The British-American actress was born on February 27, 1932 in London, of two American parents. As a child, she went to classical dance, which she started at the age of three. His career began very early, at the age of 10, with the film Fidèle Lassie. Her British look and style leave no one indifferent, letting a long story come between her and the cinema.
Well established in the United Kingdom, Elizabeth Taylor's family is forced to flee before the outbreak of the Second World War, and returns to the United States, California. His father, a gallerist, closes his London art gallery to open a new one in Los Angeles. Quickly, Hollywood stars spend there and buy some works, allowing the Taylor family to rub shoulders with the beautiful world. An opportunity for Elizabeth to discover the world of cinema.
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An English charm noticed in the United States
Elizabeth Taylor owes her start to the movies to her mother, Sara, who presents her at Hollywood Studios. Raised in Britain, his English accent gives him a note of charm that his competitors do not have. Another peculiarity of Elizabeth Taylor that will allow him to achieve his star status: his eyes, an unusual color, purple.
I was robbed of my childhood
Very quickly, she attended the biggest stars and small roles follow one another, until her first big role in Le Grand National, when she was only 12 years old. In her memoirs she will say, "My childhood has been stolen". Propelled to the front of the stage, Liz Taylor nevertheless continues her studies until she graduates. Reconciling his career and his studies, he has little time left to enjoy his youth. Everything goes together: Lassie's Courage, Dr. March's Four Girls, My Dad and Us, ... Liz Taylor is growing very (too) fast.
The Hollywood myth
The real "hatch" is in the 50s. Raised from an early age, Elizabeth Taylor quickly turns adult roles in the cinema and will be illustrated in "sex-symbol", thanks in particular to its role in Sudain l Last summer in 1959. In 1961, Elizabeth Taylor won her first Oscar for the film Venus to Mink in which she played a prostitute. Shortly after, it's her role in the movie Cleopatra in 1963, which will make her the best-paid actress in Hollywood. At the end of the 70's, her career continues, Liz Taylor embodies her last big movie roles, surrounded by big stars such as Jane Fonda in The Blue Bird and Victory in Entebbé with Anthony Hopkins.
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In the 80s, Liz Taylor is more discreet in the cinema, and it is seen in television series. She will play in Central Hospital and even lend her voice to the Simpson and especially to the youngest of the family, Maggie. The 80s are also a period when she starts her commitment: she is very involved in the fight against AIDS, taking advantage of her notoriety to raise funds. Increasingly involved, she speaks and participates in commercials, even creating her own foundation, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. By the end of the 1990s, it was estimated that the actress had raised a total of $ 50 million to fund AIDS research.
A seductive life
If Elizabeth Taylor shines in the movies, she is also successful in love, with no fewer than nine marriages in her life. Quickly entering the "active life", having done everything too early, the actress married for the first time at age 19, in 1951, with Conrad Nicholson Hilton Jr, heir to Hilton hotels. The divorce will be pronounced after 13 months and a half. In 1952, when she was 20 years old, she married the 40-year-old actor Michael Wilding. They will divorce 5 years later after hosting two children: Michael Howard Wilding and Christopher Edward Wilding. In 1957, Liz Taylor lives a one-year story with producer Michael Todd. This time, if their story ends, it is not because of a disagreement, but because her husband dies.
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A year later, the Hollywood actress meets singer Eddie Fisher and marries him. Both will live together for five years and have a daughter: Carrie Fisher. After some deception, they separate, especially because Elizabeth Taylor falls madly in love with Richard Burton. With him, she will shoot seven films in a row, including Cleopatra. The actor is one of his greatest love stories: they will live together for ten years, from 1964 to 1974, but that will end with a divorce. Strangely, a year and a half after breaking up, they get married a second time, and leave again.
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The actress consoles herself in the arms of Senator John Warner with whom she will stay until 1982. For once, after this break, she will spend a few years alone, before marrying Larry Fortensky, a construction worker. They will stay together for five years. Finally, his ninth wedding takes place in 2010, with his agent at the time, Jason Winters, 30 years his junior.
These marriages would be just a small list of the men who surrounded the actress: several rumors ran about her large number of lovers, making Elizabeth Taylor a great seducer.
The last years of her life, Elizabeth Taylor returned an image to the opposite of the myth she built during her career. In wheelchair and aging, she reveals in 2004 suffering for years of heart failure. She is close to death in April 2008, but is supported quickly enough and is recovering quickly. On March 23, 2011, the Hollywood icon died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 79.
