Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British and American actress who became one of the most prominent stars of classical Hollywood cinema. Beginning her career as a child performer in the early 1940s, she grew into one of the most popular film personalities of the 1950s and became the world's highest-paid movie star during the 1960s. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her seventh on its list of the greatest female screen legends.

Taylor was born in London, England, to American parents originally from Kansas, giving her dual British and American citizenship at birth. She spent her early childhood in London, attending Byron House School and being raised in the Christian Science faith. Following growing war concerns in Europe, her family relocated to California in 1939. Her distinct physical features, notably blue eyes that appeared violet and dark double eyelashes from a genetic mutation, drew early attention in California and led to film auditions with major Hollywood studios.

Taylor made her acting debut in the Universal Pictures film There's One Born Every Minute (1942). After Universal ended her contract, she signed a long-term agreement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She gained wider notice in Lassie Come Home (1943) before achieving breakout stardom at age twelve in National Velvet (1944). The film became a box-office success and launched her career as a leading teen star. Throughout the late 1940s, she continued appearing in popular releases, including Courage of Lassie, Life with Father, A Date with Judy, and Little Women.

She successfully transitioned to adult roles at the turn of the decade, starring in the comedy Father of the Bride (1950) and earning critical praise for her dramatic work in A Place in the Sun (1951). During the 1950s, Taylor was one of MGM's top box-office draws, starring in the epic Ivanhoe (1952) and Giant (1956). She also earned critical acclaim in adaptations of Tennessee Williams plays, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), winning a Golden Globe for the latter. She won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in BUtterfield 8 (1960).

In 1963, Taylor played the title role in the massive production Cleopatra. She married her co-star Richard Burton in 1964, and the couple appeared together in 11 films, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), which earned Taylor her second Academy Award for Best Actress. Although her film career slowed during the late 1960s and 1970s, she expanded into stage acting and television films during the 1980s. Her private life and multiple marriages were subject to ongoing global media coverage.

Beyond acting, Taylor launched her own successful perfume brand in the 1980s, becoming one of the earliest celebrities to do so. She was also a pioneering figure in HIV/AIDS activism, co-founding the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and establishing the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. She devoted much of her later life to philanthropic work, receiving accolades such as the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2002 before her death in 2011.