92 Facts About Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was a British-American actress.

Elizabeth Taylor began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s.

Elizabeth Taylor then became the world's highest paid movie star in the 1960s, remaining a well-known public figure for the rest of her life.

Elizabeth Taylor made her acting debut with a minor role in the Universal Pictures film There's One Born Every Minute, but the studio ended her contract after a year.

Elizabeth Taylor transitioned to mature roles in the 1950s, when she starred in the comedy Father of the Bride and received critical acclaim for her performance in the drama A Place in the Sun.

Elizabeth Taylor starred in the historical adventure epic Ivanhoe with Robert Taylor and Joan Fontaine.

Elizabeth Taylor resented the studio's control and disliked many of the films to which she was assigned.

Elizabeth Taylor began receiving more enjoyable roles in the mid-1950s, beginning with the epic drama Giant, and starred in several critically and commercially successful films in the following years.

Elizabeth Taylor received the best reviews of her career for Woolf, winning her second Academy Award and several other awards for her performance.

Elizabeth Taylor's acting career began to decline in the late 1960s, although she continued starring in films until the mid-1970s, after which she focused on supporting the career of her sixth husband, United States Senator John Warner.

Elizabeth Taylor became the second celebrity to launch a perfume brand, after Sophia Loren.

Elizabeth Taylor co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991.

Elizabeth Taylor was married eight times to seven men, converted to Judaism, endured several serious illnesses, and led a jet set lifestyle, including assembling one of the most expensive private collections of jewellery in the world.

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on February 27,1932, at Heathwood, her family's home at 8 Wildwood Road in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London, England.

Elizabeth Taylor received dual British-American citizenship at birth as her parents, art dealer Francis Lenn Taylor and retired stage actress Sara Sothern, were United States citizens, both originally from Arkansas City, Kansas.

Elizabeth Taylor was enrolled in Byron House School, a Montessori school in Highgate, and was raised according to the teachings of Christian Science, the religion of her mother and Cazalet.

In California, Elizabeth Taylor's mother was frequently told that her daughter should audition for films.

Sara was initially opposed to Elizabeth Taylor appearing in films, but after the outbreak of war in Europe made return there unlikely, she began to view the film industry as a way of assimilating to American society.

Elizabeth Taylor began her contract in April 1941 and was cast in a small role in There's One Born Every Minute.

Elizabeth Taylor did not receive other roles, and her contract was terminated after a year.

Elizabeth Taylor received another opportunity in late 1942, when her father's acquaintance, MGM producer Samuel Marx, arranged for her to audition for a minor role in Lassie Come Home, which required a child actress with an English accent.

Elizabeth Taylor was cast in her first starring role at the age of 12, when she was chosen to play a girl who wants to compete as a jockey in the exclusively male Grand National in National Velvet.

Elizabeth Taylor later called it "the most exciting film" of her career.

Elizabeth Taylor later stated that her childhood ended when she became a star, as MGM started to control every aspect of her life.

Elizabeth Taylor described the studio as a "big extended factory", where she was required to adhere to a strict daily schedule: days were spent attending school and filming at the studio lot, and evenings in dancing and singing classes, and in practising the following day's scenes.

When Elizabeth Taylor turned 15 in 1947, MGM began to cultivate a more mature public image for her by organizing photo shoots and interviews that portrayed her as a "normal" teenager attending parties and going on dates.

Elizabeth Taylor made the transition to adult roles when she turned 18 in 1950.

Elizabeth Taylor had been only 16 at the time of its filming, but its release was delayed until March 1950, as MGM disliked it and feared it could cause diplomatic problems.

Elizabeth Taylor next starred in the romantic comedy Love Is Better Than Ever.

Elizabeth Taylor was not happy about the project, finding the story superficial and her role as Rebecca too small.

Elizabeth Taylor had been loaned to Paramount Pictures for the film after its original star, Vivien Leigh, fell ill.

Elizabeth Taylor disliked historical films in general, as their elaborate costumes and make-up required her to wake up earlier than usual to prepare.

Elizabeth Taylor later said that she gave one of the worst performances of her career in Beau Brummell.

Elizabeth Taylor became pregnant again during the production, and had to agree to add another year to her contract to make up for the period spent on maternity leave.

Elizabeth Taylor found her role as a mentally disturbed Southern belle fascinating, but overall disliked the film.

Elizabeth Taylor had completed only two weeks of filming in March 1958, when Todd was killed in a plane crash.

Elizabeth Taylor received her third Academy Award nomination and her first Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance.

Elizabeth Taylor hated the film for the same reason, but had no choice in the matter, although the studio agreed to her demands of filming in New York and casting Eddie Fisher in a sympathetic role.

Elizabeth Taylor played a famous model attempting to leave her husband for a lover, and Burton her estranged millionaire husband.

Elizabeth Taylor received her second Academy Award, and BAFTA, National Board of Review, and New York City Film Critics Circle awards for her performance.

Elizabeth Taylor and Burton's last film of the year was the adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, The Comedians, which received mixed reviews and was a box-office disappointment.

Elizabeth Taylor had gained weight, was nearing middle age, and did not fit in with New Hollywood stars such as Jane Fonda and Julie Christie.

Elizabeth Taylor appeared with Burton in the adaptation of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood; although her role was small, the producers decided to give her top-billing to profit from her fame.

Elizabeth Taylor's only film released in 1974, the Italian Muriel Spark adaptation The Driver's Seat, was a failure.

Elizabeth Taylor took fewer roles after the mid-1970s, and focused on supporting the career of her sixth husband, Republican politician John Warner, a US senator.

Elizabeth Taylor made cameos in the soap operas Hotel and All My Children in 1984, and played a brothel keeper in the historical mini-series North and South in 1985.

Elizabeth Taylor starred in several television films, playing gossip columnist Louella Parsons in Malice in Wonderland, a "fading movie star" in the drama There Must Be a Pony, and a character based on Poker Alice in the eponymous Western.

Elizabeth Taylor re-united with director Franco Zeffirelli to appear in his French-Italian biopic Young Toscanini, and had the last starring role of her career in a television adaptation of Sweet Bird of Youth, her fourth Tennessee Williams play.

Elizabeth Taylor received American and British honours for her career: the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1993, the Screen Actors Guild honorary award in 1997, and a BAFTA Fellowship in 1999.

Elizabeth Taylor gave one last public performance in 2007 when, with James Earl Jones, she performed the play Love Letters at an AIDS benefit at the Paramount Studios.

Elizabeth Taylor began her philanthropic work after becoming frustrated with the fact that very little was being done to combat the disease despite the media attention.

Elizabeth Taylor began her philanthropic efforts in 1984 by helping to organize and by hosting the first AIDS fundraiser to benefit the AIDS Project Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Taylor testified before the Senate and House for the Ryan White Care Act in 1986,1990, and 1992.

Elizabeth Taylor was honoured with several awards for her philanthropic work.

Elizabeth Taylor was made a Knight of the French Legion of Honour in 1987, and received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993, the Screen Actors' Guild Lifetime Achievement Award for Humanitarian service in 1997, the GLAAD Vanguard Award in 2000, and the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2001.

Elizabeth Taylor created a collection of fragrances whose unprecedented success helped establish the trend of celebrity-branded perfumes in later years.

Elizabeth Taylor personally supervised the creation and production of each of the 11 fragrances marketed in her name.

In 2005, Elizabeth Taylor founded a jewellery company, House of Elizabeth Taylor, in collaboration with Kathy Ireland and Jack and Monty Abramov.

Elizabeth Taylor was 18 years old when she married Conrad Hilton Jr.

Elizabeth Taylor was granted a divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty on January 29,1951, eight months after their wedding.

Elizabeth Taylor had first met him in 1948 while filming The Conspirator in England, and their relationship began when she returned to film Ivanhoe in 1951.

Elizabeth Taylor found their age gap appealing, as she wanted "the calm and quiet and security of friendship" from their relationship; he hoped that the marriage would aid his career in Hollywood.

Elizabeth Taylor was several months pregnant when she married her third husband, theatre and film producer Mike Todd, in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 2,1957.

Elizabeth Taylor was comforted by Todd's and her friend, singer Eddie Fisher, with whom she soon began an affair.

Elizabeth Taylor was granted a divorce from Fisher on March 5,1964, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, and married Burton 10 days later in a private ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Montreal.

The wedding was again subject to intense media attention, with one photographer parachuting to the ranch and Elizabeth Taylor selling the wedding pictures to People for $1 million, which she used to start her AIDS foundation.

Elizabeth Taylor attributed the split to her painful hip operations and his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Elizabeth Taylor was raised as a Christian Scientist, and converted to Judaism in 1959.

Elizabeth Taylor was barred from entering Egypt to film Cleopatra in 1962, but the ban was lifted two years later after the Egyptian officials deemed that the film brought positive publicity for the country.

Elizabeth Taylor advocated for the right of Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel, cancelled a visit to the USSR because of its condemnation of Israel due to the Six-Day War, and signed a letter protesting the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 of 1975.

Elizabeth Taylor had a small role in the television film made about the incident, Victory at Entebbe, and narrated Genocide, an Academy Award-winning documentary about the Holocaust.

Elizabeth Taylor is considered a fashion icon both for her film costumes and personal style.

Elizabeth Taylor's make-up look in Cleopatra started a trend for "cat-eye" make-up done with black eyeliner.

Elizabeth Taylor collected jewellery through her life, and owned the 33.19-carat Krupp Diamond, the 69.42-carat Elizabeth Taylor-Burton Diamond, and the 50-carat La Peregrina Pearl, all three of which were gifts from husband Richard Burton.

Elizabeth Taylor published a book about her collection, My Love Affair with Jewelry, in 2002.

Elizabeth Taylor helped to popularise the work of fashion designers Valentino Garavani and Halston.

Elizabeth Taylor received a Lifetime of Glamour Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1997.

Elizabeth Taylor struggled with health problems for most of her life.

Elizabeth Taylor was born with scoliosis and broke her back while filming National Velvet in 1944.

Elizabeth Taylor was prone to other illnesses and injuries, which often necessitated surgery; in 1961, she survived a near-fatal bout of pneumonia that required a tracheotomy.

Elizabeth Taylor was treated at the Betty Ford Center for seven weeks from December 1983 to January 1984, becoming the first celebrity to openly admit herself to the clinic.

Elizabeth Taylor relapsed later in the decade and entered rehabilitation again in 1988.

Elizabeth Taylor was a heavy smoker until she experienced a severe bout of pneumonia in 1990.

Elizabeth Taylor had serious bouts of pneumonia in 1990 and 2000, two hip replacement surgeries in the mid-1990s, a surgery for a benign brain tumor in 1997, and successful treatment for skin cancer in 2002.

Elizabeth Taylor used a wheelchair due to her back problems and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2004.

Elizabeth Taylor's funeral took place the following day at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Elizabeth Taylor lived at 700 Nimes Road in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles from 1982 until her death in 2011.

Elizabeth Taylor is the most important character she's ever played.

Elizabeth Taylor was one of the last stars of classical Hollywood cinema and one of the first modern celebrities.

Elizabeth Taylor was portrayed as different from "ordinary" people, and her public image was carefully crafted and controlled by MGM.

In contrast, Mel Gussow of The New York Times stated that "the range of [Elizabeth Taylor's] acting was surprisingly wide", despite the fact that she never received any professional training.

Elizabeth Taylor has been discussed by journalists and scholars interested in the role of women in Western society.