Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, one of the last stars of classical Hollywood cinema and the first modern celebrities, was born on this day in 1932.
Known for her beauty, especially for her violet eyes, Elizabeth captured audiences with her performances in films like Father of the Bride (1950), Cleopatra (1963), The Taming of the Shrew (1967) and National Velvet (1944) among others.
Elizabeth was born in London to American parents who were art dealers in the city. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, the Taylors returned to the United States and settled into their new life in Los Angeles
She made her on-screen debut at the age of 10 in There’s One Born Every Minute (1942). She followed that up with a bigger role in Lassie Come Home (1943) and later The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).
Her breakout role, however, came in 1944 with National Velvet, in a role Elizabeth Taylor spent four months working to get. The film turned out to be a huge hit that made the 12-year-old actress a huge star.
There was no looking back for Taylor who in 1963 bagged a record-breaking $1 million to play the title role in the historical epic Cleopatra , which was the most expensive film made up to that point.
Besides acting, Taylor was also involved in several philanthropic initiatives. She was also one of the first celebrities to take part in HIV/AIDS activism. She founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in 1985 and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. Taylor died from heart failure at the age of 79 in 2011.
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