All About Elizabeth Taylor
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There are so many words to describe Elizabeth Taylor. Actress. Icon. Goddess. Humanitarian. Activist. Wrought with tragedy, illness, excess, and romantic intrigue, the name “Elizabeth Taylor” is…
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Feb 23, 2017

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How much do you know about Dame Elizabeth Taylor?

There are so many words to describe Elizabeth Taylor. Actress. Icon. Goddess. Humanitarian. Activist. Wrought with tragedy, illness, excess, and romantic intrigue, the name “Elizabeth Taylor” is larger than life . She loved hard, lived large, and suffered deeply — Elizabeth Taylor’s story is one of epic love, loss, and survival.

Elizabeth Taylor’s Vital Statistics:

Born: February 27, 1932

Height: 5’2

Weight: 120

Years in the business: 70

Films: 50

Marriages: Eight (Conrad ‘Nicky’ Hilton, Michael Wilding, Michael Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (twice), John Warner, and Larry Fortensky.)

Oscar Nominations: Five (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Raintree County, Suddenly Last Summer, BUtterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf)

Oscar Wins: Two (Butterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf)

Tabloid headlines: Countless. (“Love. Lust. And Liz.”; “The Night Burton Got Smashed Because Of Liz” ; “New Trouble Ahead for Liz”; “Passion & Waste” ; “Liz’s Final Days”; “The End”)

The Early Years

Elizabeth Taylor was born in London, 1932, to a prominent American art dealer and former stage actress.

Taylor was born with a thick layer of black hair covering her body, a rare condition known as hypertrichosis. She also had a double row of eyelashes.

Taylor’s mother blamed herself for the condition, thinking that she’d failed to ‘imbibe beautiful thoughts of the requisite strength’. The condition wore off, revealing a stunning baby of unnatural beauty.

After the onslaught of World War II, the family returned to America and in Los Angeles in 1941.

Elizabeth Taylor’s mother, Sara, was the ultimate stage mother. She had been a bit player on the stage during the 1920s, and recognized that her young child had a promising “star quality”.

Taylor’s mother hounded the Hollywood studios, securing a contract in 1943 thanks largely in part to the girl’s striking beauty: raven black hair and violet eyes.

Taylor literally grew up in front of the camera; never attending a traditional school, she attended the Little Red Schoolhouse on MGM’s lot.

“I have the emotions of a child in the body of a woman. I was rushed into womanhood for the movies. It caused me long moments of unhappiness and doubt.”

The fact that Taylor never had an “awkward phase”, meant that her blossoming beauty ensured steady work throughout her adolescence, in teenage movies like A Date with Judy as well as more illustrious productions like Little Women.

Created, cultivated and bred by MGM, Taylor was, initially, just another ‘product’ to be exploited by studio suits.

“If someone’s dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I’m certainly not dumb enough to turn it down.”

The Middle Years

During the 1950s, Taylor was one of the most popular movie stars in the business, and as she grew, she graduated to more adult roles, earning a total of 5 Oscar nominations and 2 wins (BUtterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)

Throughout her life, Taylor was a loyal friend. In fact, she actually saved the life of her co-star and closest friend, Montgomery Clift, rescuing him from choking to death after a car crash in 1957.

When her husband Michael Todd was killed in a plane crash, the public mourned with Taylor and its obsession with her personal life began. But grieving brought her a little too close to Todd’s best friend…singer Eddie Fisher. Fisher was married to America’s sweetheart Debbie Reynolds and the love triangle became one of the most publicized ones in Hollywood history.

Taylor nearly died from pneumonia a few years after the affair, and her public battle for her life moved the public and they quickly forgave her.

“Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.”

Taylor’s life was plagued with life-threatening illnesses, making her a true survivor. Born with scoliosis, Taylor spent her life in and out of hospitals because of severe back pain, not to mention bouts of pneumonia, seizures, a stroke, skin cancer, and a benign brain tumor.

During the ’60s, Taylor was a superstar and often appeared alongside her husband Richard Burton, including the most expensive film ever made to that time, Cleopatra: it cost $300 million to make (adjusted for inflation).

Taylor still managed to challenge herself with complex roles, often opposite Richard Burton (here at Warner Archive we’ve got two of them, The V.I.P.s and The Sandpiper) but their off-screen relationship was so sensational that it often eclipsed their movies.

The Later Years

During her later years, Taylor became a tireless champion for AIDS research.

Her campaigning resulted in being awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In the year 2000, she became Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

Her close friendship with Michael Jackson also ensured she was never far from tabloid headlines, even right up to her passing in 2010 at age 79.

“The ups and downs, the problems and stress, along with all the happiness, have given me optimism and hope because I am living proof of survival.”

Elizabeth Taylor’s Filmography (*= available on Warner Archive)

1942 There’s One Born Every Minute

1943 Lassie Come Home

1944 The White Cliffs of Dover

1944 National Velvet

1944 Jane Eyre

1946 Courage of Lassie

1947 Life with Father

1947 Cynthia

1948 Julia Misbehaves

1948 A Date with Judy

1949 Little Women

1949 Conspirator

1950 Father of the Bride

1950 The Big Hangover

1951 A Place in the Sun

1951 Father’s Little Dividend

1951 Callaway Went Thataway

1952 Love Is Better Than Ever

1952 Ivanhoe

1953 The Girl Who Had Everything

1954 Rhapsody

1954 The Last Time I Saw Paris

1954 Elephant Walk

1954 Beau Brummell

1956 Giant

1957 Raintree County

1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1959 Suddenly, Last Summer

1960 BUtterfield 8

1963 The V.I.P.s

1963 Cleopatra

1965 The Sandpiper

1966 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1967 The Taming of the Shrew

1967 Reflections in a Golden Eye

1967 Doctor Faustus

1967 The Comedians

1968 Secret Ceremony

1968 Boom!

1969 Anne of the Thousand Days

1970 The Only Game in Town

1972 X,Y, and Zee

1972 Under Milk Wood

1972 Hammersmith Is Out

1973 Night Watch

1973 Divorce His, Divorce Hers

1973 Ash Wednesday

1974 Identikit

1976 Victory at Entebbe

1976 The Blue Bird

1977 A Little Night Music

1985 North and South

1985 Malice in Wonderland

1994 The Flintstones

Here at Warner Archive, we are honored to have 6 Elizabeth Taylor films in our library, waiting for your in glorious HD on the all new Warner Archive, available on desktop as well as Roku, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Join now and receive a *free* Roku streaming stick with your annual subscription: