Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor
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Name	Elizabeth Taylor
Caption	Taylor in 1960
Birth date	27 February 1932
Birth place	Hampstead, London, England
Death date	23 March 2011
Death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, businesswoman, humanitarian
Years active	1942–2003
Spouse	Conrad Hilton Jr. (1950–1951), Michael Wilding (1952–1957), Mike Todd (1957–1958), Eddie Fisher (1959–1964), Richard Burton (1964–1974, 1975–1976), John Warner (1976–1982), Larry Fortensky (1991–1996)
Awards	Academy Award for Best Actress (1960, 1966), BAFTA Award for Best British Actress (1967), Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama (1960), Presidential Citizens Medal (2001), Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2000)

Elizabeth Taylor. Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was a British-American actress, businesswoman, and humanitarian, celebrated as one of the last major stars of the classical Hollywood studio system. Renowned for her striking violet-eyed beauty, dramatic talent, and turbulent personal life, her career spanned over six decades, earning her two Academy Awards and a permanent place in cinematic history. Beyond film, she achieved significant success as a entrepreneur with her fragrance line and became a pioneering activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Early life and career

Born in Hampstead, London, to American parents, she moved with her family to Los Angeles at the outbreak of World War II. Signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at age twelve, her early roles in films like *National Velvet* (1944) established her as a popular child star. She transitioned to adult roles with notable performances in *Father of the Bride* (1950) and *A Place in the Sun* (1951), the latter directed by George Stevens and co-starring Montgomery Clift, which showcased her dramatic depth and garnered critical acclaim.

Hollywood stardom

The 1950s and 1960s marked her peak as a box-office powerhouse and critical favorite. She won her first Academy Award for *BUtterfield 8* (1960) and delivered a legendary performance in *Cleopatra* (1963), the most expensive film of its era, where she met Richard Burton. Her second Oscar came for *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* (1966), a searing adaptation of Edward Albee's play directed by Mike Nichols, opposite Burton. Other major films from this period include *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof* (1958), *Suddenly, Last Summer* (1959), and *The Taming of the Shrew* (1967).

Personal life and marriages

Her personal life was a constant focus of global media, characterized by eight marriages to seven men. Her unions with Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, and Mike Todd were followed by a highly publicized romance with Eddie Fisher, which began after Todd's death in a plane crash. Her two marriages to Richard Burton, from 1964 to 1974 and again in 1975, were famously turbulent and captivated the world, earning the moniker "Le Scandale." Later marriages included Senator John Warner and construction worker Larry Fortensky, whom she married at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.

Activism and humanitarian work

Following the death of her friend Rock Hudson, she became one of the first and most vocal celebrities to champion HIV/AIDS awareness, research, and patient care at the height of the epidemic. She co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and established her own Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. For this work, she received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Later years and legacy

In her later years, she appeared less frequently in film but remained in the public eye through her business ventures, notably the successful White Diamonds perfume line, and her advocacy. She faced significant health challenges, undergoing numerous surgeries, and was a prominent supporter of the Motion Picture & Television Fund. She died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles in 2011. Her legacy endures not only through her iconic film performances but also through her transformative humanitarian efforts, which helped destigmatize HIV/AIDS and raised hundreds of millions of dollars for care and research.

Category:American film actresses Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:HIV/AIDS activists