Actress Elizabeth Taylor, long the symbol of Hollywood glamour, gossip, and elegance, passed away at 79 years old, after being hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles with what was called congestive heart failure. Taylor, a two-time Academy Award-winner, had suffered from complications related to that medical condition, but was expected to live through it. She did not.
Hollywood’s Queen
Elizabeth Taylor’s passing marks the end of an era, when Hollywood stars were treated like royalty.
Taylor was Hollywood’s Queen. She will be most remembered for her breath-taking beauty, her movies, and her eight marriages, most notably to Eddie Fisher. The woman who once said that the acting career was “forced on me,” went on to become the highest paid actress in Hollywood in 1960, when she signed a $1 million deal to star in Cleopatra.
It was during that film that Taylor began the legendary romance with Burton, who played Mark Antony – both were already married at the time.
Here’s Taylor making her dramatic entrance in the epic film:
A Four-Time Oscar Nominee, Two-Time Winner
Taylor was nominated for a “Best Actress” Oscar five times, winning twice, for her performance as “Gloria Wandrous” in BUtterfield 8 (1960), and for her role as “Martha” in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).
Elizabeth Taylor was said to have had a “passion” for jewelry, and wore many creations purchased for her by Richard Burton. Then, later, she designed works for The Elizabeth Collection, sold by at Christie’s, and launched three perfume lines: “Passion”, “White Diamonds”, and “Black Pearls,” all which earned an estimated $200 million in sales.
Taylor was a long-time friend of the late Michael Jackson, who she met in 1985 during an AIDS-related event. Jackson created and performed this song called Elizabeth I Love You, in her honor:
For more on Elizabeth Taylor, visit her Wikipedia page, and CNN.com.
Bill Carroll