Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor DBE (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a celebrated British-American actress. Her career began as a child star in the early 1940s, and she rose to become one of the most prominent figures in classical Hollywood cinema during the 1950s. In the 1960s, she achieved the status of the highest-paid movie star in the world and remained a significant public figure throughout her life. In 1999, she was ranked seventh on the American Film Institute’s list of greatest female screen legends.

Born in London to American parents, Taylor’s family relocated to Los Angeles in 1939 when she was seven. Her acting debut came with a minor role in the Universal Pictures film There’s One Born Every Minute (1942). After a brief stint with Universal, she was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she gained fame as a teen star with National Velvet (1944). She transitioned to adult roles in the 1950s, receiving critical acclaim for A Place in the Sun (1951). Despite her success with MGM, Taylor was dissatisfied with the studio’s control and considered leaving the industry.

Taylor’s roles improved in the mid-1950s, starting with Giant (1956). She achieved further success with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), winning a Golden Globe for the latter. Although she disliked her role in BUtterfield 8 (1960), she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for it. Her affair with Richard Burton during the filming of Cleopatra (1961) sparked a scandal, but they married in 1964 and became known as “Liz and Dick.” They starred in 11 films together, with Taylor receiving her best reviews and a second Academy Award for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). They divorced in 1974, remarried in 1975, and divorced again in 1976.

Taylor’s film career declined in the late 1960s, though she continued to act until the mid-1970s, afterward supporting her sixth husband, Senator John Warner. In the 1980s, she took on stage roles and television work. Taylor was a pioneer in celebrity perfume branding and became a prominent HIV/AIDS activist, co-founding the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. Her philanthropic efforts earned her numerous accolades, including the Presidential Citizens Medal.

Her personal life, marked by eight marriages to seven men, her conversion to Judaism, serious health issues, and a lavish lifestyle, was a constant subject of media attention. Taylor assembled one of the world’s most expensive private jewelry collections. She passed away from congestive heart failure in 2011 at the age of 79.