Elizabeth Taylor experienced a life filled with dramatic highs and lows, marked by her early stardom and tumultuous personal relationships. She became an MGM star at just 12 years old, married for the first time at 18, was widowed by 26, and became a grandmother at 38. At 16, while acting opposite Robert Taylor in Conspirator, she struggled to balance her school lessons and the demands of her acting career, famously complaining about the challenges of maintaining concentration during romantic scenes.
MGM paid her mother, Sara, to act as her chaperone, but Elizabeth sought independence by marrying Nicky Hilton. Unfortunately, Hilton’s alcohol abuse resurfaced shortly after their marriage, leading to physical abuse and a miscarriage. Their marriage ended before she turned 19. Howard Hughes, captivated by Elizabeth, showered her with diamonds and offered her $2 million to marry him, but she declined despite his lavish gifts and continued gestures of affection.
At 20, she married English actor Michael Wilding, with whom she had two sons. However, their marriage lacked excitement, and she soon fell for the charismatic producer Mike Todd, who indulged her love for extravagant jewelry. Their marriage was cut short by Todd’s tragic death in a plane crash, leaving her widowed at 26. In the wake of Todd’s death, Elizabeth’s close friend Debbie Reynolds offered support, only for Elizabeth to start an affair with Reynolds’ husband, Eddie Fisher.
Her affair with Fisher ended when she met Richard Burton while filming Cleopatra in Rome. Their passionate and volatile relationship, marked by public fights and heavy drinking, became legendary. They starred together in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, earning Taylor an Oscar, though Burton did not receive the same recognition. Their subsequent films were less successful, leading to a strained relationship exacerbated by their substance abuse issues. Despite their intense connection, they divorced in 1974, remarried briefly, and then divorced permanently after just ten months.
After her second divorce from Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor met John Warner, a charming and ambitious Republican politician, at a British embassy dinner. Elizabeth took the initiative to call him the next day and invited herself to stay at his Virginia farm, where they married five months later. During Warner’s 1978 Senate campaign, she enthusiastically supported him, although she found his demands challenging, such as selling her Rolls-Royce and yacht, and avoiding wearing jewelry. Additionally, the Republican Women’s Committee advised her to avoid purple, which they deemed too passionate, and to dress more conservatively in tweed. Despite Warner’s successful election, Elizabeth found herself isolated in Washington, leading to substance abuse issues. They divorced in 1982 but remained friends.
Returning to Bel Air, Elizabeth experienced loneliness and relied heavily on pain medication until friends and family intervened. She spent seven weeks at the Betty Ford Center, where she shared a room, learned to make her bed, and lost 45 pounds. This experience left her happier and more committed to her AIDS advocacy, raising over $100 million and gracing the cover of Vanity Fair holding a condom.
In 1991, she married Larry Fortensky, a construction worker 20 years her junior, whom she met at Betty Ford. Michael Jackson hosted their wedding at Neverland Ranch, and the picture rights sold for $1 million to benefit her AIDS foundation. Their marriage lasted five years until Fortensky’s drinking and abusive behavior resurfaced. Despite their divorce, Elizabeth continued to send him $1,000 a month for the rest of her life.
Elizabeth endured numerous health challenges, including a brain tumor surgery in 1997, heart failure, osteoporosis, three hip replacements, and severe back pain. Despite these struggles, she found joy in a new friendship with actor Colin Farrell, who accompanied her to restaurants and shared poetry with her. Her eldest son, Christopher Wilding, humorously noted that she might have hoped for more from Farrell, but he remained a sweet, flirtatious companion. When Elizabeth passed away at 79, Farrell organized her memorial service, and Elton John performed.
Kate Andersen Brower’s biography of Elizabeth Taylor, described as “authorized” due to access granted by Taylor’s estate to extensive unpublished materials and interviews with over 250 people, including John Warner, offers a well-researched account of her extraordinary life. Despite some excessive focus on Taylor’s jewelry, Brower provides a solid and detailed portrayal of the iconic star’s tumultuous and fascinating journey.
