As a kid with health problems who frightened adults, some were convinced that Elizabeth Taylor would never become a star. She would, of course, during the next six decades, have an amazing career at the top of the showbiz world.
Elizabeth Taylor was a legendary actress. She started her career in showbiz as a child actress in the 40's and was a huge Hollywood star during the 1950s. Her career spanned 61 years and she's considered one of the greatest actresses in history. Read on to learn more about her incredible life story!
Taylor is born to parents with artistic tendencies
Elizabeth Taylor was born in 1932, in London. Her parents were Americans. They had an art gallery there (Her father Francis was an art dealer and her mother Sara a retired theatre actress) their 1st child, a boy by the name of Howard, was born in 1929.
The family lived a life of luxury, her parents had famous friends like artists and political figures. One of those influential friends was Colonel Victor Cazalet who was Elizabeth's unofficial godfather and had a lot of influence on her during her childhood. She went to a school that thought Christian Science, the religion of her mother and of the colonel's.
Moving to Beverly Hills
During 1939, the family decided to return to the U.S with Europe on the verge of war. In 1940, Elizabeth's father opened a new gallery in L.A, and the Taylors' lived in Beverly Hills, Elizabeth and her brother studied in the same School.
In California, Taylor's mom was encouraged by others to send her daughter to movie auditions. Everyone who saw her said she had beautiful eyes; First her mother didn't want her to appear in movies, but after giving it thought she decided it might help Liz assimilate in the American society.
Starting a career in films
Elizabeth auditioned for two film studios - Universal Pictures and MGM in 1941. Both wanted to sign her, and her mother decided to choose Universal for her.
She started out her film career in a small role (a movie called There's One Born Every Minute). Universal didn't approve of her, saying she looks too old for a child star, and they canceled her contract.
In the beginning of 1943 she signed a seven-year contract with MGM. She first got there very small roles in two movies that took place in England.
Becoming a star
Her first real starring role came when she was 12 (in 1944), She had blue eyes, a British accent, she knew how to ride horses and was given the recommendation of the director who worked with her in her previous film. That was enough for the studio that cast her as the lead in the movie National Velvet which became a box-office hit. The movie even won 2 Oscars and really push-started Taylor's career.
She later said that her childhood ended when she turned into a movie star, as the studio wanted to manage every aspect of her life.
Appearing on the cover of Time Magazine
She got a new 7-year contract with a much bigger salary than what she had. When she turned fifteen in 1947, the studio started to create a more adult public image for her by staging photoshoots and interviews that tried describing her as a normal teenager, partying and dating.
In 1948 she starred in another box-office success called Julia Misbehaves. Her final role as a teen was in the 1949 movie Little Women which was also a commercial success. During that year she appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, that called her the next big Hollywood star.
A diplomatic incident
Even though her career flourished, she wanted to quit acting. She became more satisfied with the roles she was given later that decade (especially with the movie Giant).
Her first part as an adult was in the thriller Conspirator in 1949 (directed by Victor Saville and co-starring Robert Taylor), where she portrayed a wife who starts suspecting that her spouse is a Soviet spy. The movie's release was delayed since the studio worried that it would cause a diplomatic incident. Her 2nd movie of 1950 was a comedy called The Big Hangover.
Marrying a millionaire
Taylor married millionaire Conrad Hilton, Jr., in a wedding that got a lot of media attention. MGM used the wedding to promote Taylor's next movie, the comedy Father of the Bride, alongside Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett. It was a big box-office hit and was given a sequel called Father's Little Dividend that was released a year later.
Her next movie A Place in the Sun came out in 51' and was very different from her earlier films. Critics praised her performance there. The movie was based on a book called An American Tragedy. The movie wasn't only praised by critics, but also did well at the box office.
Punished for her divorce
In 52' she starred in the comedy Better Than Ever. Rumors circled that MGM put her in the "B-movie" as a sort of punishment for divorcing her millionaire husband in early 1951 ending the short-lived marriage that lasted just 9 months. Her next film was the historical epic Ivanhoe (1952), a movie with one the highest budgets in the studio's history. It was about a knight who tries to rescue the captive King Richard and return him to the throne. She didn't like the movie or her role there. Nevertheless, the movie became one of the studios biggest box-office hits.
Getting married for the second time
In 1953 she participated in her last of the seven MGM movie she signed to do, The Girl Who Had Everything. It was a lawyer's daughter who falls in love for one of his crooked clients. Although she had her ups and downs with the studio, she agreed on a new 7-year contract with MGM in 1952. She married for the second time. Her new husband was British actor Michael Wilding who was 20 years older than her. Taylor said that she found the age difference a positive thing. She was also pregnant.
Two kids and a divorce
MGM gave her a salary of $4,700 which was a very high salary at the time, the studio also gave her a loan for a house and signed her spouse for a 3-year contract.
They would end up having 2 kids, Michael and Christopher. Sadly, as Liz got older the May-December couple drifted apart. They separated in 1956.
In 1954 Rhapsody came out, it was a romantic movie about a love triangle. The same year she also starred in Elephant Walk, a drama. She was loaned to Paramount Pictures for the movie after Vivien Leigh, who was supposed to star in the film, got sick.
A dislike for historical movies
She continued to star in the movie Beau Brummell that was a period piece. She wasn't pleased with her casting there. She didn't really appreciate historical movies, the costumes and make-up took a long time and she had to wake up early in the morning, and that bothered her. She then starred in The Last Time I Saw Paris. She loved the film and said it encouraged her to do more serious acting. It got good reviews, but it wasn't a box-office hit. She became pregnant for the 2nd time and added another year to her contract to compensate for the time she was absent from work.
Giant with James Dean
In 1956 she starred in the movie Giant, a big budget production that also had the star power of Rock Hudson and James Dean. It told the story of a socialite (Taylor), who marries a rich rancher from Texas.
James Dean’s character, falls in love with Taylor's character, and she is shocked about what he tells her regarding the way the Mexican workers are being treated. The chemistry between Taylor, Dean and Hudson, contributed a lot to the movie's success. Taylor didn't get along with director George Stevens who treated her poorly.
An untimely death
James Dean died in a car crash shortly after they finished production; Despite all the difficulties, Giant was a commercial success, and got fantastic reviews. Dean's death was tragic of course, but also made many people want to watch it just because it was Dean's final film.
Taylor's next movie came out in 1957. It was called Raintree County (co-starring Montgomery Clift), a Civil War drama. She liked her role and found it very interesting but didn't really like the movie itself. She earned her first Oscar nomination for her part there.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
In 58' Taylor played Maggie the Cat in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (alongside Paul Newman), a performance that many consider to be the best of her career. After she completed the filming of Raintree Country, she divorced her second husband and married producer Mike Todd. They had a daughter together, Elizabeth Frances. In 1958, her new husband was killed in an air disaster. Taylor was shocked and distressed, but her late husband was in debt, so she had to get back to work only 3 weeks after he died.
Another scandal
The following year Taylor had an affair with musician Eddie Fisher, who was married to actress Debbie Reynolds (Singin' in the Rain, The Rat Race), a good friend of Taylor's. The affair, and Fisher's divorce from the beloved Reynolds, stained Elizabeth Taylor's public persona and labeled her a homewrecker. The scandal might have helped the commercial success of the movie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She was nominated for an Oscar for her part there. The movie itself was nominated for 5 more Academy Awards but didn't win any of them.
Using her looks to promote the movie
In 1959, her next movie, Suddenly, Last Summer came out. It was released during Christmas but was far from a feel-good holiday movie. I revolved around the only son of a rich widow that dies while on holiday with a family relative. Montgomery Clift and Katharine Hepburn starred alongside her. Taylor's attractive physical appearance was used to promote the movie and it did the trick since the movie did great at the box-office. She received her 3rd Oscar nomination and her 1st Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role there.
A record breaking salary
In 1960 Taylor played in the movie BUtterfield 8 (co-starring Eddie Fisher and Laurence Harvey), a drama about an upscale prostitute. It was a huge box-office hit, but Taylor hated it since it perpetuated her negative public image. She won her 1st Oscar for her role there.
After her MGM contract was over, she starred in 20th Century-Fox's epic movie Cleopatra, which had an enormous budget. She was the 1st actress to earn $1 million for a part (an astonishing figure at the time); She would also earn 10% of the movie's profits.
Liz and Dick
Taylor was responsible for another scandal after she had an affair with her married co-star Richard Burton (he was married to Sybil Christopher). They were both scrutinized, but they didn't care what the public thought.
Nicknamed "Liz and Dick" in the papers, they made 11 films together, with the most notable ones being The Taming of the Shrew, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She divorced Burton in 1974, but they reunited their love and remarried a year later. They divorced again in 1976.
During the movie's production, Taylor also dealt with health problems, she had a pneumonia that nearly killed her.
Cleopatra
Cleopatra (directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz) was a box-office smash and made the most money in the U.S in 1963; It made $15.7 million which is nothing by today's standards, but in those days, it was quite a lot. It did take a few years for the movie to earn back what it cost, which almost got Fox, its studio, bankrupt. They blamed Taylor for the production's problems and sued her and Burton for harming the movie with their antics. The movie got mixed reviews, with Taylor's performance receiving mostly negative ones.
Movies and reality blend
Taylor and Burton's next on-screen collaboration was in the movie The V.I.P.s (also starring Orson Welles and Maggie Smith). She played there a celebrity model wanting to leave her spouse for a lover, while Burton played her millionaire hubby. It was yet another box-office hit. In her real life there were so many splits, fights, scandals, gossip, that a lot of viewers found it hard to distinguish between the real Elizabeth Taylor and the actress onscreen, and her real life often were a lot more turbulent and dramatic than any scripted versions.
A power couple
After The V.I.P.s, Taylor went on a 2-year break from movies, during that time she and Burton divorced their spouses and married one another. The power couple continued appearing together in movies, earning $88 million together; They enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle, traveling around the world, and spending ridiculous amounts of money on art, jewelry, fashion items and alcohol. Their first movie together after her break was a romantic drama called The Sandpiper. It dealt with a forbidden love between an artist and a married clergyman and was highly controversial. It got bad reviews but did well at the box-office.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
In 1966 they starred in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (directed by Mike Nichols who was handpicked by Taylor). Taylor's performance there was critically hailed. The story revolved around a middle-aged couple with marital problems. In order to look older than she really was for the role she went through a radical body transformation. The movie was regarded as ground-breaking for its mature themes and profane language and got magnificent reviews. It also did extremely well at the box-office. Taylor got her 2nd Oscar, a BAFTA and a few other awards for her performance there.
Doctor Faustus
The celebrity couple went on to perform Doctor Faustus in Oxford for one week, Burton starred, and Taylor appeared in her 1st stage role as Helen of Troy, a role that did not involve speaking. Despite the fact that it got bad reviews, Burton produced it into a movie titled likewise, that came out in 1967. It also got poor reviews and didn't make a lot of money in the box office. Their next movie that came out later that year was The Taming of the Shrew, this time Critics loved it, and it did quite good it the box-office as well.
Two failures
In 1967, Taylor starred in Reflections in a Golden Eye without her spouse. Taylor's good friend Montgomery Clift who was supposed to star in the movie died of a heart attack before filming even begun, and Marlon Brando was cast instead. It failed both critically and commercially. Taylor and Burton's final movie of 1967 was The Comedians (directed by Peter Glenville). It told the story of a cynical hotel owner who has an affair with a diplomat's spouse in Haiti. It got mixed reviews and didn't do well at the box-office.
Downfall
Taylor's career deteriorated during the late sixties. She was no longer as beautiful as before, and new stars like Jane Fonda, Julie Christie, Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, Barbra Streisand and Meryl Streep were preferred over her. The public grew tired of her and Burton and disapproved of their lifestyle of luxury. In 1968, Taylor was given the leading role in 2 movies made by Joseph Losey – Boom!, and Secret Ceremony – both failed critically and commercially. In 1970 she starred in The Only Game in Town alongside Warren Beatty, it was another failure.
A movie with the young Michael Caine
The 3 movies in which she starred in 1972 were a bit more successful. Zee and Co., that also starred the up and coming Michael Caine, earned her a reward for Best Foreign Actress. She moved on to star with Burton in the film Under Milk Wood; Her 3 movie that year was in the comedy Hammersmith Is Out, her 10th movie with her husband. She played a blonde waitress there. It wasn't a successful film, but Taylor got decent reviews for her part there that had plenty of vulgar charm.
The senator
The famous couple's last movie collaboration was in 1973, it was the TV movie Divorce His, Divorce Hers. The title turned out to be ironic since they divorced a year later. In 1973 Taylor also appeared in the movies Night Watch and Ash Wednesday. In 1974 she participated only in one movie called The Driver's Seat and it failed.
Taylor appeared less and less in movies and focused more on the career of her 6th husband, Republican senator John Warner.
In 1976, she starred in the movie The Blue Bird, a movie that failed critically and commercially.
A transition to theatre
After a few years without appearing on-screen, she made a comeback with The Mirror Crack'd in 1980. She also appeared in her 1st major stage role, in a Broadway play called The Little Foxes. The play was a sell-out and got generally positive reviews. She starred as a wicked socialite in the TV show General Hospital in late 1981.
After The Little Foxes did so well, Taylor went on to star in Private Lives, alongside Richard Burton. The first play was in 1983, it was a commercial success but was critically bashed.
Addictions
Both actors suffered from health problems. Taylor dealt with drug and alcohol addictions, and Burton died a year after the play finished its run.
From the mid-80's, Taylor appeared mainly in TV shows and TV movies. The most notable ones include the mini-series North and South, the TV movies Malice in Wonderland, Young Toscanini and Sweet Bird of Youth. She started getting awards for her career achievements, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
During the 1990s, she dedicated most of her time to HIV activism. She started the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 85', and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991.
Perfumes
Taylor was the 1st celeb to create her own brand of perfumes. Her first two fragrances were Passion in 1987, and White Diamonds in 1991. She supervised the manufacturing of each of the eleven perfumes sold in her name. She incredibly made more money through the perfumes than during her entire film career, and after she died most of her estimated $800 million she left behind was thought to be income from fragrances. In 2005, she also started a jewelry company called House of Taylor, along with business partners Kathy Ireland and Jack and Monty Abramov.
Marrying a construction worker
For the 1st half of the 90's she was married to Larry Fortensky. Her wedding with Larry, a construction worker, was at Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch.
Their encounter was quite unusual. He was at a Clinic after being charged with drunk driving, when he met and fell in love with Taylor.
He was 20 years younger than her and Liz thought he was ideal for her…At least for a while. After they divorced, she would never marry again.
Her last movie, The Flintstones, was poorly reviewed, yet commercially successful. She had a small part there.
Health problems
In 2001 she officially announced her retirement from acting, stating that we would now devote her time to philanthropy. Her final public appearance was in 2007, when she performed the play Love Letters at an AIDS charity event.
The famous actress suffered from poor health during long periods of her life. As a baby she had scoliosis and broke her back during the production of National Velvet when she was 12. Doctors couldn't detect the fracture in her back for years, and it caused her a lot of pain. In 1956, she went through back surgery. When she was 29, she had a pneumonia that almost killed her, and needed a tracheotomy.
Late for her own funeral
Her health really deteriorated during the last 2 decades of her life, and she disappeared from the public eye during the 2000's. She was diagnosed with a heart failure in 2004. A month and a half after she was hospitalized because of her heart problem, she died.
Her personal life always garnered media attention. She was married 8 times to 7 men and lived a life of luxury. After years of poor health, she eventually gave in at the age of 79, 7 years ago.
Typically for her, she had secretly asked that the funeral run fifteen minutes late.
Her representative told on her behalf that she even wanted to be late for her own funeral.