, Patrick, a firefighter, and their two sons, ages 10 and 4.