Meet Elizabeth (Liz) Taylor: A Brief Biography

How would YOU summarize the life of someone as amazing as Elizabeth Taylor? Would you use words like beautiful and talented? If so, you would just be scratching the surface of what made Liz Taylor special.

I just stumbled across a lovely video tribute to Elizabeth Taylor created by someone who knew her personally. The Elizabeth Taylor Tribute is presented by legendary screen actor Paul Newman for Turner Classic Movies and I think it truly does a beautiful job of outlining, in brief, the world that Liz Taylor lived in.

Because I think it is such a fitting tribute to Elizabeth Taylor's life, I used it as the basis for this page. However, you will also find here a discussion of some of the newest Elizabeth Taylor biographies in book and video form and, of course, links to information about her more than 50 movies.

Click here to see this and other Elizabeth Liz Taylor Biographies on Amazon.

Paul Newman had a lot of wonderful things to say about Elizabeth Taylor. If you watched the video shown above, you will know that he did NOT want an appraisal of Elizabeth Taylor to stop at the color of her eyes and the level of her beauty. He also highly praised her screen presence and the fact that she was a gifted actress offering as proof the facts that she was nominated for FIVE ACADEMY AWARDS and that she WON TWO OF THEM FOR BEST ACTRESS.

Newman says that Taylor was definitely a child star and that she did grow up in front of the camera. We all know now, even if we did not then, that growing up in front of the camera can be a very difficult proposition for any child. Elizabeth Taylor endured childhood stardom and spent the rest of her life in the eye of the public. She went on to survive publicly many tests including illnesses, tragedies and lost loves BUT SHE KEPT ON GOING.

Newman says that acting was a therapy for Taylor although it, too, provided a challenge as many were overwhelmed by her beauty, which caused them to overlook her "powerful performances and to understate her acting ability". I have to agree. I am in the middle of watching Taylor's A Date with Judy and I simply CANNOT get past how beautiful she was. It might have helped if they had dressed her in rags instead of a beautiful dress that exactly matches the color of her eyes...but I digress.

Elizabeth Taylor persevered and eventually was recognized for her talent as well as her beauty. She was also recognized as a generous human being who was giving both to her friends and to charities alike, as she shared her talent and time freely. She even won a humantarian award for a favorite cause, an AIDS charity.

From People Magazine

People usually produces very interesting books about the celebrities we are interested in. Their tribute to Elizabeth Taylor promises to be no different. This hardcover book will discuss her eight marriages and her two oscars as well as countless scandals and beautiful jewels. It will take you from Hollywood to Rome to Acapulco and even to the French Riviera. This memorial should prove to be packed with photos and stories to help you see the life of Elizabeth Taylor and to learn what it was like for Liz, who lived her entire life as a celebrity.

By Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger.

People have compared Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to Cleopatra and Anthony, Fred and Ethel Mert and, more recently, called them the early version of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (Brangelina). They were called the brawling Burtons and the public hung on every development in their marriage. This book will contain plenty of references to the battles but promises to reach BEYOND the gossip and learn about the humans behind the news stories. It will share their life of consumption and their pain. Reviewers were taken by this portrait of love and even called this behind-the-scenes tour addictive.

A newly revised book, written by C. David Heymann.

Liz: An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor was published in 1995 and became the story behind the miniseries, Liz. This is the revised book, offering a new chapter covering the final years of Taylor’s life. Learn more about the ups and downs of her career and about her personal life, including her marriages to men like Nicky Hilton, Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton, Senator John Warner,and Larry Fortensky. Read about her relationships with her father and with her leading men, including Montgomery Clift, James Dean, and Rock Hudson and her unusual friends like Malcolm Forbes and Michael Jackson.

I discovered a few films about Elizabeth Taylor most available only on VHS videotape. However, there is this made-for-television movie, Liz and Dick. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Grant Bowler, Theresa Russell, David Hunt and Bruce Novick. It wasn't very well received but it was still interesting.