Biography

Biography

Elizabeth Taylor remains one of the world’s most iconic women. Renowned for her independent spirit, enduring strength, and unwavering compassion, she has captured the hearts of millions.

With striking beauty and undeniable talent, Elizabeth Taylor captivated audiences. As a precocious child actor and unforgettable leading lady, she played legendary female characters who embodied strength, integrity, and unapologetic femininity. Her career, which spanned six decades, earned her five Oscar nominations and two Best Actress wins.

Along with her singular talent, Elizabeth was a savvy businesswoman. Her instinctive sense of her own worth led her to negotiate the first $1 million dollar contract for an actor for her role in Cleopatra. She was also the first celebrity to launch a hit fragrance brand and became the first female social entrepreneur.

From the mid-1980s until her death, Elizabeth’s greatest role was that of activist. In a society paralyzed by fear, she used her fame to shine a light on the injustice and ignorance surrounding the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She co-founded amfAR and founded The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, receiving many awards for her advocacy, including the Légion d’honneur, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 65th Academy Awards. In 2000, Queen Elizabeth II named her a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Throughout her life, Elizabeth possessed an abiding will to survive in the face of personal tragedy and an extraordinary capacity for love. She was married eight times to seven men, and her greatest joy in life was her family of four children, ten grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. In 2011, Elizabeth died in Los Angeles at the age of 79.

Elizabeth Taylor at her Beverly Hills home
circa 1956 Sanford Roth / A.M.P.A.S.

Elizabeth’s Life

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1930s

After an idyllic early childhood in England, Elizabeth Taylor and her family emigrate to the United States. Not long after, a star is born in the sun-drenched city of Los Angeles.

1940s

Elizabeth signs with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and appears in Lassie Come Home, Jane Eyre, The White Cliffs of Dover, Life with Father, Julia Misbehaves, A Date with Judy, and Little Women. She first graces the cover of LIFE and meets her best friend Montgomery Clift. Above all, the decade is defined by Elizabeth’s career-making performance in National Velvet.

***File Photo***

Elizabeth Taylor dies

Hollywood icon {DAME ELIZABETH TAYLOR} has died at the age of 79.

The actress, who was suffering from congestive heart failure, passed away in Los Angeles in the early hours of Wednesday morning (23Mar11) with her children by her side.

Her son, Michael Wilding, confirmed the sad news and paid tribute to his late mother in a statement, which reads, “My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.

“Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts.”

Carl Alfalfa Switzer, Elizabeth Taylor (film debut)

There’s One Born Every Minute (1942)

Directed by Harold Young

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1950s

Elizabeth graduates from high school, marries four times, and gives birth to three children. She stars in audience favorites, like Father of the Bride and Ivanhoe, while holding her own against heavy hitters Montgomery Clift, Spencer Tracy, Rock Hudson, James Dean, and Paul Newman in critically acclaimed films. She experiences one of the greatest tragedies of her life, receives three Oscar nominations, and ends the decade by extricating herself from the clutches of MGM.

Actress Elizabeth Taylor, 18, (Feb. 27), sporting cap & gown while holding her diploma after graduation at Hollywood’s University High School. (Photo by Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

1960s

Elizabeth wins her first Oscar for a movie she hated, nearly dies in London from pneumonia, and adopts a daughter. And then her first role since leaving MGM changes her life forever. While playing Cleopatra – the role for which she negotiated the first $1 million contract for an actress – Elizabeth enters into a relationship with her second great love, igniting a global scandal along the way. Together, she and Richard Burton go on to make eleven more movies, including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, for which Elizabeth wins her second Oscar. During this time, Elizabeth writes her 1964 memoir, becomes the custodian of two legendary diamonds, and emerges as the first modern-day celebrity.

1970s

Throughout the 1970s, Elizabeth co-stars with some of Hollywood’s biggest names: Warren Beatty, Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Andy Warhol, Jane Fonda, and Ava Gardner. She divorces Richard Burton, remarries him a year later, and divorces him the following year. After appearing in some TV movies, Elizabeth goes to Washington on the arm of her sixth husband, Republican senator John Warner.

1980s

Elizabeth makes her broadway debut, divorces John Warner, and checks herself into the Betty Ford Clinic. She writes her second book, Elizabeth Takes Off, which details her weight loss and recovery from addiction. She mourns Richard Burton’s death but discovers new passions: building a perfume empire and confronting a public health crisis. As America reluctantly addresses the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Elizabeth becomes an early and outspoken advocate for those suffering from the disease.

LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Elizabeth Taylor attends AIDS Project Los Angeles Benefit on September 19, 1985 at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

1990s

Elizabeth’s AIDS activism becomes her full-time job as she establishes The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. She marries (and divorces) for the last time and launches a string of highly successful perfumes. She earns the Lifetime Achievement Award from AFI and the number seven spot on their list of greatest female film legends. She gives a rousing acceptance speech for her Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 1993 Oscars and bravely undergoes brain surgery.

Actress Elizabeth Taylor poses with her Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 65th Annual Academy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on March 29, 1993 in Los Angeles, California.

2000s

Elizabeth is awarded England’s highest honor, publishes a book on her jewelry collection, and retires from acting. She receives the Kennedy Center Honors and a spot in the California Hall of Fame.

LOS ANGELES – DECEMBER 01: ***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS*** Actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor inside to attend A.R. Gurney’s ‘Love Letters’, with James Earl Jones, to benefit The Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation at the Paramount Studios Theater on December 1, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Carrasco/ ETHAF/Getty Images)

2010s

After a long and deeply fulfilling life, Elizabeth passes away at the beginning of the decade. Her legacy will continue through The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and House of Taylor, who remain dedicated to preserving her vision for a kinder, more courageous world.