Elizabeth Taylor has been on the lips of many a person in the past week, as the Lifetime movie “Liz & Dick” was released on Sunday, November 25th. And though many were unhappy with the film, it brings back memories of the great Elizabeth Taylor herself, who died in 2011.
She got her first big break when she was just 12 years old. She landed a starring role in the film, “National Velvet,” which earned millions in 1944. Quickly propelled into Hollywood fame, she represented the archetypal child star.
But unlike so many child stars, Elizabeth Taylor seamlessly transitioned into more mature roles, gracefully leaving childhood behind. Six years after her debut role, she starred in “Father of the Bride” with Spencer Tracy. Perhaps it was then that she developed a liking for weddings—she would be married eight times throughout her life.
In 1950, she married Conrad “Nicky” Hilton, a marriage that lasted just eight months.Despite the constant changes in her love life, Elizabeth Taylor continued to shine on-screen. In 1958, she was the female lead, “the Cat,” opposite Paul Newman in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
In 1952, Taylor married Michael Wilding, an age gap of twenty years separating the two. The marriage lasted about five years, after which Taylor admitted she “probably wasn’t mature enough for him.”
Gorgeous film and cultural icon Elizabeth Taylor.
Image: via Pinterest
By 1957, Taylor was on her third husband, Michael Todd. But he died in 1958 in a plane crash, after which she had an affair with his best friend and husband of Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher. She would later marry Fisher as her fourth husband.
But in 1963, Taylor met Richard Burton while filming “Cleopatra.” The two fell in love (despite both being married). In 1954, Taylor divorced Fisher and married Burton just nine days later. During their time together, they co-starred in successful films like “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?” Taylor won her first Oscar in 1960 for her performance in BUtterfield 8.
The mid-1970s would see Taylor and Reynolds divorce, remarry, and divorce again. She would have two marriages following Burton, John Warner and Larry Fortensky. Elizabeth Taylor has some 70 acting credits earned throughout her lifetime. She is the recipient of prestigious awards like The American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award and is considered one of the greatest actors of all time.