TAYLOR, Elizabeth (Rosemond) 1932–

PERSONAL: Born February 27, 1932, in London, England; daughter of Francis (an art dealer and historian) and Sara (an actress; maiden name, Southern) Taylor; married Conrad Nicholas Hilton, Jr., May 6, 1950 (divorced, 1951); married Michael Wilding (an actor), 1952 (divorced, 1957); married Michael Todd (a producer), February 2, 1957 (died, March, 1958); married Eddie Fisher (a singer and actor), 1959 (divorced, 1964); married Richard Burton (an actor), March 15, 1964 (divorced, 1974); remarried Richard Burton, October 10, 1975 (divorced, 1976); married William John Warner (a politician), 1976 (divorced, 1982); married Larry Fortensky (a construction worker), 1991 (divorced, 1996); children: (second marriage) Michael Wilding, Jr., Christopher Wilding; (third marriage) Elizabeth Frances (Liza Todd Tivey); (with Richard Burton) Maria Burton Carson.

ADDRESSES: Office—P.O. Box 55995, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413. Agent—Lantz Office, 200 W. 57th St., Ste. 503, New York, NY 10019; publicist: Warren Cowan, Warren Cowan and Associates Public Relations, 8899 Beverly Blvd., Ste. 919, Los Angeles, CA 90048.

CAREER: Actress, producer, writer, and activist. Elizabeth Group (theatrical production company), founder and producer (with Zev Bufman). Creator of perfumes, including Passions, Passions for Men, Diamonds and Rubies, Diamonds and Sapphires, White Diamonds, and Black Pearls; creator of a jewelry line for Avon, The Elizabeth Taylor Fashion Jewelry Collection. Chaim Sheba Hospital, contributor and fundraiser for Israel War Victims' Fund, 1976; Ben Gurion University-Elizabeth Taylor Fund for Children of the Negev, founder, 1982; American Foundation for AIDS Research, founder and national chairperson, 1985–, founder of international fund, 1985; AIDS Project, Los Angeles, CA, supporter, 1985; Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, founder, 1991; Variety Clubs International, fundraiser for children's wings at hospitals; Botswana Clinics, Africa, fundraiser and contributor.

Actress in films, including, as Gloria Twine, There's One Born Every Minute, Universal, 1942; Priscilla, Lassie, Come Home, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1943; Helen Burns, Jane Eyre, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1944; Velvet Brown, National Velvet, MGM, 1944; Betsy at age ten, The White Cliffs of Dover, MGM, 1944; Kathie Merrick, Courage of Lassie (also known as Blue Sierra), MGM, 1946; Cynthia Bishop, Cynthia (also known as The Rich, Full Life), MGM, 1947; Mary Skinner, Life with Father, Warner Brothers, 1947; Carol Pringle, A Date with Judy, MGM, 1948; Susan Packett, Julia Misbehaves, MGM, 1948; Melinda Greyton, Conspirator, MGM, 1949; Amy March, Little Women, MGM, 1949; Mary Belney, The Big Hangover, MGM, 1950; Kay Banks, Father of the Bride, MGM, 1950; Kay Banks Dunstan, Father's Little Dividend, MGM, 1951; as herself, Callaway Went Thataway (also known as The Star Said No), MGM, 1951; woman in crowd, Quo Vadis, MGM, 1951; Angela Vickers, A Place in the Sun, Paramount, 1951; Rebecca, Ivanhoe, MGM, 1952; Anastacia Macaboy, Love Is Better Than Ever (also known as The Light Fantastic), MGM, 1952; Jean Latimer, The Girl Who Had Everything, MGM, 1953; Lady Patricia, Beau Brummell, MGM, 1954; Ruth Wiley, Elephant Walk, Paramount, 1954; Helen Ellswirth, The Last Time I Saw Paris, MGM, 1954; Louise Durant, Rhapsody, MGM, 1954; Leslie Lynnton Benedict, Giant, Warner Brothers, 1956; Susanna Drake, Raintree County, MGM, 1957; Maggie Pollitt, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, MGM, 1958; Catherine Holly, Suddenly, Last Summer, Columbia, 1959; Gloria Wandrous, Butterfield 8, MGM, 1960; Sally Kennedy, Scent of Mystery (also known as Holiday in Spain), Michael Todd, Jr., 1960; title role, Cleopatra, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1963; Frances Andros, The V.I.P.s (also known as International Hotel), MGM, 1963; Laura Reynolds, The Sandpiper, MGM, 1965; Martha, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Warner Brothers, 1966; Martha Pineda, The Comedians, MGM, 1967; Helen of Troy, Doctor Faustus, Columbia, 1967; Leonora Penderton, Reflections in a Golden Eye, Warner Brothers, 1967; Katharina, The Taming of the Shrew, Columbia, 1967; Flora "Sissy" Goforth, Boom!, Universal, 1968; Leonora, Secret Ceremony, Universal, 1968; masked courtesan, Anne of the Thousand Days, Universal, 1969; Fran Walker, The Only Game in Town, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1970; Jimmie Jean Jackson, Hammersmith Is Out, Cinerama, 1972; Zee Blakeley, X, Y, and Zee (also known as Zee & Co.), Columbia, 1972; Ellen Wheeler, Night Watch, Avco-Embassy, 1973; Rosie Probert, Under Milk Wood, Altura Films International, 1973; narrator, That's Entertainment, MGM, 1974; Barbara Sawyer, Ash Wednesday, Paramount, 1974; Lise, The Driver's Seat (also known as Identikit and Psychotic), Avco-Embassy, 1975; It's Showtime (documentary), United Artists, 1975; Mother, Light, Witch, and Maternal Love, The Blue Bird, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1976; Desiree Armfeldt, A Little Night Music, New World Cinema, 1977; Lola Comante, Winter Kills, Avco-Embassy, 1979; Marina Rudd, The Mirror Crack'd, Associated Film Distribution, 1980; narrator, Genocide (documentary), Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1981; as herself, George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (documentary), Castle Hill, 1984; Nadia Bulichoff, Il Giovane Toscanini (also known as Young Toscanini and Toscanini), Italian International/Union Generale Cinematographique/Carthago, 1988; Pearl Slaghoople, The Flintstones, Universal, 1994; The Visit, 1999; and Beryl Mason, These Old Broads, 2001.

Appeared as Madame Conti in the television miniseries North and South, American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), 1985. Actress in television movies, including, as Jane Reynolds, Divorce His/Divorce Hers, ABC, 1973; Edra Vilnofsky, Victory at Entebbe, ABC, 1976; Deborah Shapiro, Between Friends (also known as Nobody Makes Me Cry), Home Box Office (HBO), 1983; Louella Parsons, Malice in Wonderland (also known as The Rumor Mill), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1985; Marguerite Sydney, There Must Be a Pony, ABC, 1986; Alice Moffett, Poker Alice, CBS, 1987; Alexandra Del Lago, Tennessee Williams's Sweet Bird of Youth (also known as Sweet Bird of Youth), National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 1989.

Appeared in television specials, including Elizabeth Taylor in London, CBS, 1963; The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1977; Dr. Emily Loomis, Return Engagement, The Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1978; General Electric's All-Star Anniversary, ABC, 1978; Happy Birthday, Bob, NBC, 1978; Bob Hope's Stand Up and Cheer for the National Football League's Sixtieth Year, NBC, 1981; Bob Hope's Women I Love—Beautiful but Funny, NBC, 1982; Bob Hope's Star-Studded Spoof of the New TV Season—G-Rated—With Glamour, Glitter, and Gags, NBC, 1982; The Fiftieth Presidential Inaugural Gala, ABC, 1985; An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., NBC, 1986; Bob Hope's High-Flying Birthday, NBC, 1986; Liberty Weekend, ABC, 1986; The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1986; The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1987; Natalie Wood, Crazy about the Movies, Cinemax, 1987; AIDS: The Global Explosion, syndicated, 1988; Michael Jackson, 1988; Richard Burton: In from the Cold, Great Performances, PBS, 1989; America's All-Star Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor (also known as The Second Annual America's Hope Award), ABC, 1989; Miss Hollywood Talent Search, syndicated, 1989; Entertainers '91: The Top Twenty of the Year, 1991; In a New Light, ABC, 1992; Michael Jackson … The Legend Continues, CBS, 1992; "Elizabeth Taylor," Biography, Arts and Entertainment (A&E), 1993; In a New Light '93, ABC, 1993; Larry King TNT Extra, Turner Network Television (TNT), 1993; Michael Jackson Talks … to Oprah—Ninety Primetime Minutes with the King of Pop (also known as Oprah Live with Michael Jackson—Ninety Minutes with the King of Pop and Live and Dangerous), ABC, 1993; The American Film Institute Salute to Elizabeth Taylor, ABC, 1993; The Jackson Family Honors, NBC, 1994; How to Be Absolutely Fabulous, Comedy Central, 1995; Happy Birthday Elizabeth—A Celebration of Life, ABC, 1997; Elizabeth Taylor: A Musical Celebration, 2000; as herself (archive footage), Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood, 2001; as herself (archive footage), Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days, American Movie Classics (AMC), 2001.

Appeared in episodes of television series, including What's My Line?, CBS, 1954; Person to Person, CBS, 1957; The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show, NBC, 1966; "Lucy Meets the Burtons," Here's Lucy, CBS, 1970; The Lucy Show, CBS, 1971; Helena Cassadine, General Hospital, ABC, 1981; charwoman, All My Children, ABC, 1983; "Intimate Strangers," Hotel, ABC, 1984; Fame, Fortune, and Romance, 1986; Hour Magazine, syndicated, 1986; Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, syndicated, 1988; voice, The New Adventures of Captain Planet (also known as Captain Planet and the Planeteers), Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), 1990; voice of Maggie, "Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie," The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 1992; The Whoopie Goldberg Show, syndicated, 1992; as herself, "Krusty Gets Kancelled," The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 1993; as herself, Can't Hurry Love, CBS, 1995; as herself, Murphy Brown, CBS, 1995; as herself, The Nanny, CBS, 1995; as herself, High Society, CBS, 1996; and, as herself, Roseanne, ABC, 1996. Also appeared in episodes of Hollywood and the Stars, NBC, and The David Frost Show, syndicated. Appeared in awards presentations, including The Fifty-ninth Annual Academy Awards Presentation, 1987; presenter, The Sixty-fourth Annual Academy Awards Presentation, 1992; The Sixty-fifth Annual Academy Awards Presentation, 1993; and The American Music Awards, 1993. Also appeared in the television pilot On Top All over the World, syndicated, 1985.

Actress in stage productions, including, as Regina Giddens, The Little Foxes, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 1981, then Martin Beck Theatre, New York, NY, 1981, later in London, England, 1982; and Amanda Prynne, Private Lives, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York, 1983.

Producer of films, including, as executive producer, Number Thirteen (also known as Fragments of a Fate Forgotten, The Magic Mushroom People of Oz, The Oz, and The Tin Woodman's Dream), 1962; and (with Richard Burton and Franco Zeffirelli), The Taming of the Shrew, Columbia, 1967. Producer of plays, including (with Zev Bufman as the Elizabeth Group), Private Lives, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York, 1983; and (with Bufman as Elizabeth Group), The Corn Is Green, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York, 1983.

AWARDS, HONORS: Golden Globe Special Award, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, 1957; Academy Award nominations for best actress, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1957, for Raintree County, and 1958, for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Academy Award nomination for best actress, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1959, and Golden Globe Award for best motion picture actress in a drama, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, 1960, both for Suddenly, Last Summer; Academy Award for best actress, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1960, for Butterfield 8; Academy Award, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and British Academy Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, both best actress, 1966, both for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Silver Bear Award for best actress, Berlin Film Festival, 1972, for Hammersmith Is Out; Golden Globe Award nomination for best actress in a drama, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, 1974, for Ash Wednesday; Golden Globe Award for female world film favorite, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, 1974; Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award, Harvard Hasty Pudding Theatricals, 1977; Theatre World Special Award and Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best actress in a play, both 1981, both for The Little Foxes; Cecil B. DeMille Award, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, 1985; Golden Apple Star of the Year Award, Hollywood Women's Press Club, 1985; Commander des arts et des lettres (France), 1985; French Legion of Honor, 1987, for work with American Foundation for AIDS Research; Onassis Prize for Man and Science, Aristotle S. Onassis Foundation, 1988, for work against AIDS; Life Achievement Award, American Film Institute, 1993; Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1993; the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center was dedicated in Taylor's honor at Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, 1993; named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, for services to acting and to charity, 2000; Kennedy Center Honor, 2002; first Diamond Icon award, American Foundation for AIDS Research, 2003, for work on behalf of AIDS research.

WRITINGS:

(And illustrator) Nibbles and Me (juvenile), Duell, Sloan and Pearce (New York, NY), 1946, published as Elizabeth Taylor's Nibbles and Me, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2002.

Elizabeth Taylor—Her Own Story (autobiography), Harper and Row (New York, NY), 1965.

Elizabeth Taylor Takes Off: On Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Self-Esteem, and Self-Image, Putnam Publishing Group (New York, NY), 1987.

Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, edited by Ruth A. Peltason, photographs by John Bigelow Taylor, Simon and Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

Also author of, with Richard Burton, World Enough and Time (poetry), 1964.

SIDELIGHTS: Few Hollywood stars have matched the level of celebrity attained by Elizabeth Taylor. From her teenage years, when she captivated audiences with her portrayal of a daring young horsewoman in National Velvet, Taylor has lived in the public eye. Her subsequent acting career, marriages and divorces, serious illnesses, and work as an activist have received widespread attention. Though Taylor's life has been a subject for many biographers, the actress told her own story in a memoir published in 1965. In addition to this autobiography and an early volume of poetry, she has written a book on weight control and self esteem, and another about her love affair with jewelry.

Taylor was born in London in 1932, to American parents living in England. She attended Byron House, a private school, and took ballet lessons. At the age of three she performed in a dance recital before the royal family at London's Hippodrome. Taylor's adopted godfather, Victor Cazalet, presented her with a pony and provided riding lessons for her at his estate in Kent. Taylor's family returned to the United States just before the outbreak of World War II, settling in Beverly Hills, California. In 1941 the young Elizabeth, encouraged by her mother, a former actress, obtained a contract with Universal Pictures. Her natural beauty and her poise were exceptional assets in the industry, and film executives were quick to recognize the girl's potential. Taylor's screen debut came in 1942, with a small part in There's One Born Every Minute. The next year, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) producer Sam Marx cast her in Lassie Come Home and gave her an MGM contract. She went on to appear in Jane Eyre and The White Cliffs of Dover, both in 1944, before taking the starring role in National Velvet that same year.

So eager were MGM executives to use Taylor in this role that they delayed shooting the film for four months until the girl could grow tall enough for the part. Her portrayal of Velvet Brown earned rave reviews. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote, "Her face is alive with youthful spirit, her voice has the softness of sweet song and her whole manner in this picture is one of refreshing grace."

National Velvet made Taylor a film star while she was still in her teens. Busy with subsequent film roles, the young actress attended high school at the MGM studios and then obtained her diploma in 1950 from the University High School in Hollywood. After starring in Courage of Lassie and playing adolescents in such films as Cynthia, Life with Father, A Date with Judy, Julia Misbehaves, and Little Women, she was cast in her first fully adult role as the wife of a Soviet spy in Conspirator. By the early 1950s, the busy actress was able to negotiate a new, five thousand dollar-a-week contract with MGM, appearing in Beau Brummel and The Last Time I Saw Paris.

During these years Taylor's celebrity was additionally fueled by the publicity surrounding her marriage in 1950 to hotelier Conrad Hilton, Jr., their subsequent divorce, then Taylor's second marriage in 1952, to Michael Wilding, which also ended in divorce—a status that had a degree of notoriety in a socially conservative era. At the same time, the actress was busy with Hollywood roles that, she later commented, did not always require much acting skill. She told Life interviewer Richard Meryman that A Place in the Sun was the first film in which she was "asked to do any real acting." In 1956 Taylor was given another meaty role when she was cast as Leslie Benedict in the Texas epic Giant. Though Taylor's performance was considered creditable, critics felt that it was overshadowed by that of star James Dean, who was killed in a car accident soon after completing his scenes.

In 1957 Taylor married for the third time. According to her biographer, Brenda Maddox, this marriage, to Michael Todd, transformed Taylor "from a dull movie beauty into an international celebrity … and into the archetypal star goddess." Taylor was devastated when Todd died in a plane crash in 1958, but went on to fulfill contractual obligations with her studio despite her grief. Taylor's portrayal that year of Maggie the Cat in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof earned her an Academy Award nomination. According to director Richard Brooks, Taylor became "the quintessential Tennessee Williams heroine" in this role. The following year she played Catherine in another Williams adaptation, Sud-denly Last Summer, for which she received another Academy Award nomination. That same year she caused a scandal when she married actor Eddie Fisher, who had been best man in her marriage to Todd and who divorced actress Debbie Reynolds to marry Taylor. Though Fisher and Taylor both insisted that Fisher's previous marriage had already deteriorated before they became romantically involved, Taylor was dubbed a "homewrecker" in the press.

Personal problems continued to plague the actress. She nearly died of pneumonia just before receiving an Academy Award for best actress for Butterfield 8, in which she played a call girl. In 1964 she divorced Fisher and married Welsh actor Richard Burton, whom she met when the couple were shooting Cleopatra. The film, which broke records for production costs and for which Taylor was paid one million dollars, created a sensation on its release—boosted in part by the publicity surrounding the Burton-Taylor affair. Soon thereafter Taylor wrote an "informal memoir." Published in 1965, when publicity about her relationship with Burton had scarcely abated, it was considered a superficial book at best and without significant literary merit. A reviewer for Best Seller found it tasteless, uninformative, and saccharine, but a Library Journal critic appreciated the book's honest tone and emphasis on family concerns.

Taylor and Burton went on to star together in The VIPs, The Sandpiper, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Taming of the Shrew, Doctor Faustus, The Comedians, Boom!, Under Milk Wood, and Hammersmith Is Out. Taylor's portrayal of the decidedly unglamorous Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was especially memorable, earning her a second Academy Award for best actress.

Between 1964 and 1972 Taylor and Burton made fifty million dollars on the films the two made together and spent lavishly on such luxuries as a yacht and jewels. The 33.19-carat Crupp diamond ring that Burton presented to Taylor during this period is still worn by the actress, but it was surpassed by a later gift from Burton, a 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond. The couple also drank heavily and often fought. As a People writer commented, "their marriage … became a portable riot. At hotels, they would rent suites above and below their own so other guests wouldn't overhear their brawling."

Taylor also made several films without Burton during this time, including Reflections in a Golden Eye, Secret Ceremony, The Only Game in Town, Night Watch, and Ash Wednesday. Critical opinion of these performances was mixed, but some reviewers felt that Taylor expanded her talents during this period. In 1974 Taylor divorced Burton, but the couple remarried the following year. They divorced again in 1976, and Taylor married John Warner, a politician, later that year. She divorced Warner in 1982.

In 1977, after starring as Desiree in A Little Night Music, Taylor suspended her film career for a short period to teach drama seminars at colleges in Virginia and to help her husband in his campaign for the U.S. Senate. In 1979 Taylor made a cameo appearance in Winter Kills, then played an aging actress in The Mirror Crack'd. In 1981 she made her Broadway debut in The Little Foxes, then appeared in Private Lives. During the 1970s, Taylor also worked in television, appearing again with Burton in the television movie Divorce His: Divorce Hers, and in Victory at Entebbe and Return Engagement. She has made guest appearances in the daytime television serial General Hospital, in the series Hotel, and the miniseries North and South. She has also appeared in the hit situation comedies Murphy Brown, Roseanne, and The Nanny, as well as in numerous television specials and awards ceremonies. In 1994 she appeared in the live action film The Flintstones.

In 1983 Taylor, who had earlier battled ulcers, amoebic dysentery, bursitis, acute bronchitis, back pain, and a serious bout of pneumonia, was admitted to the Betty Ford Center in California to be treated for alcoholism and prescription drug addictions. As with other aspects of her personal life, this event was widely publicized, and Taylor used it as an opportunity to raise awareness of such problems and to emphasize the importance of facing them with courage. One result of her stay at the Ford Center was another book, Elizabeth Taylor Takes Off: On Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Self-Esteem, and Self-Image. In this book, Taylor writes openly about the factors that had contributed to her own weight gain and offers positive solutions for achieving the self-esteem and discipline necessary to diet successfully. "All the advice makes absolute sense," wrote Library Journal's Carol Spielman Lezak, who found the book informative, readable, and extremely positive. The well-publicized volume attracted significant attention, and was excerpted in magazines such as People.

Taylor has also launched a line of her own fragrances, including Passions, Passions for Men, Diamonds and Rubies, Diamonds and Sapphires, White Diamonds, and Black Pearls. In addition, the actress has created a jewelry line for Avon. Taylor continued to make headlines into the 1990s, particularly with her 1991 marriage to Larry Fortensky, a construction worker with whom she had become acquainted during substance abuse rehabilitation. The couple, who received a great deal of what was often unflattering coverage in the press, divorced in 1996. In 1995 a television miniseries about Taylor was made based on C. David Haymann's unauthorized biography of the actress. Before its scheduled release, Taylor tried unsuccessfully to seek injunctive relief against both the book's publisher and the producer of the television program. Defendants in the case claimed her argument, that publication and production would violate trademark laws, was "frivolous" and unconstitutional. The biography, Liz: An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor, was published in 1995.

Taylor spent much of her time from the 1980s forward working for various social causes. Her work to educate the public about AIDS and to raise funds for AIDS research has been especially visible. Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry was released in celebration of a Christie's auction of fifty of Taylor's pieces, the 258,000 dollars raised going to her Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. The book contains gorgeous color photos of Taylor wearing her jewels, many of which have never been seen publicly. They include her fabulous diamonds, pearls, rubies, and emeralds that comprise one of the most significant collections in the world. Taylor provides anecdotes and reminiscences about her childhood, adult life and loves, and the manner in which her jewels were acquired. Library Journal's Therese Duzinkiewicz Baker wrote that "this stunning book is more than a catalog of Taylor's jewelry; it serves as a very personal autobiography."

For her efforts on behalf of AIDS victims and research, Taylor was awarded the French Legion of Honor award in 1987 and the Onassis Prize for Man and Science from the Aristotle S. Onassis Foundation in 1988. In 1993 the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center was dedicated in her honor at Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, DC. She was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, in part for her charitable work, in 2000, and she received the first Diamond Icon award from American Foundation for AIDS Research in 2003 for her work on behalf of AIDS research.

In 1997, just after appearing in her televised sixty-fifth birthday celebration, which raised one million dollars for AIDS research, Taylor underwent surgery for a benign brain tumor. According to interviewer Liz Smith in Good Housekeeping, Taylor "sailed through the operation" and then allowed photographers to take pictures of her in the hospital, with her shaved head showing a large scar. Taylor told Life interviewer Brad Darrach, that "most people are terrified, as I am, of brain surgery. But if they can go through the experience with me, sharing my fears and watching my struggles, maybe they'll be able to say, 'Hey, if she can get through it so can I.' That hope helps me keep up my spirits as I face what lies ahead."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Adler, Bill, Elizabeth Taylor: Triumphs and Tragedies, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1982.

Allan, John B., Elizabeth Taylor: A Fascinating Story of America's Most Talented Actress and the World's Most Beautiful Woman, Monarch (Derby, CT), 1961.

Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2002.

D'Arcy, Susan, The Films of Elizabeth Taylor, BCW Publishing, 1977.

Heymann, C. David, Liz: An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor (unauthorized biography), Carol Publishing Group (New York, NY), 1995.

Kelley, Kitty, Elizabeth Taylor: The Last Star, Simon and Schuster (New York, NY), 1981.

Latham, Caroline, and Jeannie Sakol, All About Elizabeth Taylor: Elizabeth Taylor, Public and Private, Onyx (New York, NY), 1991.

Nickens, Christopher, Elizabeth Taylor: A Biography in Photos, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1984.

Robin-Tani, Marianne, The New Elizabeth, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1988.

St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 2000.

Sheppard, Dick, Elizabeth: The Life and Career of Elizabeth Taylor, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1974.

Spoto, Donald, A Passion for Life: The Biography of Elizabeth Taylor, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Taylor, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Taylor—Her Own Story (autobiography), Harper and Row (New York, NY), 1965.

Vermilye, Jerry, and Mark Ricci, The Films of Elizabeth Taylor, Carol Publishing Group (New York, NY), 1989.

Walker, Alexander, Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Taylor, G. Weidenfeld (New York, NY), 1991.

PERIODICALS

Advocate, October 15, 1996.

Best Seller, December 15, 1965, review of Elizabeth Taylor—Her Own Story.

Booklist, September 15, 2002, Brad Hooper, review of Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, p. 179.

Book Week, December 5, 1965.

Choices for Retirement Living, June, 1995, p. 26.

Good Housekeeping, March, 1995, pp. 96-98; July, 1997, pp. 21-22.

Library Journal, December 15, 1965, review of Elizabeth Taylor—Her Own Story; April 15, 1988, Carol Spielman Lezak, review of Elizabeth Taylor Takes Off: On Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Self-Esteem, and Self-Image, p. 90; December, 2002, Therese Duzinkiewicz Baker, review of Elizabeth Taylor, p. 120.

Life, April, 1997, pp. 78-87.

New York Times (magazine), November 24, 1996, p. 90.

New York Times Book Review, November 28, 1965.

People, May 15, 1995, p. 339; March 4, 1996, p. 70; December 29, 1997, p. 156.

Publishers Weekly, August 29, 1994, p. 11; August 26, 2002, review of Elizabeth Taylor, p. 60.

TV Guide, June 4, 1994, p. 8.

Vanity Fair, May, 1995, p. 90.

W, December, 2004, Christopher Bagley, interview with Taylor, p. 292.