Iconic multiple-Oscar-winning actress and mega-celebrity Elizabeth Taylor, once called “the most beautiful woman in the world” and an ongoing subject in tabloids due to her many marriages and late-in-life-illnesses, is dead at 79. But make no mistake about it: Taylor will also be remembered as a top-flight actress.
She was pitchforked into the headlines in the mainstream and tabloid medias often during the last quarter of the last century due to her beauty, acting chops, marriage to showman producer Mike Todd, his death in a plane crash, her affair with singer Eddie Fisher, her affair with actor Richard Burton, her many divorces, her friendship with the late singer Michael Jackson and her role in creating a charity to battle AIDS and campaigns to raise funds for it.
Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary actress famed for her beauty, her jet-set lifestyle, her charitable endeavors and her many marriages, has died, her publicist told CNN Wednesday. She was 79.
Taylor died “peacefully today in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles,” said a statement from her publicist. She was hospitalized six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, “a condition with which she had struggled for many years. Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilized and it was hoped that she would be able to return home. Sadly, this was not to be.”
Though a two-time Oscar winner — for “BUtterfield 8” (1960) and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1966) — Taylor was more celebrated for simply being Elizabeth Taylor: sexy, glamorous, tempestuous, fragile, always trailing courtiers, media and fans. She wasn’t above playing to that image — she had a fragrance called “White Diamonds” — or mocking it.
“I am a very committed wife,” she once said. “And I should be committed too — for being married so many times.”
She was hailed, in her prime, as the world’s most beautiful and desirable woman. Her affair with actor Richard Burton, which began on the set of the film “Cleopatra,” fueled a paparazzi rush unrivaled in its time. The two later married — twice — providing gossip columns and movie magazines with a wealth of material.
But Taylor could also be an effective and arresting actress. Her harrowing performance in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1966), opposite Burton, showed her as shrewish, plain, embittered — the complete opposite of her real-life image.
She also gave sharp performances in “Giant” (1956), “Raintree County” (1957), “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) — three films that helped build her reputation as a worldwide sex symbol — “The Sandpiper” (1965) and “Reflections in a Golden Eye” (1967).
The ABC News report on her death:
ABC also offers this statement from the Taylor camp:
“She was surrounded by her children: Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton,” Taylor’s publicist, Sally Morrison, said in a statement.
In the same statement, Michael Wilding, 58, memorialized his mother:
“My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love,” he said. “Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts.”
In addition to her children, Taylor is survived by 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Morrison said that a private family funeral will be held later this week. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that contributions be made to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and said that those wanting to send personal messages can log on to Taylor’s official Facebook page.
Over Christmas, I read Furious Love, which is the amazing story of the romance of Elizabeth and Richard Burton, from their early courtship on the set of Cleopatra (while both were married), to the last letter Burton wrote to Elizabeth, the night that he died. I think in Elizabeth’s mind, she never stopped loving Richard or tending to her memories of him, and I hope they are together today, somewhere. Maybe having a drink with Mike Todd in heaven.
In a recent Harper’s Bazaar interview with super-fan Kim Kardashian, Taylor opened up about her many husbands, jewels and philanthropic work.
In a recent Harper’s Bazaar interview with super-fan Kim Kardashian, Taylor opened up about her many husbands, jewels and philanthropic work.
“I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands,” Taylor told the 30-year-old Kardashian sister. “For me, life happened, just as it does for anyone else. I have been supremely lucky in my life in that I have known great love, and of course I am the temporary custodian of some incredible and beautiful things. But I have never felt more alive than when I watched my children delight in something, never more alive than when I have watched a great artist perform, and never richer than when I have scored a big check to fight AIDS.”
Taylor made her on-screen debut at the age of nine in the film ‘There’s One Born Every Minute,’ but first came to national attention in the film ‘Lassie Come Home,’ opposite lifelong friend Roddy McDowall. Her star-making role, however, came a few years later, when a then-12-year-old Taylor took on the titular role of Velvet Brown in 1944’s ‘National Velvet’ – a film that in 2003 was selected for entry to the prestigious National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
After a string of successful films as a teenager, Taylor transitioned to adult roles with turns in hits like ‘Father of the Bride’ (1950) and George Stevens’ ‘A Place in the Sun’ (1951), co-starring Montgomery Clift. Her well-reviewed turn in ‘Place’ established Taylor as an actress to be reckoned with, and would propel her into more dramatic fair like the 1956 epic ‘Giant,’ opposite James Dean and Rock Hudson, and ‘Raintree County,’ the 1957 film that earned her the first of five Best Actress Oscar nominations.
Her more notable pictures as an adult included Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and two for which she won Best Actress Oscars: Butterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
With 1963’s Cleopatra, the dark beauty with the violet eyes became the first Hollywood star to earn a $1 million salary.
The $46 million spectacle, though dismissed by critics, also teamed her with the actor who would become her 4th and 5th husband: Richard Burton.
The beauty was not only known for her string of movie roles and generous charitable contributions: Her storied personal life, which included eight marriages and seven husbands, added to Taylor’s status as a true Hollywood legend.
Her other husbands (before Burton) were hotel heir Conrad “Nicky” Hilton, actor Michael Wilding, producer Michael Todd, singer Eddie Fisher and (after Burton) U.S. Senator John Warner and construction worker Larry Fortensky.
So sad!!!!!
A legend has left us!
“She was surrounded by her children- Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton,” Taylor’s publicist, Sally Morrison, confirmed in a statement.
Dame Elizabeth had been hospitalized for some time due to congestive heart failure, and as we reported a few weeks ago, was in deteriorating health.
The iconic actress was 79 years old.
Not only was she one of the most memorable screen stars of all time, but Taylor was also a huge humanitarian, personally raising tens of millions of dollars for AIDS research.
In her honor, we will be making a donation today to the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation, and we encourage you all wanting to pay tribute to do the same.
A collection of vintage photos:
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.