Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor DBE (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s. Taylor fashioned a career that's covered more than six decades, accepting roles that have not only showcased her beauty, but her ability to take on emotionally charged characters.
History[]
Early Life[]
Taylor was born in London, England. Taylor's American parents, both art dealers, were residing in London when she was born. Her mother had worked as an actress until she married. At the age of 3, the young Taylor started dancing and eventually gave a recital for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, the Taylors returned to the United States and settled into their new life in Los Angeles. Not long after relocating to California, a family friend suggested the Taylors' daughter take a screen test.
Career[]
In 1942 Taylor made her first film, There’s One Born Every Minute. Though she was soon dropped by Universal, MGM Studios signed her to a contract and cast her in Lassie Come Home (1943). That was followed by a star-making performance in National Velvet (1944) as a young woman who rescues a horse and trains it to race.
She had minuscule parts in her next two films, The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) and Jane Eyre (1943) (the former made while she was on loan to 20th Century-Fox). Then came the picture that made Elizabeth a star: MGM's National Velvet (1944). She played Velvet Brown opposite Mickey Rooney. The film was a smash hit, grossing over $4 million. Elizabeth now had a long-term contract with MGM and was its top child star. She made no films in 1945, but returned in 1946 in Courage of Lassie (1946), another success. In 1947, when she was 15, she starred in Life with Father (1947) with such heavyweights as William Powell, Irene Dunne and Zasu Pitts, which was one of the biggest box office hits of the year. She also co-starred in the ensemble film Little Women (1949), which was also a box office huge success.
Throughout the 1950s, Elizabeth appeared in film after film with mostly good results, starting with her role in the George Stevens film A Place in the Sun (1951), co-starring her good friend Montgomery Clift. The following year, she co-starred in Ivanhoe (1952), one of the biggest box office hits of the year. Her busiest year was 1954. She had a supporting role in the box office flop Beau Brummell (1954), but later that year starred in the hits The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) and Elephant Walk (1954). She was 22 now, and even at that young age was considered one of the world's great beauties. In 1955 she appeared in the hit Giant (1956) with James Dean. Sadly, Dean never saw the release of the film, as he died in a car accident in 1955.
The next year saw Elizabeth co-star with Montgomery Clift in Raintree County (1957), an overblown epic made, partially, in Kentucky. Critics called it dry as dust. In addition, Clift was seriously injured during the film, with Taylor helping save his life. Despite the film's shortcomings and off-camera tragedy, Elizabeth was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Southern belle Susanna Drake. However, on Oscar night the honor went to Joanne Woodward for The Three Faces of Eve (1957).
In 1959, Taylor converted to Judaism, and continued to identify herself as Jewish throughout her life, being active in Jewish causes.
Taylor won an Academy Award for her performance as a conflicted New York call girl in Butterfield 8 (1960), though she publicly expressed her dislike of the film. She met and fell in love with the British actor Richard Burton while they were filming Cleopatra (1963) which was one of the most expensive productions up to that time--as was her salary, a whopping $1,000,000. The film took years to complete, due in part to a serious illness during which she nearly died.. Both were still married at the time, and their affair became a scandal. The couple was hounded by photographers and denounced as immoral in forums as diverse as the Vatican newspaper and the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The two ultimately divorced their respective spouses and were themselves married twice (1964–74, 1975–76).
Taylor won a second Academy Award for her performance opposite Burton as the vituperative but vulnerable Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), directed by Mike Nichols from the play by Edward Albee. She costarred with him again in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (1967); the couple made five further films together. After the mid-1970s, however, Taylor appeared only intermittently in films, Broadway plays, and television films.
Taylor continued to act. She found work on television, even making a guest appearance on General Hospital, and on stage. She also began focusing more attention on philanthropy. After her close friend Rock Hudson died in 1985 following his battle with HIV/AIDS, the actress started work to find a cure for the disease. In 1991, she launched the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation in order to offer greater support for those who are sick, as well fund research for more advanced treatments.
Personal Life[]
Largely retired from the world of acting, Taylor received numerous awards for her body of work. In 1993, she received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. In 2000, she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).
Taylor overcame a litany of health problems throughout the 1990s, from diabetes to congestive heart failure. She had both hips replaced, and in 1997, had a brain tumor removed. In 2000, Taylor was proclaimed a Dame. In October 2009, Taylor, who has four children, underwent successful heart surgery. In early 2011, Taylor again experienced heart problems. She was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital that February for congestive heart failure. On March 23, 2011, Taylor passed away from the condition.
Shortly after her death, her son Michael Wilding released a statement, saying "My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love ... We will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world."
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