Taylor, Elizabeth (1932–)

English-born American actress. Born Feb 27, 1932, in London to American parents; dau. of Francis Taylor (art dealer) and Sara (Warmbrodt) Taylor (who officially changed name to Sara Sothern when she began acting in stock companies); m. Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr. (hotelier), 1950 (div. 1951); m. Michael Wilding (actor), 1952 (div. 1957); m. Michael Todd (producer), 1957 (died 1958); m. Eddie Fisher (singer), 1959 (div. 1964); m. Richard Burton (actor), 1964 and 1975 (div. 1973 and 1976); m. John Warner (US senator), 1976 (div. 1982); m. Larry Fortensky (construction worker), 1991 (div. 1996); children: (2nd m.) Michael Wilding Jr. (b. 1953); Christopher Wilding (b. 1955); (3rd m.) Elizabeth Frances Todd (b. 1957); (5th m.) adopted, Maria Burton.

Academy Award-winning actress who remains a respected and much-loved celebrity around the world, particularly after raising millions of dollars for AIDS research, though later career was less spectacular and marked by numerous health problems; moved with parents to Los Angeles at outbreak of WWII (1939); made screen debut in There's One Born Every Minute (1942); was 1st noticed in Lassie Come Home (1943), followed by Jane Eyre (1944) and The White Cliffs of Dover (1944); had 1st starring role in National Velvet (1944); while under contract to MGM (1942–62), starred in numerous movies, including Courage of Lassie (1946), Cynthia (1947), Life with Father (1947), A Date with Judy (1948), Julia Misbehaves (1948), Little Women (1949), Father of the Bride (1950), Father's Little Dividend (1951), A Place in the Sun (1951), Ivanhoe (1952), Elephant Walk (1954), The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), Giant (1956), Raintree County (1957), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959); as one of the world's most glamorous actresses, became as famous for her off-screen life, especially during filming of Cleopatra (1963); won Academy Awards for Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966); also appeared on stage in Private Lives with Richard Burton; other films include The VIPs (1963), The Sandpiper (1965), The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), The Comedians (1967), Boom! (1968), Under Milkwood (1971), A Little Night Music (1977), The Mirror Crack'd (1980) and The Visit (1999). Named Dame of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II (2000).

See also Alexander Walker, Elizabeth (Grove, 1990); C. David Heymann, Liz: An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor (Birch Lane, 1995); Donald Spoto, A Passion for Life: The Biography of Elizabeth Taylor (HarperCollins, 1995); and Women in World History.