WHO WAS ELIZABETH TAYLOR?

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was an American actress who was known for her depictions of characters who were explosive and strong-willed. She was born on February 27, 1932, in London, England, and passed away on March 23, 2011, in Los Angeles, California, United States. When Taylor was born, her American parents were both living in England.

In the days leading up to the start of World War II, the family relocated back to the United States and eventually settled in the city of Los Angeles. Her father was an art dealer, and as a result of his business, he was able to become acquainted with prominent figures in the Hollywood community. An introduction to the chairman of Universal Pictures through one of her father’s customers resulted in a screen test for the young Taylor, despite the fact that her mother, who had previously worked as a stage actor, first expressed reluctance to provide permission for her daughter to enter the film profession.

There’s One Born Every Minute was Taylor’s debut picture, which she produced in the year 1942. MGM Studios signed her to a contract and put her in the 1943 film Lassie Come Home, despite the fact that Universal Studios had already dropped her shortly after. That was followed by a performance that made her a household name in the film National Velvet (1944), in which she played a young woman who saves a horse and teaches it how to race. Foreshadowing the arrival of the tabloid frenzy that characterized the latter decades of the 20th century was Taylor’s personal life, which was subjected to intense scrutiny.

A number of notable individuals, including film producer Michael Todd, musician Eddie Fisher, and United States Senator John Warner, were among her eight spouses, which gave a wealth of material for her writing. Since the 1950s, Taylor has been dealing with major medical challenges. At least seventy times, she had been admitted to the hospital and had undergone twenty major procedures. Congestive heart failure was the diagnosis that was given to her in the year 2004. In the fifth year after that, she went through with a cardiac operation. Having suffered from heart disease for a long time, she finally passed away in the year 2011.

Elizabeth Taylor’s Early Years

The daughter of American parents Francis Lenn Taylor and Sara Sothern, Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor came into the world in London. Her parents were both art dealers based in London. Along with young Elizabeth, they made their way back to the United States at the beginning of World War II. Young Elizabeth began her instruction in ballet when she was just three years old, even though her mother had achieved success as an actress before her marriage. Even Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were lucky enough to witness her performance.

As a result of her appearance and beautiful appearance, Hollywood became the most desirable destination. The recommendation of many individuals led her to apply for a screening test. It is interesting to note that Universal and MGM, two of the most prolific film studios in Hollywood, were both eager to offer her a contract because of her heavenly appearance and striking appeal. Nevertheless, Universal was able to secure her by offering a seven-year contract without even waiting for a screen test, which allowed them to surpass MGM in the competition.

Highlights on Elizabeth Taylor’s Professional Career

Mainstream Success

Elizabeth Taylor’s amazing appearance was a contributing factor. When she was only 18 years old, she appeared in the film Father of the Bride (1950) opposite Spencer Tracy. In addition, Taylor demonstrated her acting abilities in the year 1954 by appearing in three films: The Last Time I Saw Paris, Rhapsody, and Elephant Walk. In the latter picture, Taylor plays the role of a plantation owner’s wife who is in love with the farm’s manager.

Even though her romantic life continued to garner attention on a global scale, Elizabeth Taylor continued to excel as an actress. Her performance in the drama A Place in the Sun was compelling, and she turned things up even further. She pushed things up even more in 1956 with the film adaptation of the Edna Ferber novel Giant, which also starred James Dean.

Following Elizabeth Taylor’s marriage to Burton in 1964, the public’s preoccupation with her romantic life reached a new level of intensity. She had met the actor and fallen in love with him while she was working on the picture Cleopatra (1963), which not only increased Taylor’s influence and reputation but also proved to be a stunning expenditure, clocking in at an astounding $37 million to make. The marriage between Taylor and Burton was a heated and passionate occurrence. They made their first screen appearance together in the film The V.I.P.’s (1963), which received a lot of negative feedback.

In the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which was released two years later, she took the stage and wowed audiences with her performance. Taylor had a starring role in another Williams classic, Suddenly Last Summer, which was released the following year. It was for her performance as a call girl in the 1960 film Butterfield 8 that Taylor was awarded her first Academy prize, receiving the highly coveted Best Actress prize.

Two years later, they featured in the film Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? which was a huge success and earned Taylor her second Academy Award for her performance as an overweight and irate wife of an alcoholic professor, who was portrayed by Burton. In the years that followed, Taylor experienced a roller coaster of emotions and experiences. An increase in the number of marriages, an increase in the number of divorces, health challenges, and a film career that was floundering, with movies that garnered little traction with critics or the audience that went to the movies.

RECOGNITIONS

Elizabeth Taylor, who has largely retired from the field of acting, has been honored with a great deal of recognition for her body of work.

~ 1987 was the year that she was awarded the French Legion of Honor.

~ 1993 was the year that she was honored with the Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

~ Her elevation to the rank of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) occurred in the year 2000.

Later Years and Death

Despite her health changes, Taylor continued to perform. She was able to find work in the entertainment industry, including appearing as a guest on General Hospital and performing on stage. Additionally, she utilized the irresistible appeal of her public image in order to launch successful perfume and costume jewelry lines.

Elizabeth Taylor battled a plethora of health issues throughout the decade of the 1990s, including diabetes and congestive heart failure, among others. Both of her hips were replaced, and in 1997, she underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. The successful heart surgery that Taylor, who is a mother of four children, underwent took place in October 2009. By the beginning of 2011, Taylor was once again experiencing heart difficulties.

During the month of February, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Taylor lost her life on March 23, 2011, as a result of the condition. Her burial took place in a private Jewish ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, in the United States of America.

The Personal Life of Elizabeth Taylor

As a result of Taylor’s personal life, the success of her films was further increased. After dating the rich Howard Hughes for a period of time, Taylor made her first foray into the world of marriage when she married Nicky Hilton, who was the heir to the Hilton Hotel when she was just 17 years old. The union did not continue for very long, and in 1952, Taylor was heading down the aisle once more, this time to marry actor Michael Wilding.

Over the course of her life, Elizabeth Taylor has tied the knot a total of eight times, including twice with the actor Richard Burton. Tragic events and lost loved ones have had an impact on Taylor’s fame. Mike Todd, a pioneering film producer, was her spouse, and he passed away in an aircraft disaster in 1958. This caused her to become a young widow. Following his passing, Taylor became involved in one of the most significant love scandals in Hollywood history when she had an affair with Eddie Fisher, who was a close friend of Todd’s. After getting a divorce from Debbie Reynolds, Fisher wed Taylor in the year 1959.

For a period of five years, the pair remained married until she decided to leave Fisher for Burton. In spite of the fact that she had an extensive number of marriages, she had extramarital affairs with prominent men and prominent personalities such as Glenn Davis, Frank Sinatra, Henry Kissinger, and Malcolm Forbes. She had three children, two sons, and one daughter, as well as a female kid who was adopted known as Maria.

Philanthropic Works

Additionally, Elizabeth Taylor started giving philanthropy a greater amount of attention. The actress began her efforts to find a cure for HIV/AIDS in 1985, the same year that her close friend Rock Hudson passed away as a result of his fight against the disease. Elizabeth Taylor established the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation in 1991 with the intention of providing further assistance to individuals who were afflicted with the disease and funding research for the development of more effective medicines. She traveled the world representing the organization.