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Although she passed away in 2011, the impact she had on the world is still reverberating.
The real Dame Elizabeth Taylor is even more remarkable than most people realize.
“I don’t blame him… he was drunk.
I know he didn’t mean to do it.
He didn’t know what he was doing.”
But fame was far from idyllic for the young actress.
Instead of enjoying her new career, Taylor was made miserable by the film studio.
“I was nine when I made my first films in Hollywood,” she toldRolling Stone.
“I wasusedfrom the day I was a child, andutilizedby the studio.
I was promoted for their pockets.”
One incident in particular stuck in Taylor’s memory.
Taylor defended her mother.
She was just 15 years old at the time.
Her legendary beauty and prodigious acting talent had captivated generations of fans.
Taylor’s talent was innate, and the star didn’t have any formal training in her craft.
Instead, she honed her skills by watching others.
“I have never had an acting lesson in my life,” she toldRolling Stone.
Many think Burton, her fifth husband, wasthe great love of her life.
She described herself as a romantic who was willing to change herself to make her husbands happy.
“Why not yo someone you love?”
Being a senator’s wife was quite different from being a Hollywood star.
“If the woman is the politician, then it might be quite different.
But if you’re wedded to the politician, it’s like your lips are sealed.
You are a robot.”
While on the campaign trail, Taylor was forbidden from wearing purple “because it smacked ofroyalty.”
Taylor followed the rule for two months.
“I’ve always been interested in spiritual things.”
“Kabbalah is not conformist,” she said.
“You don’t have to be Jewish to believe in it.
It’s not a religion.
It coincides with many of my beliefs.”
She was not against organized religion, however.
“I didn’t find it in Christian Science.
And I wanted to be close to Mike.
So I studied Judaism for a year after his death, and then converted.”
“I’ve always preferred animals to little girls or boys,” she toldRolling Stone.
Taylor had many pets throughout her life, and even had monkeys in her home while living in Africa.
Towards the end of her life, Taylor had a Maltese dog named Sugar who accompanied her everywhere.
“I’ve never loved a dog like this in my life,” she toldWin 2004.
“It’s amazing.
Sometimes I think there’s a person in there.”
She was born with scoliosis, a condition which curves the spine.
“My body’s a real mess.
If you look at it in the mirror, it’s just completely convex and concave.
I’ve become one of those poor little old women who’s bent sideways.
My X-rays are hysterical.
Which is so cheery.”
She joked about the fact that she was still going strong in her 70s.
“People must think, ‘My God, she’s still alive?'”
“But there’s some resilience in me that makes me keep fighting.
It’s the damnedest thing I just keep coming back.”
A jewel of cinematic history, she added to her own dazzling charm by decorating herself with expensive jewels.
She even authored a book calledMy Love Affair with Jewelryin 2002 to commemorate her love for priceless baubles.
Of course, Taylor couldn’t stop at just three pieces.
“Start with a glamorous ring and earrings, I’d say,” she said.
“They are the basics for me.”
Oh God, I also love bracelets."
“I think if you were born with privileges or given privileges then you should share them.
Like money it’s to share.
I’ve known too many people who just sat and hoarded and were miserable.
I have always believed that giving is one of the reasons that we were put on this earth.
I’ve acted on that belief since I was old enough to leave my nest.”
Her long and prolific career, along with herturbulent personal life, made her a frequent media target.
“I’m not some strange kind of coiled person,” she toldPlaybillin 1981.
So I take the hubbub surrounding my life with a dose of salts, a big dose."
She credited her parents with keeping her grounded.
Even in childhood, she was quick to assert her independence and live life on her terms.
The actress toldRolling Stonethat she had always been the bang out to defy authority.
“My nanny, for instance, was horrible!”
“Her name was Frieda Edith Gill…
I think she was probably very sweet, and I was rude in my rebellion.
But I had my own identity and I probably was the biggest manipulator of all time.
I got my own way so cunningly.
… Yeah, I was probably the biggest manipulator ever born!”
Her independent streak was just one facet of what she considered to be her most important quality: passion.
Taylor always threw her whole self into whatever she did.
“I’m notfascinatedby things,” she said.
One is fascinated by fire.
That’s the difference between fascination and passion for me."
“I’m well enough off not to have to work,” she toldPlaybill.
“No one has a gun at my head.
But I act because I like it.”
“I have a very sound ego, I think,” she said.
“I don’t have to go out fighting windmills or trying to prove things.
Certainly not to other people.
That would be a waste of energy.”
God knows she used what she had to huge effect."
“She taught us by example to help others,” she said.
