Hollywood superstar Liz Taylor was born on February 27, 1932 as Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor in Hampstead, England. The Oscar winning actress, known for her off screen antics as much as her onscreen beauty and talent, died today in Los Angeles at the age of 79. Beginning her career at seven she developed a personality that would become her trademark throughout her exciting life. She maintained close friendships, especially with other childhood stars such as Roddy McDowall, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Brooke Shields and the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Married eight times (twice to screen legend Richard Burton), she ultimately died of congestive heart failure, surrounded by her four children in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Taylor the Actress
Born to an actress mother and art dealer father, Liz lived a privileged life in a wealthy section of London, England. When seven she developed and maintained a voice of distinction that would serve her well in later years. After her family fled the coming war she began her acting career as a child in Hollywood. Her performance in Lassie Come Home also created a lifelong friendship with co-star Roddy McDowall. She developed an appreciation for problems associated with childhood stardom that would last her a lifetime. It was to be the foundation that would forge bonds with megastars years her junior in later life.
However, Taylor blossomed as a young woman and her contrasting violet eyes along with striking good looks and sensuous dark hair were exploited by herself and producers alike. Staring abeam Hollywood superstars she played roles as diverse as a lovely socialite in Giant to her Oscar winning performance as a reluctant prostitute in BUtterfield 8. By 1960 she became the highest paid actress in Hollywood, receiving $1 million for her role in the box office hit Cleopatra.
Taylor’s Tabloid Life
By the late 1970s, her off screen activities became more interesting to the public than her acting roles, even though she had many memorable stage and silver screen projects. Married eight times over 46 years, with four children and nine grandchildren, Taylor’s escapades began to appear in the early tabloids. “I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands,” she said in an interview with Kim Kardashian posted by Harper’s Bazaar on Feb. 9, 2011.
Nevertheless, with her multitude of husbands and marriages (during a Leave it to Beaver, Victorian Era in America) she became one of the first tabloid personalities of the modern Hollywood age. From actors to agents, producers to politicians, billionaires to bums Taylor had a suitor for every need and paparazzi for every chapel. When she married construction worker Larry Fortensky (two decades her junior) at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, the press had a field day and Liz Taylor’s reputation was sealed.
Taylor the Activist
By now, Liz could care less about Hollywood opinions and tabloid mouthpieces: She openly criticized the media and its celebrity pursuits. In a 2005 AIDS dedication ceremony she told the Associated Press, “Acting is…artificial. Seeing people suffer is real.”
AIDS – Liz Taylor’s career introduced her to a variety of notable personalities and she remained loyal to all. When her Giant co-star Rock Hudson died of AIDS and actors turned their backs on Hollywood’s Favorite Leading Man, Taylor remained staunchly loyal to her friend. Following his death, Liz became Tinsel Town’s most vocal AIDS activist throughout the remainder of her life.
Michael Jackson – As a longtime friend and supporter of the King of Pop, Taylor was inconsolable upon his death. Never abandoning her colleague, even as his personal and legal problems deepened, Elizabeth Taylor remained stalwart until her death.
Alcoholism – In 1980 Taylor sought treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction in the Betty Ford Clinic in Palm Springs, California. Open and upfront, Taylor readily admitted her problem, identified her role and publicly criticized the industry for tolerating the addict.
Dame Elizabeth – Queen Elizabeth II made the Oscar winning American actress a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire along with friend Julie Andrews. The ying and yang pair remained lifelong friends even when their respective lives departed Hollywood. The Queen honored Dame Elizabeth for her services to acting, charity and AIDS fund raising.
Elizabeth Taylor, the glamorous queen of Hollywood, lost her battle with congestive heart disease after a six week stay in Los Angeles earlier today. She was the last of Hollywood’s Golden Age legends and the first of its Tabloid Age actresses. In a statement presented at the hospital on March 23, 2011 her son Michael Wilding said: “My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating…we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.” A feeling many of us who watched her films feel as well: an actress and humanitarian died.
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