Elizabeth Taylor Biography Quotes 29 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on February 27, 1932, in Hampstead, London, to American parents Francis Lenn Taylor, an art dealer, and Sara Sothern, a former stage actress. She spent her early childhood in England with her older brother, Howard Taylor, until the family returned to the United States in 1939 as war loomed over Europe. Settling in Los Angeles, the Taylors moved in circles connected to the arts and entertainment, and the young Elizabeth, possessed of extraordinary poise and striking features, quickly drew attention from Hollywood studios.

Child Stardom and the MGM Years
Taylor began appearing in films during the early 1940s, first in a supporting role in Lassie Come Home, and then rocketed to fame with National Velvet (1944), opposite Mickey Rooney and under the aegis of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film made her one of the most recognizable child stars in America. The intense physical demands of riding during National Velvet contributed to back troubles that plagued her for decades, yet she continued working steadily through her teens. MGM carefully managed her image, and she learned the craft on sets alongside established professionals, developing close friendships with fellow actors such as Roddy McDowall.

Transition to Leading Lady
Taylor matured on screen with Father of the Bride and its sequel, displaying a mix of glamour and emotional intelligence that presaged more serious work. A pivotal collaboration with director George Stevens on A Place in the Sun (1951), opposite Montgomery Clift, confirmed her dramatic power and began a lifelong friendship with Clift. Their personal bond, maintained through his struggles and her early marriages, became one of the central relationships of her life. She continued to balance studio assignments with prestige pictures, proving she could carry stories of adult complexity as well as pure romance.

Peak Stardom and Critical Acclaim
By the mid-to-late 1950s, Taylor was one of Hollywoods most bankable stars. She worked again with Stevens on Giant (1956), sharing the screen with Rock Hudson and James Dean, both of whom became personally significant to her. Her portrayals in Raintree County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (opposite Paul Newman), and Suddenly, Last Summer (with Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift) drew consistent awards attention. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for BUtterfield 8, a performance that solidified her status as a leading dramatic actress. She later secured a second Best Actress Oscar for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Richard Burton, a performance hailed for its raw intensity.

Cleopatra and the Burton Partnership
The epic Cleopatra (1963), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, was a landmark in Taylor's career. She became the first actor to receive a salary of one million dollars for a single film, and the productions turbulence mirrored the tabloid frenzy around her off-screen life. On set she began a passionate relationship with her co-star Richard Burton. Their romance, widely covered around the world, reshaped both their lives. They married in 1964, created a formidable acting duo in films such as The VIPs, The Sandpiper, The Taming of the Shrew, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and became global symbols of modern celebrity. The couple divorced in 1974, remarried in 1975, and divorced again in 1976, remaining linked in public memory and in each others lives long after.

Personal Life and Family
Taylor married eight times to seven men, and her marriages were often intertwined with her personal resilience and evolving career. Her first marriage, to hotel heir Conrad Nicky Hilton Jr., was short-lived. She married the British actor Michael Wilding and had two sons, Michael and Christopher. With producer Mike Todd, she had a daughter, Liza; Todds tragic death in a plane crash in 1958 deeply affected her. Her subsequent marriage to singer Eddie Fisher, after his separation from Debbie Reynolds, caused a public scandal. With Richard Burton she adopted a daughter, Maria. Later she married John Warner, who became a U.S. senator, and then Larry Fortensky, whom she met at the Betty Ford Center. Through changing circumstances, she remained closely connected to her children and grandchildren, and kept enduring friendships with colleagues including Montgomery Clift, Roddy McDowall, Rock Hudson, and, later, Michael Jackson.

Stage Work and Later Screen Roles
While known primarily as a film star, Taylor also worked on the stage. She drew strong notices for The Little Foxes on Broadway and later reunited with Richard Burton in a revival of Noel Cowards Private Lives, an event production that drew massive audiences. On screen, she moved into more specialized and occasionally experimental work, including Reflections in a Golden Eye with Marlon Brando and collaborations with director Joseph Losey. In later decades she appeared in selective television projects and special appearances, maintaining her public profile while devoting more time to philanthropy.

Philanthropy and AIDS Activism
Taylor became one of the most prominent public figures in the global response to AIDS. Motivated by the illness and death of friends, including Rock Hudson, and by her own sense of moral urgency, she helped build the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) into a major force, serving as a leading spokesperson and fundraiser. In 1991 she founded The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation to provide direct services and support to those living with HIV and AIDS. Her fearless advocacy at a time of intense stigma, as well as her testifying and public campaigning, shifted public attitudes and policy discussions. She leveraged her celebrity, relationships, and business ventures to channel millions toward research, education, and care.

Business Ventures and Iconography
Beyond acting, Taylor became a pioneer of celebrity branding. Her fragrances, including Passion and White Diamonds, were commercial milestones, and she frequently tied proceeds and public appearances to her AIDS work. She was renowned for her collection of jewelry, notably pieces associated with Richard Burton, such as the Taylor-Burton diamond and La Peregrina pearl. Her image, from the luminous close-ups of the 1950s to the fearless realism of the 1960s, along with her violet eyes and distinctive double eyelashes, made her an enduring symbol of Hollywood glamour.

Identity, Beliefs, and Honors
Taylor converted to Judaism in the late 1950s, a step that reflected deep personal conviction and shaped aspects of her public identity. She supported various humanitarian causes throughout her life. In recognition of her contributions to film and philanthropy, she received numerous honors and tributes over the decades, and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.

Health and Resilience
From adolescence to her final years, Taylor coped with significant health challenges: back injuries dating to National Velvet, bouts of pneumonia, surgeries including a tracheotomy, and later operations such as hip replacements. These struggles, often public due to her fame, revealed a pattern of determination; she repeatedly returned to work and to advocacy after periods of illness. In 1997 she underwent surgery for a brain tumor and continued her charitable activities thereafter, appearing at events and using her platform to speak out.

Final Years and Legacy
Elizabeth Taylor died on March 23, 2011, in Los Angeles from congestive heart failure. She was survived by her four children and several grandchildren, as well as by the foundations and initiatives she had built. Her life encompassed the evolution of the studio era, the rise of modern celebrity culture, and a new model of star-driven activism. Colleagues such as Mike Nichols, Paul Newman, Rock Hudson, Katharine Hepburn, and Richard Burton marked stages of her artistic journey, while family, including her parents, her brother Howard, and her children, remained the anchor of her private world. Her body of work, from A Place in the Sun and Giant to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, stands as a testament to her range. Equally lasting is her humanitarian legacy, which reframed what it meant for an entertainer to confront a public health crisis, combining compassion, star power, and tenacity to change lives well beyond the screen.

Our collection contains 29 quotes who is written by Elizabeth, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Wisdom - Health - Mortality - Movie.

Other people realated to Elizabeth: Tennessee Williams (Dramatist), Marlon Brando (Actor), Lindsay Lohan (Actress), Shelley Winters (Actress), Helena Bonham Carter (Actress), Frances Goodrich (Dramatist), Carrie Fisher (Actress), John Huston (Director), John O'Hara (Writer), Clement Clarke Moore (Writer)