Remembering an Icon: Elizabeth Taylor (1932 – 2011)

Share it!

Share

Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra

“When people say,

‘She’s got everything’, I’ve got one answer –

I haven’t had tomorrow.”

- Elizabeth Taylor

The world lost an icon today.

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27,1932 – March 23, 2011) was born in Hampstead, London on February 27, 1932.   She appeared in her first motion picture, There’s One Born Every Minute, at the age of 9 and went on to star in a number of other films shortly thereafter.  However,  it was her turn as Velvet Brown in 1944′s National Velvet that made her a star.

Taylor as Velvet Brown

Elizabeth Taylor’s accomplishments, both onscreen and off, were often overshadowed by her beauty and notoriety.  She became one of the greatest beauties of Hollywood’s Golden Age – many would even say she was the most beautiful woman alive during the 1950s.

“Elizabeth Taylor is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever fit.  She is not as easy to dress as Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn, because she is a short woman – only 5’2″.  She’s also extremely curvaceous and has short legs. But, you see, those are the kinds of minor imperfections that make for classic beauty.  A woman’s individual beauty is created by little mars in the state of perfect beauty. Elizabeth’s fascination lies in those little discrepancies. She has aged gracefully, despite what her detractors have said. She is beautiful when she is plump and she is lovely when she trims down. A faulty figure can be changed by foundations and the proper use of dark and light colors. But no makeup can create a face like Elizabeth’s. She is exquisite.” – designer Edith Head, Edith Head’s Hollywood

Further, she was legendary for her eight marriages to seven husbands, most famously to actor Richard Burton, the love of her life whom she married twice.  Some reports suggest that she would have tried for a third time if Burton had not passed away in 1974.  She was a passionate woman who loved unconditionally.

“My mother says I didn’t open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did,

the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.”

- Elizabeth Taylor

Undeniable Love: Taylor with Burton and 3 of her 4 children

But Taylor was also undeniably talented.  She starred in some of the most iconic films of the 1950s and 1960s, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra, GIANT, and Suddenly, Last Summer. A five time Academy Award nominee, her roles in BUtterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf would finally earn her the Oscar.  In 1992 she was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for her work on behalf of AIDS research and HIV and AIDS awareness.

Last, but certainly not least, she was a style icon.

“Everything makes me nervous – except making films.”

-Elizabeth Taylor

“I sweat real sweat and I shake real shakes.“

- Elizabeth Taylor

“People who know me well, call me Elizabeth. I dislike Liz.” – Elizabeth Taylor

“I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine.

You can’t possess radiance, you can only admire it.”

- Elizabeth Taylor

“So much to do, so little done, such things to be.”

- Elizabeth Taylor

“I’m a survivor –

a living example of what people can go through and survive.”

- Elizabeth Taylor

“I’ve been through it all, baby, I’m mother courage.”

-Elizabeth Taylor

Rest in peace, Elizabeth Taylor.

You were the epitome of style, grace & glamour and will never be forgotten.

Image Credit: All images via The Fashion Spot