BIOGRAPHY OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR

Elizabeth Taylor
(actress, born February 27, 1932, in London, England)



Born in London to American parents, Taylor moved to California with her family shortly before World War II erupted in Europe. Soon noticed by a talent scout, she made her film debut at age ten in There's One Born Every Minute. In 1943, she signed a long-term contract with MGM and fell in with the studio's celebrated gang of kid stars: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, and Freddie Bartholomew. People noticed the exceptionally beautiful tyke on the sidelines of Lassie Come Home and Jane Eyre, but it was the horse-crazy 12-year-old girl at the center of the classic National Velvet (1944) that audiences throughout the world fell in love. A spate of frothy teenage movies followed, culminating with her first on-screen wedding in Minnelli's delightful Father of the Bride.



Finally, she won her first Academy Award for Butterfield 8 (1960) and returned to the podium six years later for her blistering "Martha" opposite Richard Burton's "George" in Mike Nichols' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. This performance also earned her awards from the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the British Film Academy.



In 1981, Taylor made her Broadway debut as Regina Giddens in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, for which she received a Tony Award nomination, the Theater World Award, and a special Outer Critics Circle Award. In 1983, she made her second and last Broadway appearance, opposite Burton, in Noel Coward's Private Lives.

Two years later, Rock Hudson, her Giant costar and one of her most cherished friends, died of AIDS. In response to the tragedy, she cast herself in the role of Hollywood's most fearless fund-raiser in the fight against the disease, first by rallying a still reluctant film industry behind a major show in support of AIDS Project Los Angeles, then by co-founding AmFar (the American Foundation for AIDS Research) with Dr. Mathilde Krim. In 1991, Taylor established the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

For her activism, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Taylor with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1992. That same year, the American Film Institute honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award for her glorious contribution to the art of motion pictures. At the time, she was the award's youngest recipient.

Recently made a Dame of the British Empire and named a Commander of Arts and Letters by the French government, Taylor has lived virtually her entire life with us, just as millions of people around the world have grown up and lived their lives watching her. "It would be hard to conceive of a world without Elizabeth Taylor," said The Independent earlier this year on the eve of her 70th birthday.



Requires Real Player

Elizabeth Taylor in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?": The 60s most famous couple on screen and off go 15 rounds in under a minute...

Elizabeth Taylor in "Giant": Classic american cinema featuring Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean in his last role

Cary Grant: A Class Apart (2004) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself
A Letter to True (2004) .... Herself
Daytime's Greatest Weddings (2004) (V) .... Helena Cassadine
Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) (V) .... Herself
Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies (2003) (TV) .... Herself
Return to 'Giant' (2003) (V) (uncredited) .... Herself
Headliners & Legends: Elizabeth Taylor (2002) (TV) .... Herself
8th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2002) (TV) .... Herself
Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001) (TV) .... Herself
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood (2001) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself
Chop Suey (2001) (uncredited) .... Herself
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (2001) (TV) .... Herself
The Nightclub Years (2001) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars (1999) (TV) (uncredited)
Elizabeth Taylor: The E! True Hollywood Story (1998) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself
Memories of 'Giant' (1998) (V) (uncredited) .... Herself
"The Fifties" (1997) (mini) (uncredited) .... Herself (marries)
Judy Garland's Hollywood (1997) (V) .... Herself
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997) (uncredited) .... Herself
Bob Hope: Celebrity Bloopers (1997) (V) .... Herself
Great Romances of the 20th Century: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (1997) (TV) .... Herself
The Hollywood Fashion Machine (1995) (TV) .... Herself
Luke and Laura Vol. 2: Greatest Love of All (1995) (V) .... Helena Cassadine
Legends of Entertainment Video (1995) (V) .... Herself
Weddings of a Lifetime (1995) (TV) .... Herself
One on One: Classic Television Interviews (1993) (TV) .... Herself
And the Band Played On (1993) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself (epilogue sequence)
Edward R. Murrow: The Best of 'Person to Person' (1993) (V) .... Herself
"Fame in the Twentieth Century" (1993) (uncredited) .... Herself
Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)
"MGM: When the Lion Roars" (1992) (mini) .... Herself
Oscar's Greatest Moments (1992) (V) .... Herself
Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself
Moonwalker (1988) (uncredited) .... Herself
The 1950's: Music, Memories & Milestones (1988) (V) .... Herself
Hollywood Sex Symbols (1988) (V)
"Richard Burton: In From the Cold" (1988) .... Herself
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1984) .... Clips from 'A Place in the Sun' and 'Giant'
TV's Funniest Gameshow Moments (1984) (TV) .... Herself
Hollywood Outtakes (1984) (uncredited) .... Herself
Sixty Years of Seduction (1981) (TV)
Notre Dame de la Croisette (1981) (uncredited) .... Herself
Ken Murray Shooting Stars (1979) .... Herself
That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
Elizabeth Taylor: Hollywood's Child (1975) (TV) .... Herself
James Dean: The First American Teenager (1975) (TV) (uncredited)
Lionpower From MGM (1967) (uncredited)
The Love Goddesses (1965) .... Herself
Hollywood My Home Town (1965) .... Herself
Filmography as: Actress, Producer, Miscellaneous Crew, Herself, Archive Footage, Notable TV Guest Appearances

Notable TV Guest Appearances

"Larry King Live" playing "Herself" 3 February 2003
"E! Goes to Cannes!" playing "Herself" in episode: "Cannes 2002" 31 May 2002
"Leute heute" playing "Herself" in episode: "Aus Cannes" 24 May 2002
"The Simpsons" playing "Margaret 'Maggie' Simpson" (voice) (archive footage) in episode: "Gump Roast" (episode # 13.17) 21 April 2002
"The Rosie O'Donnell Show" playing "Herself" 24 September 2001
"Larry King Live" 15 January 2001
"God, the Devil and Bob" (voice) in episode: "God's Girlfriend" (episode # 1.12) 2000
"20/20" playing "Herself" 14 February 1997
"Can't Hurry Love" playing "Herself" in episode: "The Elizabeth Taylor Episode" (episode # 1.19) 26 February 1996
"High Society" playing "Herself" in episode: "The Family Jewels" (episode # 1.13) 26 February 1996
"Murphy Brown" playing "Herself" in episode: "Trick or Retreat" (episode # 8.18) 26 February 1996
"The Nanny" playing "Herself" in episode: "Where's the Pearls?" (episode # 3.21) 26 February 1996
"Primetime Live" playing "Herself" 14 June 1995
"The Simpsons" playing "Herself" (voice) in episode: "Krusty Gets Kancelled" (episode # 4.22) 13 May 1993
"Larry King Live" playing "Herself" 3 March 1993
"The Simpsons" playing "Margaret 'Maggie' Simpson" (voice) in episode: "Lisa's First Word" (episode # 4.10) 3 December 1992
"The Whoopi Goldberg Show" playing "Herself" 14 September 1992
"The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" playing "Herself" 21 February 1992
"The Phil Donahue Show" playing "Herself" 15 February 1988
"Today" playing "Herself" 2 February 1988
"Hour Magazine" playing "Herself" 25 August 1987
"Hour Magazine" playing "Herself" 24 August 1987
"Hour Magazine" playing "Herself" 23 August 1987
"Hour Magazine" playing "Herself" 22 August 1987
"Hour Magazine" playing "Herself" 21 August 1987
"Hotel" playing "Katherine Cole" in episode: "Intimate Strangers" (episode # 2.1) 26 September 1984
"Today" playing "Herself" 14 April 1983
"Today" playing "Herself" 24 September 1982
"Today" playing "Herself" 26 February 1982
"NBC Nightly News" playing "Herself" 28 February 1981
"Today" playing "Herself" 18 February 1980
"The Barbara Walters Special" playing "Herself" (episode # 1.2) 6 April 1977
"The David Frost Show" playing "Herself" 21 March 1972
"The David Frost Show" playing "Herself" 20 March 1972
"Here's Lucy" playing "Herself" in episode: "Lucy Meets the Burtons" (episode # 3.1) 14 September 1970
"The David Frost Show" playing "Herself" 19 March 1970
"The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show" playing "Herself" (episode # 1.1) 7 January 1966
"Playhouse 90" playing "Herself" in episode: "Around the World in 90 Minutes" (episode # 2.6) 17 October 1957
"Toast of the Town" playing "Herself" (episode # 10.4) 14 October 1956
"Toast of the Town" playing "Herself" (episode # 8.10) 14 November 1954
"What's My Line?" playing "Herself" 14 November 1954