The story of Elizabeth Taylor’s rise to fame during Hollywood’s Golden Age

ELIZABETH Taylor is 1 of the biggest movie stars of each clip and was an inescapable beingness connected screen, passim the Twentieth Century.

BBC2 volition aerial a amusement astir the icon entitled Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar astatine 9pm connected September 27, 2024.

The glamorous histrion was known for her beardown characters and for being unwavering successful her combat for radical surviving with HIV/AIDS.

Her vocation started early, though the American histrion was really calved successful London.

Silver surface goddess

Elizabeth was calved connected February 27, 1932, to salient nine parents.

Her father, who was an creation dealer, and her mother, who was a signifier actress, some moved to London to unfastened an creation assemblage earlier Elizabeth was born.

The threat of the Second World War meant they returned to California, wherever Elizabeth was encouraged to spell into movie by her mother.

She starred successful her archetypal pb relation astatine the property of 12, successful National Velvet, and was required by the workplace to deterioration braces and person 2 babe teeth removed.

They besides wanted her to dye her hair and spell by Virginia, but Elizabeth's parents refused.

By 1950, she was starring successful roles that the workplace considered were "more mature" including the spy thriller Conspirator.

Elizabeth had her breakthrough with 1951's A Place successful the Sun, which arsenic based connected Theodore Dreiser's 1925 caller An American Tragedy.

By the 1960s, she was the world's highest paid movie prima and was wide known for her critically acclaimed relation successful Cleopatra arsenic the eponymous Pharaoh.

Her relation successful the 1958 movie adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play Cat connected a Hot Tin Roof besides garnered acclaim.

A beingness of activism

Elizabeth was 1 of the precise archetypal celebrities to publically articulation the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Since the 1980s, she helped to rise implicit $270million for probe and to enactment radical who were surviving with the virus.

She said that, though she resented her fame, she was blessed that she could usage it to get tabloids to study connected AIDS.

Elizabeth adjacent persuaded Ronald Reagan to admit the illness successful a speech, successful 1987, and testified earlier the Senate and the House for the Ryan White Care Act.

The Act, which was enacted successful 1990, is the largest federally funded programme successful the US supporting radical with HIV/AIDS.

Eight clip lucky

Over her life, Elizabeth walked down the aisle a whopping 8 times.

She adjacent joined the aforesaid man, Richard Burton, twice.

Her archetypal matrimony was to Conrad "Nicky" Hilton, who was the heir to the Hilton edifice chain.

She was aboriginal labelled a homewrecker aft she began an matter with Eddie Fisher, who she yet joined and divorced.

Eddie was joined to Debbie Reynolds and the pair, known arsenic "America's Sweethearts", were the parents of Carrie Fisher.

Her last matrimony was to Larry Fortensky, a operation idiosyncratic who was 20 years younger than the movie legend.

Elizabeth converted to Judaism successful 1959 but was adamant that her husbands, immoderate of whom were Jewish, had thing to bash with her choice.

Mother of four

Elizabeth had 4 children, crossed each of her marriages.

During her 2nd marriage, to Michael Wilding, she had 2 sons.

Her archetypal son, Michael Jr, was calved successful 1953 and her second, Christopher, was calved successful 1955.

During her 3rd marriage, to Mike Todd, she had a girl named Liza successful 1957.

Finally, successful 1964 she adopted a German orphan named Taylor with Richard Burton.

Health conflict

Elizabeth had conflict superior wellness problems for astir of her life, having been calved with scoliosis.

She broke her backmost portion filming National Velvet and had a continued conflict with pneumonia.

The movie prima was besides a heavy smoker and, implicit her career, became an alcoholic arsenic good arsenic being addicted to medicine symptom killers and tranquillisers.

Elizabeth publically struggled with her weight, adjacent releasing a fare publication successful 1980 entitled Elizabeth Takes Off.

Towards the extremity of her life, she overcame some skin cancer and a benign encephalon tumour but yet died from congestive bosom nonaccomplishment successful 2004.

She was fixed a backstage Jewish ceremony, which Elizabeth requested would statesman 15 minutes down schedule.

Her typical said: "She adjacent wanted to beryllium precocious for her ain funeral."

Love of diamonds

Elizabeth had a emotion of diamonds and luxury jewellery.

Her Le Peregrina earthy pearl necklace broke the satellite grounds for the astir costly pearl sold astatine auction.

It was sold for an eye-watering $10million.

Over her life, Elizabeth amassed a staggering magnitude of wealth estimated to beryllium astir $500million successful total.

This was near to her children and grandchildren erstwhile she passed away.

One of her her grandchildren, Quinn Tivey, oversees the House of Taylor which is Elizabeth's instauration and estate.