Elizabeth Taylor
born: 27-02-1932
birth place: Hampstead, London
Although Elizabeth was born in England, her parents were American art dealers. Her mother had been an actress on the stage until she married, and the family relocated to Los Angeles when she was seven.
A family friend suggested Elizabeth be taken for a screen test, and she signed a contract with Universal Studios. Her first foray onto the silver screen was in the short, ‘There’s One Born Every Minute’, when she was ten.
Elizabeth was then signed by MGM to make ‘Lassie Come Home’. Her next two films were minuscule parts, but then came the film that made Elizabeth a star, ‘National Velvet’, in 1944. The film was a smash hit grossing over $4 million.
Throughout the 1940s and into the early 1950s, Elizabeth appeared in film after film, with mostly good results. 1954 proved her busiest year to date, with roles in ‘Rhapsody’, ‘Beau Brummell’, ‘The Last Time I Saw Paris’ and ‘Elephant Walk’.
1957 saw Elizabeth star in ‘Raintree County’, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1958, she starred in ‘Cat On a Hot Tin Roof’. The film received rave reviews from the critics and Elizabeth was nominated again for another Academy Award. She finally won an Oscar in 1960 for ‘Butterfield 8’.
In 1963, she starred in ‘Cleopatra’, which was one of the most expensive productions to date, and her salary was said to be $1,000,000.
After her second Oscar win for ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’, her films never again reached the same heights. Her last film to date was 1994's ‘The Flintstones’.
In February 1997, Elizabeth entered the hospital for the removal of a brain tumour and, although the operation was successful, her health has remained an ongoing concern.
She has been married seven times, most notably to Richard Burton in 1963.
