Elizabeth Taylor the biography

Elizabeth Taylor, Actress, - Biography

Actress,

Height: 5 feet 2
Measurements for most of her fims, : 36C-21-36

Born February 27, 1932, Hampstead, London,
Elizabeth Taylor is an iconic two-time Academy Award-winning British-American actress. Her trademark is her violet eyes framed by a double row of eyelashes. Known for her acting skills & the depth of her personality along with her beauty, she is considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood’s golden years, as well as a larger-than-life celebrity.

The American Film Institute named Taylor seventh among the Greatest Female Stars of All Time.

She was the second child of Francis Lenn Taylor (1897-1968) & Sara Viola Warmbrodt (1896-1994), who were Americans residing in England. Taylor's older brother, Howard Taylor, was born in 1929.

Though sometimes referred to as "Liz", she is not fond of that name & prefers her given name to be pronounced Eee-lizabeth. Her first names are in honor of her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Taylor, who was born Elizabeth Mary Rosemond. When she was born, Taylor was both a British & an American citizen, having acquired British citizenship by being born on British soil under the principle of Jus soli, & American citizenship through her parents under the principle of Jus sanguinis. Both of her American parents were originally from Arkansas City, Kansas. Her father was an art dealer & her mother a former actress whose stage name was Sara Sothern. Sara retired from the stage when she & Francis Taylor married in 1926 in New York. It was also reported that her father was a weak figure who always capitulated to her mother. Elizabeth Taylor at age twelve in National VelvetAt the age of three, Elizabeth began taking ballet lessons. Shortly after the begin of World War II, her parents decided to return to the United States to avoid hostilities. Her mother took the children first, while her father remained in London to wrap up matters in the art business. They settled in Los Angeles, California, where Sara's family, the Warmbrodts, were then living.

Taylor appeared in her first motion picture at the age of nine for Universal. They let her contract drop, & she was signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Her first movie with that studio was Lassie Come Home (1943), which drew favorable attention. After a few more movies, the second on loan-out to 20th Century Fox, she appeared in her first leading role & achieved child star status playing Velvet Brown, a young girl who trains a horse to win the Grand National in Clarence Brown's movie National Velvet (1944) with Mickey Rooney. National Velvet was a big hit, grossing over US$4 million at the box-office, & she was signed to a long-term contract. Gene Tierney originally was offered the role in MGM's National Velvet but production was delayed so Tierney signed with Fox. The rest is Hollywood history. She attended school on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lot & received a diploma from University High School in Los Angeles on January 26, 1950, the same year she was first married at age 18.

Elizabeth Taylor won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performances in BUtterfield 8 (1960), which co-starred then husband Eddie Fisher, & again for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), which co-starred then-husband Richard Burton & the Supporting Actress Oscar-winner, Sandy Dennis. Taylor was nominated for Raintree County (1957) with Montgomery Clift, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) with Paul Newman, & Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) with Clift, Katharine Hepburn & Mercedes McCambridge.

In 1963, she became the highest paid movie star up until that time when she accepted US$1 million to play the title role in the lavish production of Cleopatra for 20th Century Fox. It was during the filming of that movie that she worked for the first time with future husband Richard Burton, who played Mark Antony. Movie magazines, the forerunners of today's tabloids, had a field day when Taylor & Burton began an affair during filming; both stars were married to other people at the time. She was even accused by a Vatican newspaper of having descended into "erotic vagrancy." A lot of people thought of Elizabeth Taylor as a "Scarlet Woman". She & many others disagree with that strongly. Richard Burton was quoted as saying: "You'd be surprised at the morals of many women stars who are regarded by the public as goody-two-shoes. They leap into bed with any male in grabbing distance. That's what makes me mad when I read stuff hinting Liz is a scarlet woman because she's been married five times. She's only had five men in her life whereas those good-two-shoes have lost count."

She has also appeared a number of times on television, including the 1973 made-for-TV movie with then husband Richard Burton, titled Divorce His - Divorce Hers. In 1985, she played movie gossip columnist Louella Parsons in Malice in Wonderland opposite Jane Alexander, who played Hedda Hopper, & also appeared in the mini-series North & South. In 2001, she played an agent in These Old Broads. She has also appeared on a number of other TV shows, including the soap operas General Hospital & All My Children & the animated The Simpsons; once as herself, & once as the voice of Maggie.

Taylor has also acted on the stage, making her Broadway & West End debuts in 1982 with a revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes. She was then in a production of Noel Coward's Private Lives (1983), in which she starred with her former husband, Richard Burton. The student-run Burton-Taylor theatre in Oxford was named for the famous couple after Burton appeared as Doctor Faustus in the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) production of the Marlowe play. Elizabeth Taylor played the ghostly, wordless Helen of Troy, who is entreated by Faustus to 'make [him] immortal with a kiss'.

Marriages
Taylor has been married eight times to seven husbands:

Conrad "Nicky" Hilton (May 6, 1950 - January 29, 1951) (divorced)
Michael Wilding (February 21, 1952 - January 26, 1957) (divorced)
Michael Todd (February 2, 1957 - March 22, 1958) (widowed)
Eddie Fisher (May 12, 1959 - March 6, 1964) (divorced)
Richard Burton (March 15, 1964 - June 26, 1974) (divorced) & a second time (October 10, 1975 - July 29, 1976) (divorced)
John Warner (December 4, 1976 - November 7, 1982) (divorced)
Larry Fortensky (October 6, 1991 - October 31, 1996) (divorced)

Relationship with parents
Taylor's mother Sara was a domineering figure who controlled Elizabeth's life from the outside with single-minded determination. She had similarly exerted her influence on her husband Francis, a shy & retiring man whom she attempted to mold into a confident, outgoing man. Taylor was never truly allowed to bond with her father, who was by & large a peripheral figure in a life dominated by her mother & her mother's obsession with public image. Even in 1968 when her father died & Taylor began crying at the funeral, her mother intervened. 'But I'm not crying dear. If a man's widow isn't crying it isn't good form for others to do so. It makes me seem unfeeling.'

Her mother also exerted influence on Taylor's life well into adulthood. After her marriage to Warner ended, with her weight ballooning she intervened at first with cruel prods & then by arranging a tea party. At this tea party her mother asked each of the elderly guests when they last felt they could've been described as gorgeous. Finally she turned to her daughter & enquired 'How about you dear?' There was an uncomfortable pause before Taylor replied 'My moment is yet to come, Mother.' Sara Taylor raised her glass & said 'I knew it! You'll be beautiful again! Prove them all fools.' She continued 'And if you avoid letting it slip in the first place you'll save us both a lot of trouble.'

Sara's pride in Taylor though, knew no bounds. Her house was covered with photos of Taylor in her prime & she used to demand of visitors 'Look at my daughter. Now if she is not the most beautiful woman in the world I don't know who is.'

Despite their often difficult relationship, Sara was always her daughter's biggest champion & when she died in 1994, Taylor was devastated. In 2000 when Taylor was made a Dame of the British Empire she raised a glass of sparkling cider & made a toast

There's a woman who deserves our deepest appreciation because if it weren't for her we'd all be somewhere else right now. Let's all drink to my mother Sara Taylor.

A guest shouted 'Hear, hear!' however Taylor then commanded

No! Let's drink to two things. To my mother & forgiveness.

Children
Taylor & Wilding had two sons, Michael Howard Wilding (b. January 6, 1953), & Christopher Edward Wilding (b. February 27, 1955). She & Todd had one daughter, Elizabeth Frances Todd, called "Liza," (b. August 6, 1957). & in 1964, she & Fisher started adoption proceedings for a daughter, whom Burton later adopted, Maria Burton (b. August 1, 1961).

Other interests

Taylor & Bette Davis on a show that was celebrating Taylor's life, late 1981, image by Alan LightTaylor has a passion for jewelry. Over the years she has owned a number of well known pieces, two of the most talked about being the 33.19 carat (6.638 g) Krupp Diamond & the 69.42 carat (13.884 g) pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond, which were among many gifts from husband Richard Burton. Her enduring collection of jewelry has been eternalized with her book My Love Affair with Jewelry (2002).

In 2005, she partnered with Jack & Monty Abramov of Mirabelle Luxury Concepts in Los Angeles to introduce the House of Taylor Jewelry. In 2005, House of Taylor Jewelry formed a partnership with Kathy Ireland Worldwide, a design-and-marketing firm with more than US$1 billion in annual sales. She has also launched three perfumes, "Passion," "White Diamonds," & "Black Pearls," that together earn an estimated US$200 million in annual sales. In the Fall of 2006, Dame Elizabeth Taylor celebrated the 15th anniversary of her White Diamonds perfume, one of the top-10 best selling fragrances for more than the past decade.

Taylor has devoted much time & energy to AIDS-related charities & fundraising. She helped start the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) after the death of her former co-star & friend, Rock Hudson. She also created her own AIDS foundation, Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation (ETAF). By 1999, she had helped to raise an estimated US$50 million to fight the disease.

Recently, in the year 2006, Taylor donated US$40,000 to the AIDS New Orleans Aids task force, a charity designed for the New Orleans population with AIDS & HIV. The NO/AIDS task force estimated that about 7,400 residents were infected with HIV before Hurricane Katrina. Taylor & Macy's donated a 37 ft "CareVan," equipped with examination tables & X-Ray equipment.

In the early 1980s she moved to Bel-Air, which is her current home. The fenced & gated property is on tour maps sold at street corners & is frequently passed by tour guides.

Taylor was also a fan of the soap opera General Hospital. In fact, she was cast as the first Helena Cassedine, matriarch of the Cassedine family.

Taylor is a supporter of Kabbalah & member of the Kabbalah Centre. She encouraged friend Michael Jackson to wear a red string as protection from the evil-eye during his 2005 trial for molestation, where he was eventually cleared of all charges.

List of awards & honours for Elizabeth Taylor
1957

Golden Globe Award, Special Achievement Award
1958

Golden Laurel Award, Female Dramatic Performance: Raintree County
1959

Golden Laurel Award, Female Dramatic Performance: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
1960

Academy Award, Best Actress: Butterfield 8
Golden Globe Award, Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama): Suddenly, Last Summer
Golden Laurel Award, Female Dramatic Performance: Suddenly Last Summer
1965

Golden Laurel Award, Female Star
1966

Academy Award, Best Actress: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
New York City Film Critics Circle Award, Best Actress: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967

BAFTA Award, Best British Actress: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (UK)
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award, Best Actress: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Golden Laurel Award, Female Dramatic Performance: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
National Board of Review, Best Actress: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (USA)
1972

Silver Berlin Bear Award, Berlin International Film Festival, Best Actress: Hammersmith Is Out (Germany)
David Di Donatello Award, Best Foreign Actress: Zee & Co. (Italy)
1977

Hasty Pudding’s Woman of the Year Award, Harvard University
1985

Golden Globe Award, Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement
Golden Apple Award, Female Star of the Year
Woman In Film Crystal Award
1992

Academy Award, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
1993

American Film Institute, Lifetime Achievement Award
1997

Screen Actors Guild, Lifetime Achievement Award
1999

declared a Dame Commander of the British Empire (UK)
awarded Academy Fellowship, British Academy of Film & Television Arts
2000

The Vanguard Award, GLAAD Media Awards (USA)
2001

President’s Citizens Medal (USA)
Maverick Award, Taos Talking Picture Festival (USA)
2002

Kennedy Centre Honoree, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2005

BAFTA Award, Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in International Entertainment (UK)

In November 2004, Taylor announced that she had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, a condition in which the heart pumps insufficient amounts of blood throughout the body. She has broken her back five times, has survived a benign brain tumor operation, skin cancer, & has faced life-threatening bouts with pneumonia twice. She is reclusive & sometimes fails to make scheduled appearances due to illness or other personal reasons. She is now confined to a wheelchair to get around.

In 2005 she was a vocal supporter of her best friend, Michael Jackson, in his trial in California on charges of sexually abusing a child. He was acquitted.

In recent years, Taylor reportedly became closely attached to her pet dog, saying that she went nowhere without her little Maltese named Sugar. In an interview with American magazine W, Taylor said she was happiest while with husbands Todd & Burton, but now has to be content with Sugar for company. She explains, "I've never loved a dog like this in my life. It's amazing. Sometimes I think there's a person in there. There's something to say for this kind of love - it's unconditional." In June 2005, Taylor's beloved dog Sugar died. However, several months later (in September) she purchased a descendant of Sugar which she named Daisy.

It was reported on April 27, 2006 that Taylor was close to death. This was quickly denied by Taylor's publicist, Dick Guttman. "Dick Guttman says that he can refute every allegation in these published reports. In fact, he says they didn't get anything right. Guttman says Taylor has a very busy life, with her successful perfume & jewelry lines & the work she does for the fight against AIDS." On May 30, 2006, she appeared on Larry King Live to refute the claims that she has been ill, & denied the allegations that she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease & was close to death.

In late August 2006 Taylor decided to take a boating trip to help prove that she was not even close to death. She also decided to make Christie's auction house the primary place where she will sell her jewelry, artwork, clothing, furniture, & memorabilia (September 2006).

In October 2006, it was widely reported that Taylor would be marrying her constant companion, artist Firooz Zahedi, 17 years her junior. Taylor responded by asserting that she & Zahedi "never have been & will never be romantically involved."

The February 2007 issue of Interview magazine devoted itself entirely to Elizabeth Taylor--a celebration of her life, career & her upcoming seventy-fifth birthday.

Written in April 2007

Pictures of Elizabeth Taylor , which is not spelt Elizabath Taylor, or Elisabeth Taylor

Picture of her

In bed

My list of heights of very many famous supermodels

Index of celebrity women, lots of models

A Biography of Nina Moric

A list of biographies of Very Tall Women, a internet library with over 100 life stories, of fantasticly glamarous amazons, Volleyballers, basketballers, actresses, supermodels, 6 foot blondes, 6 foot 8 sportswomen, & more,

A Biography of 6 foot 1 Supermodel Jodie Kidd

A Biography of 5 foot 7 Jane Russell

A Biography of 5 foot 6 Jayne Mansfield

A Biography of Brigitte Nielsen

A Biography of 6 foot 2 Dorothy Ford

A Biography of 6 foot tall supermodel Sophie Dahl

A Biography of 7 foot tall Women's Baketball Player Uljana Semjonova

A Biography of 5 foot 11 Scottish Supermodel Kirsty Hume

A Biography of 6 foot tall Supermodel Elle Macpherson

A Biography of Eva Herzigova

A Biography of 6 foot tall in her stockings, Supermodel, Adriana Sklenaríková

A Biography of Danish Supermodel, 5 ft 10 Helena Christensen

A Biography of 5 foot 9 Mandy Moore,

A Biography of 5 foot 11 Tyra Banks

A Biography of 5 foot 11 Claudia Schiffer

A Biography of 5 foot 9 & a half Naomi Campbell

A Biography of Michelle Wie

A Biography of 5 foot 11 Scottish Supermodel Kirsty Hume

A Biography of 5 foot 11 Sigourney Weaver

A link site of biographies of actresses, many from the black & white era A Biography of Tom Logan

A Biography of 6 foot 3 Gabrielle Reece

My biographies, & statisticts on many very tall women site, legs & more lenghs, & some historicly, from alphabeticly Amazon Amanda, & Amazon Astrid's legs to Zhou Rurrui's & loads of famous tall models

Most of the major Amazons on Earth are on this site, maybe the best amount of links about tall women ever with everyone such as from letter A Amazon Astrid, to Lauren Jackson, & 100s, of Amazons, to Letter Z Zhou Rurrui , I prefer people, to see womenn3, as it is a smaller site, http://www.lonympics.co.uk/womenn.htm

A Multiple Choice Quiz on very famous beautiful women

A Biography of Martina Hingis

A biography of Kelly Sotherton

A Biography of Jane Fonda

A Biography of Penelope Tree who is 5 foot 10

A Biography of Jean Shrimpton who is 5 foot 10

A Biography of Michelle Wie

A Biography of 6 foot tall actress Uma Thurman

A Biography of the 5 foot 11 Daniela Peštová

A Biography of the 5 foot 11 Karolína Kurkova

A Biography of 5 foot 11 Anne Nicole Smith

A Biography of 5 foot 1 Kylie Minogue A Biography of 6 foot 2 Slavica Eccleston