A striking beauty whose personal life held as much interest as her films, Taylor captivated audiences in some of the most iconic films of the '40s, '50s and '60s, including National Velvet, Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Butterfield 8, Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf and Cleopatra.
Born in London, England, Taylor and her family moved to Los Angeles when she was seven. By age 10, she had her first screen role and the following year she appeared in 1942's Lassie Come Home, a film that would lead MGM to make her a contract player. In 1943, she appeared in National Velvet and became a star at age 12. Velvet grossed a then-astronomical $4 million and made Taylor a Hollywood staple for the next three decades.
Taylor won her first Oscar for 1960's Butterfield 8 and 20th Century Fox capitalized on that success by offering her the title role in 1963's Cleopatra, a film that would not only pay her a record million-dollar salary but introduce her to future-husband Richard Burton.
Burton and Taylor became Hollywood royalty, were married for 10 years, had a child and then divorced, only to remarry a year later and then divorce again.
In later years, Taylor become a much-publicized companion of singer Michael Jackson and a crusader for AIDS awareness after the death of friend Rock Hudson.
If you haven't seen Miss Taylor's work, do yourself a favor and seek out any of the aforementioned titles. One of my favorites is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Paul Newman and Burl Ives.
