Elizabeth Taylor Biography

Film star, born in London, UK. In 1939 she moved with her family to Los Angeles, where her charm took the eye of the Hollywood film world, and she made her screen debut in 1942 at the age of 10. As a child star she made a number of films, including National Velvet (1944).

Elizabeth Taylor was first seen as an adult in Father of the Bride (1950). Her later films included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Butterfield 8 (1960, Oscar), and Cleopatra (1962), which provided the background to her well-publicized romance with Richard Burton. With Burton she made several more films, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966, Oscar).

Later films include The Mirror Crack'd (1980) and Zeffirelli's Young Toscanini (1988). There was a break in her acting career in the 1980s, while she received treatment for alcohol addiction, and in the 1990s her private life has continued to capture the headlines. In 1985 she founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

She has been married eight times: Nicky Hilton Jr (1950–1), actor Michael Wilding (1952–7), film producer Mike Todd (1957–8), Eddie Fisher (1959–64), Richard Burton (1964–74, 1975–6), US senator John W Warner (1976–82), and Larry Fortensky (1991–6). In 1999 she received a BAFTA Fellowship award for her lifetime achievements in film, and in 2003 announced her retirement. She became a dame in 1999.

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