Elizabeth Taylor

ELIZABETH TAYLOR d2011. British-American actress. Following her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywoods Golden Age and one of the world's most famous film stars. She was recognized for her acting ability, her glamorous lifestyle, beauty and distinctive violet eyes. Notable film roles include ; National Velvet (1944) / Father Of The Bride (1950) / A Place In The Sun (1951) / Giant (1956) / Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958) / Suddenly Last Summer (1959) and Cleopatra (1963). She won Academy Awards for Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf (1966). From the mid-1970s, she appeared less frequently in film and made occasional appearances in television and theatre. Her much publicized personal life included eight marriages (twice to Richard Burton in 1964 & 1975) and several life-threatening illnesses. From the mid-1980s, she championed HIV and AIDS programs ; co-founding The American Foundation for AIDS research in 1985 and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1993. The American Film Institute have named her seventh on their list of the "Greatest American Screen Legends". She died of congestive heart failure at the age of 79 in March 2011.