EXCLUSIVE: Happy Birthday, Liza! The 70-year-old Hollywood legend is living an 'ordinary' life that includes kicking back with a bucket of KFC and a classic movie on cable but the four-times married star says it's not too late to love again

Shuffling along the aisles at a Ralph's supermarket in Los Angeles few would pay attention to the older woman going about her business.

Dressed in a black t-shirt, sweat pants and sneakers - the make-up free, dark haired lady is barely recognizable as glamorous Hollywood legend and cabaret singer Liza Minnelli.

Daily Mail Online has exclusively learned that the Oscar winner, who is 70 today, has permanently switched homes from New York to LA - and these days lives a slower paced, 'ordinary' existence.

Minnelli, who has battled drug use and alcoholism in the past and completed a stint in rehab last year, is now sober and has turned her back on the fast-pace and sophistication of New York City for a quieter life on the West Coast.

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Laid back: Liza Minnelli has opted for a quieter life in Los Angeles permanently rather than living in New York City and close friend Cortés Alexander says the starlet is much happier because of it (pictured in July)

Birthday girl: Liza turns 70 today and will celebrate with a big celebrity-filled bash at cabaret bar Feinstein's/54 Below in Manhattan (Liza with Cortés Alexander celebrating his birthday last year)

In doing so her close friend and long-time collaborator Cortés Alexander reveals the starlet is much happier.

Minnelli will be celebrating her birthday in Los Angeles with close friends and family, according to her publicist.

Her friend Simon Feinstein is throwing a party in her honor tonight at cabaret bar Feinstein's/54 Below.

The glitzy event - 'Seth Sikes Sings Liza Minnelli' - will see singer Seth Sikes perform some of Minnelli's biggest hits.

But in an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Online, the star's confidante Alexander says Minnelli would much rather be tucked up on the sofa at home, eating fast food and watching cable TV.

He says: 'If you asked her what she really wanted to do on her birthday, she'd want to stay at home with the remote, order some Kentucky Fried Chicken and watch TCM [Turner Classic Movies, the nostalgia movie channel].

'She doesn't wake up every morning and put on a glamorous dress and do her make-up. She puts on a black t-shirt and a pair of jogging pants and sneakers and wanders into Ralphs.

'The part of her personality I wish everybody could see more of is when she has no make-up on and we go to the movies at the Galleria together and eat a big bucket of popcorn and goof around.'

Alexander says Minnelli, who had long been a firm fixture in New York, leads a 'very normal' life day-to-day in LA, but hasn't completely lost the sparkle of yesteryear.

'She sings all the time. If we're in the car we're screaming in the car to Sinatra, like the way they are in Wayne's World with Bohemian Rhapsody, that's how we are in the car,' he says.

She hasn't lost her sparkle: Liza's official 70th birthday portrait shows off her famous smile

Old friends: Alexander (right) attends a press conference in Greece in the mid 90s with Liza Minnelli

Let her sing! Alexander reveals Minnelli sings all the time, especially in the car: 'If we're in the car we're screaming in the car to Sinatra, like the way they are in Wayne's World with Bohemian Rhapsody'

Enjoying life: 'If you asked her what she really wanted to do on her birthday, she'd want to stay at home with the remote, order some Kentucky Fried Chicken and watch TCM [Turner Classic Movies, nostalgia movie channel],' says Alexander

Showstopper: As Liza celebrates turning 70 - she has several honors to her name including an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, one Emmy, two Tony Awards and a Grammy Legend Award

Alexander, a vocalist who has been working with Minnelli since the early 90s, tells how Minnelli's last stint in rehab, which took place at an undisclosed facility in Malibu, California, wasn't a worry.

He explains: 'I wasn't surprised by her going to rehab, and I'm not saying that because I thought she needed it.

'I've been around long enough to see how things like that are like touch ups. If self-preservation is your priority you have to do what you need to do - and if that's periodical check ups, then it's a smart thing to do.

'She's been through some hard times, but you roll with it and you be as good a friend as you can during those times.

'Her sobriety is a private thing. I just try to be there when she needs me.'

Alexander says he 'thankfully' never met Minnelli's fourth husband, David Gest, whom she separated from after less than a year of marriage in 2003.

Love for Liza: 'When it comes to romance never say never with Liza – you never know what each day will bring,' tells Alexander

And although the screen and stage legend, who has no children, has been largely single since, she hasn't ruled out the idea of finding love again.

Alexander adds: 'When it comes to romance never say never with Liza – you never know what each day will bring.

'An ideal guy who would be suited to her would have to be secure in himself. Well, the first thing he'd have to do is to be straight [Liza's first husband, singer Peter Allen, was gay], then he'd have to be really funny, he's got to love music and it would help if he were a snappy dresser.'

Minnelli went through a period when she needed a wheelchair to get around, but since moving to LA and seeing a back specialist Alexander says she's back on her feet and back to full health.

He says the Cabaret star has even started to exercise regularly again, explaining that she regularly puts on a workout DVD devised by her friend Luigi.

Minnelli is also an advocate of former Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner's gender transition to become Caitlyn Jenner.

Alexander recalls: 'I remember when Caitlyn first transitioned, Liza said something really beautiful – "It takes a great champion to face your true self," which I felt was remarkably true and fitting to Bruce and his history as an Olympic champion.' 

Another huge factor in Minnelli's life is the figure of her mother, Judy Garland, who tragically died in 1969 from an accidental overdose at just 47 years old.

While her untimely passing has deeply affected Minnelli, she also manages to see it in a positive way.

Alexander said: 'I think in some ways she would probably be no different to any child who loses a parent at that age.

'But yes there are certain things that will always remind you. She'll be watching the TV and suddenly a movie comes on or a song comes on the radio, it keeps you from being able to get over it, but at the same time it's also a poignant reminder.

'She also had a great relationship with her dad, which is very underplayed.

'Her father was such a great influence on her and gave her the freedom to be a child, to be a kid.

'Liza's dad was very equalizing and made sure she had the freedom to be a normal kid.'

As she celebrates turning 70 - Liza has several honors to her name including an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, one Emmy, two Tony Awards and a Grammy Legend Award.

In 2000, Minnelli was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.