Dame Elizabeth Taylor is movie star and Hollywood legend, famous for her movie roles and her tumultuous personal life. Taylor personifies the phrase 'movie star' and has been a pop culture icon since she hit the silver screen as a child star and through her reign as a grande dame of Hollywood.
Update: Elizabeth Taylor passed away on March 23, 2011 at a Los Angeles hospital, after being hospitalized for hearly a month. The film star, who had a history of health problems, died at the age of 79.
Elizabeth Taylor Child Star
Elizabeth Taylor was born in England in 1932 and relocated to Los Angeles along with her family in 1939. She signed with MGM in 1942 and was a successful child star, with movies to her credit including Lassie Come Home (1943), Jane Eyre (1943), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), National Velvet (1944), Courage of Lassie (1946) and Life with Father (1947).
Elizabeth Taylor Movie Star
Elizabeth grew up to become one of the most desired women in Hollywood. As a young actress, Taylor was a true beauty with violet eyes and a show-stopping figure. In a tribute by the late Paul Newman, which was broadcast on Turner Movie Classics (TCM), Newman credited Taylor's ability to bring her emotions to the surface for her success as an actress. Newman and Taylor starred in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof together. Paul Newman a Movie Star and Philanthropist
At the age of 18, Elizabeth Taylor portrayed the engaging young bride in 'The Father of the Bride' (1950).' Taylor portrayed a young woman in love and engaged to be married. Her father, portrayed by Spencer Tracy, was wrapped around her little finger as the family made wedding plans. It was during this period that Elizabeth Taylor married her first husband, Nicky Hilton, of the Hilton Hotel family.
In A Place in the Sun' (1951), Taylor showed passion and vulnerability in her role of a wealthy young woman in love with a conflicted, social climbing young man portrayed by Montgomery Clift. The actress and actor formed a long- lasting friendship while filming this movie.
Taylor played a serious role in 'The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), by F. Scott Fitzgerald.The Last Time I Saw Paris - a Post WWII Love Story In 1954 Taylor also portrayed an heiress in Rhapsody and a plantation owners wife in Elephant Walk
Taylor started to receive critical raves for her work in the movie Giant (1956) and Raintree County (1957). She received her first Oscar nomination in Raintree County, as a southern belle who went mad during the Civil War era.
In Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Taylor scored a triumph as Cat, the wife of Brick Pollit portrayed by Paul Newman. It was during the filming of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof that she experienced a tragic loss. Her third husband, Mike Todd, was killed in an airplane crash and Taylor was in mourning for her husband during the filming of the movie.
Taylor went from grieving widow to scarlet woman by the time Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was released. The actress notoriously stole the husband of her best friend, Debbie Reynolds. Eddie Fisher became Taylor's fourth husband.
It was during the filming of Cleopatra that Taylor met Richard Burton. While portraying Cleopatra and Marc Anthony, Taylor and Burton had a love affair that ended both of their marriages. As an acting couple, Taylor and Burton were in The V.I.P.s (1963), The Sandpiper (1965) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). The couple married in 1964 and divorced in 1974. They remarried in 1975 for one year.
Elizabeth Taylor was married to politician John Warner from 1976 to 1982. She married Larry Fortensky at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch in 1991. Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson were close personal friends for many years. Taylor appeared in an Oprah Winfrey interview with Jackson and stated that although they appeared to be a mismatch, the two had a lot in common, including experiences as child stars and a history of abuse. King of Pop Michael Jackson Remembered on Oprah Winfrey Show
Elizabeth Taylor had four children. During her marriage to Michael Wilding (1952-1957) she gave birth to Michael Jr. and Christopher. She had a daughter, Liza Todd, with her third husband Mike Todd. She adopted Maria, a German orphan, in 1964.
Elizabeth Taylor Oscar Nominations and Wins
Elizabeth Taylor was nominated for the Oscar by the Academy Awards five times. She won Oscars for her performances in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966). She was nominated for her performances in Raintree County (1954), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly Last Summer (1959) according to IMDb.
