Elizabeth Taylor - Pioneer Actress, Passes Away At 79
Elizabeth Taylor passed away Wednesday in Los Angeles. Taylor was 79 years old.
Elizabeth Taylor is best known for her many failed marriages. She would marry eight times to a total of seven men over her lifetime. When asked why she married so often she said, "I don’t know, honey. It sure beats the hell out of me."
But let us remember Taylor for what she really did for us. A beautiful and vivacious woman, she captured our hearts on the silver screen time after time.
Taylor's first movie appearance came in 1941 at the age of 9 with 'There's One Born Every Minute'. Six months later, her contract was reviewed by Edward Muhl, who said that Taylor, "couldn't act, couldn't sing and couldn't dance". Muhl also said that Taylor's mother was impossible to work with. Universal canceled Taylor's contract six months before her tenth birthday. In October of the same year, MGM signed Elizabeth to play Priscilla in 'Lassie Come Home' for $100 a week.
Elizabeth Taylor would land roles in many movies since her inception into the film industry at the age of 9. Her biggest child star role would be National Velvet which grossed $4 million at the box office and gave Taylor a $30,000 salary.
Elizabeth Taylor would come to be known as "One-Shot Liz" because of her ability to shoot a scene in one take.
She would go on to a starring role in Cleopatra in 1963. The movie won four Academy Awards although it was considered a failure. Taylor would win Oscars for her roles in "Butterfield 8" in 1960 and "Who's Afraid Of Virgina Woolf?" in 1966.
Taylor smoked for much of her life and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2004. In 2009 she underwent surgery to replace a leaky heart valve.
Taylor died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles surrounded by her four children.
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