She was bridesmaid
for Jane Powell for her first marriage. Powell was bridesmaid for Taylor
at her first marriage.
Ranked
#72 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Discharged
from hospital, but later rushed back in after a suffering a brain seizure. Said to be comfortable. [26 February 1997]
Underwent
successful surgery to remove the benign brain tumor. Feb. 20, 1997
Has four
children and nine grandchildren.
Mother of Christopher Edward
Wilding and Michael Wilding
Jr.
Her daughter,
Liza Todd Burton, with Michael Todd, is a sculptor, who has two sons, Quinn and Rhys, with her husband artist Hap Tivey
Has appeared
solo on the cover of PEOPLE magazine 14 times, second only to Princess Diana (as of 1996).
Liz and Richard Burton appeared together on stage in a 1983 revival of "Private Lives."
Her episode of
"Biography" (1987) was the highest-rated episode of that series on Arts & Entertainment
(thru the end of 1995).
American
Film Institute Life Achievement Award [1993]
Liz was a close
friend of Montgomery Clift until his death in 1966. They met for the first time when Paramount decided that she had to accompany him to the premiere of The Heiress (1949) because they were both to star in the upcoming A Place in the
Sun (1951). They liked each other right away. Clift used to call her "Bessie Mae". When he had a car accident a few years later
that disfigured him, he had just left a party at Liz's house. It was she who found him first, got into the wreck and removed
some teeth from his throat that threatened to choke him.
Her perfumes
have been Passion (1987), White Diamonds (1991), Diamonds and Rubies, Diamonds and Emeralds, Diamonds and Sapphares and Black
Pearls (1995).
At one point
during Elizabeth's life-threatening illness while filming
BUtterfield 8 (1960), the actress was actually pronounced dead.
First actress
to earn US$1,000,000 for a movie role (in Cleopatra (1963).
Along with actress
Julie Andrews, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth
II on New Year's Eve, 1999.
Chosen
by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#16). [1995]
Mother-in-law
of Brooke Palance.
Lives in BelAir
house once owned by Frank Sinatra when he was married to first wife, Nancy.
Born at
2:15 AM GMT
Has owned some
of the world's most magnificent jewelry, including the the 33-carat "Krupp Diamond", the Duchess of Windsor diamond brooch,
the Grand Duchess of Russia emeralds, the "LaPeregina Pearl" (which was a Valentine present from her from Richard Burton), and the famous pear-shaped 69-carat "Burton-Cartier Diamond" Burton gave her
in 1969 (subsequently renamed the "Burton-Taylor Diamond."
Considers Michael Jackson among her closest friends.
In the early
1970s, she planned to star in the movie version of the hit 1971 Broadway play 'Twigs' written by George Furth in which she would have played four characters -- three sisters and their aged,
cranky Bronx-Irish mother -- never materialized.
Stepmother of
the late Michael Todd Jr., who was actually her senior by three years.
She is
a recipient of the 2002 John F. Kennedy Center Honors.
Admitted in an
interview with Barbara Walters in the late 1990s that she would still like to act but, because of her medical
problems, no movie company will insure her. In addition to many other medical problems, including a benign brain tumor she
had removed, she has broken her back four times. This causes her severe pain when walking or standing for long amounts of
time.
She is mentioned
in the song "Lady Nina" by rock band Marillion.
The stories of
her Oscar win for Butterfield 8 (1960) have grown legendary. It is generally accepted as truth that she won Oscar voters
by a vote of sympathy, because of the recent death of her husband, Michael Todd, and her near-fatal illness and emergency tracheotomy to save her life (her scar was
very visible on Oscar night). Wisecracker and Rat Pack member Shirley MacLaine, who was favored to win for her role in The Apartment (1960), said afterwards that "I lost out to a tracheotomy."
Measurements:
36C-21-36 (for the majority of her film career), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
The premiere
of her film Father of the Bride (1950) took place two days after her real-life marriage to Conrad Hilton Jr.. The publicity surrounding the event is credited with helping to make the film
so successful. The marriage lasted as long as the 3 month European honeymoon. Irreconcilable differences were cited in the
divorce court.
She was
voted the 11th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Two sons with
Michael Wilding: Michael Howard (born January 6, 1953) and Christopher Edward (born February 28, 1955).
Her daughter with Michael Todd, Elizabeth Frances Todd, called "Liza", was born August 6, 1957. Her daughter, Maria
Burton, (adopted 1964 with Richard Burton) was born August 1, 1961.
Ranked
#7 in the American Film Insitutes list of the 50 'Greatest American Screen Legends', the top 25 male and top 25 female.
Although
born in England, her parents were actually Americans who were just working
in England. Her mother was of German descent
and her dad was of Scots-Irish descent.
Premiere
Magazine ranked her as #40 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).
Announced
in November 2004 she has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, but vowed to continue raising funds for AIDS charities
and to build a Richard Burton Memorial Theatre in Cardiff, Wales.
Is portrayed
by Sherilyn Fenn in Liz: The Elizabeth
Taylor Story (1995) (TV)
Was unable
to give evidence at Michael Jackson's trial due to illness.
She was (along
with Marisa Berenson) co-matron of honor at Liza Minnelli's and David Guest's wedding
Along with Mark Hamill and Joe Mantegna, she is one of only three actors to play both themselves and a fictional character in
"The Simpsons" (1989). She supplied the voice of Maggie Simpsons in the Season Four episode "Lisa's
First Word" and portrayed herself in the Season Four episode "Krusty Get Kancelled".
She and Richard Burton made together in 12 movies: Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf? (1966), The V.I.P.s (1963), Under Milk Wood (1972), The Taming of the
Shrew (1967), The Sandpiper (1965), Hammersmith Is
Out (1972), Doctor Faustus (1967), Divorce His - Divorce
Hers (1973) (TV), The Comedians (1967), Cleopatra (1963), Boom (1968) and Anne of the Thousand
Days (1969)
In 1969, Richard Burton bought her one of the world's largest and most beautiful diamonds from the jeweler Cartier
after losing an auction for the 69-carat, pear-shaped stone to the jeweler, which won with a $1 million bid. The rough diamond
that would yield the prized stone weighed 244 carats and was found in 1966 at South
Africa's Premier mine. Harry Winston cut and polished the diamond, which was put up for auction
in 1969. Burton purchased the diamond from Cartier the next day for $1,069,000 to give to Taylor. The small premium was the result of the publicity Cartier garnered
from selling the stone, then-called the "Burton-Cartier Diamond," to the then-"world's most famous couple." Ten years later,
the twice-divorced-from-Burton Taylor herself auctioned off the "Burton-Taylor Diamond" to fund a hospital in Botswana. The last recorded sale of the Taylor-Burton was
in 1979 for nearly $3,000,000 to an anonymous buyer in Saudi Arabia.
The ring was the center of the classic "Here's Lucy" (1968) episode "Lucy Meets the Burtons,"
in which Lucy Carter, played by Lucille Ball, gets the famous ring stuck on her finger. The actual ring was used and the episode
was the highest rated episode of the very popular series.
Auctioned off
her diamond-and-emerald engagement ring from Richard Burton to raise money for an AIDS charity.
Her third husband
Michael Todd gave her a 29-carat diamond ring during their marriage, a feat topped by fifth husband
Richard Burton when he gave her the 69-carat "Burton-Cartier" (later renamed "Burton-Taylor") diamond.
Fourth-husband Eddie Fisher said that a $50,000 diamond could keep Taylor
happy for approximately four days.
Was named a Dame
of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth
II on the Millenium New Year's Honours List, December 31, 1999.
Writer Charles Bukowski, in his newspaper column (and later book) "Notes of a Dirty Old Man," revealed
that he loathed Taylor as an absurd icon of the celebrity-mad, media-besotted American culture that he despised.
1976: Won
the title of "Most Memorable Eyebrows" in a magazine poll. The first runner up was Lassie.
Was unable to
attend the civil partnership ceremony of her friend Sir Elton John in England
due to her illness. (December 2005)
Became friends
with Marlon Brando while shooting Reflections in
a Golden Eye (1967).
Brando agreed
to pick up her Best Actress Award for Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf? (1966)
from the New York Film Critics Circle. When Brando made his appearance at the NYFCC Award ceremony at Sardi's
on January 29, 1967, he hectored the critics, querying them as to why they hadn't recognized Liz before. He then flew to Dahomey, Africa where Taylor was shooting The Comedians (1967) with Burton to personally deliver the award, a
development Burton thought odd. Later in the '60s, Brando
socialized with the Burtons, visiting them on their famous
yacht the Kalizma, while they plied the Mediterreanean. Brando's ex-wife Anna Kashfi, in her book "Brando for Breakfast" (1979), claimed that Brando and Burton
got into a fist-fight aboard the yacht, probably over Liz, but nothing of the incident appears in Burton's voluminous diaries. In his diaries, Burton
found Brando to be quite intelligent but believed he suffered, like Liz did, from becoming too famous too early in his life
and believed their affinity for one another was based on this. (Both Liz and Marlon would later befriend Michael Jackson, another superstar-cum-legend who had become too famous too soon.) Burton recognized Brando as a great actor, but felt he would have been more suited to silent
films due to the deficiency in his voice (the famous "mumble"). As a silent film star, Burton
believed Brando would have been the greatest motion picture actor ever.
In 2006
she introduced a line of diamond and precious stone jewelry called "House of Taylor". The designs are said to be inspired
by certain favorite pieces in her own collection. She actually wrote a book on jewelry and is considered to be an authority
on the subject.
Cancelled her
appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, prompting renewed fears about her health. The acting legend usually attends an annual
charity dinner organized by the American Foundation For AIDS Research (AMFAR), which always coincides with the South of France
festival. However, Taylor - who also pulled out in 2004 due to health problems - was replaced by Sharon Stone and Liza Minnelli at the gala. (May 2005)
Underwent
radiation therapy in 2002 for basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
After her
son Michael had renounced his American citizenship for possession of marijuana, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to block his
deportation (1988).
Her beloved
dog, a Maltese named Sugar, died in 2005. Some months later, she purchased Daisy, one of Sugar's descendants.
Her older brother
Howard Taylor was born in 1929.
Was a frequent
guest at the infamous "Studio 54"
Appeared on "Larry King Live" (1985) to refute claims that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and
was close to death. (30 May 2006)
Former stepmother
of Kate Burton.
Godmother of
Paris Jackson.
Godmother of
Prince Michael
Jackson I.
Announced
her retirement from acting in 2003.
In Italy, she was exclusively dubbed until the mid-fifties
by Germana Calderini. As she matured, she was dubbed by the very talented Fiorella Betti. For her two of her most celebrated roles -Leslie Lynnton Benedict in Giant (1956) and Catherine Holly in Suddenly, Last
Summer (1959), she was dubbed respectively by Micaela Giustiniani and Lidia Simoneschi: The only time either Italian actresses lent their voice to her.
Organized "A
Commitment to Life", a celebrity event to benefit AIDS research after her Giant (1956) co-star Rock Hudson became ill in 1985. The event featured former First Lady Betty Ford, Burt Lancaster, Shirley MacLaine, Sammy Davis Jr., and Burt Reynolds. More than $1.3 million was raised.
Her AIDS
organization AMFAR raised $83 million in the twelve years following its creation in 1985.
Did not attend
The 75th Annual
Academy Awards (2003) (TV) due to her opposition to the Iraq war.
Endorsed Hillary Rodham
Clinton in the 2008 presidential election.
In 1963,
while the highest paid American business executive earned $650,000, and President Kennedy, $150,000, she received at least
$2.4 million.
In a 2007
interview with Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart, she said she had recently telephoned ex-husband Eddie Fisher and spoke to
him for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Has had
three hip replacements.