Elizabeth Taylor is considered one of the last, if not the last major star, to have come out of the old Hollywood studio system. And not just any studio, the top of the heap: MGM. Her early movies, as a child in the early 1940s, starred such Hollywood luminaries as
Orson Welles and Spencer Tracy. She quickly grew up, however, and by 1950 was, if not starring in, assuming major responsibilities for the success of motion pictures she appeared in. Then with major roles onscreen, came worldwide attention off-screen, most notably due to a succession of famous and/or rich husbands and a series of health crises throughout her life. To put it simply, Elizabeth Taylor has lived a life far more exciting and dramatic than any movie she's ever appeared in and probably most any other movie you could name. She's known internationally for her beauty, especially for those violet eyes, with which she captured audiences early on in her youth and has kept the world hooked on ever since. She's won the Oscar twice and she's earned her place in and out of the sun.
In 1942 Taylor signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the biggest and best studio of the time, and landed a part in
Lassie Come Home. In 1943 she was cast in
National Velvet, the story of a young woman who wins a horse in the lottery and rides it in England's Grand National Steeplechase. Taylor was so determined to play the role that she exercised and dieted for four months. During filming she was thrown from a horse and suffered a broken back, but she forced herself to finish the project.
National Velvet became both a critical and commercial success.
Taylor loved her work, the costumes, the makeup, and the attention. Columnist Hedda Hopper, a friend of Taylor's mother, declared that at fifteen Elizabeth was the most beautiful woman in the world. Making films such as
Little Women, Father of the Bride, Cynthia, and
A Place in the Sun, Taylor began to gain a reputation as a moody actress who demanded special treatment. In May 1950 she married Conrad N. Hilton Jr., whose family owned a chain of hotels, but the union lasted less than a year. After divorcing Hilton, she married British actor Michael Wilding in February 1952. They had two sons.
Between 1952 and 1956 Elizabeth Taylor played in many romantic films that did not demand great acting talent. In 1956 she played opposite James Dean (1931–1955) in
Giant, followed by the powerful
Raintree County (1957), for which she was nominated (put forward for consideration) for an Academy Award for the first time. In
Suddenly Last Summer (1959) she received five hundred thousand dollars (the most ever earned by an actress for eight weeks of work) and another Academy Award nomination.
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Elizabeth Taylor Biography - life, family, children, parents, name, story, wife, mother, young http://www.notablebiographies.com/St-Tr/Taylor-Elizabeth.html#ixzz1HT6Ctbwf
- Was born in England to American parents and lived there until age 7.
- Made her film debut at 10 in There's One Born Every Minute, which also featured Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer.
- Was the first movie star to receive a then-record salary of $1 million, for 1963's Cleopatra.
- Made her Broadway debut in a 1981 revival of The Little Foxes.
- Recipient of several awards for her HIV/AIDS charity work and other causes.
- Married eight times, including twice to Richard Burton.
- Was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II on New Year's Eve, 1999.
What an amazing powerful woman and we take some of your legacy and carry it on! Thank you for all you have done, You will NOT be forgotten
