86-445: David Sassoon may refer to: David Sassoon (designer) (born 1932), British fashion designer David Sassoon (treasurer) (1792–1864), Iraqi-Jewish treasurer David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942), Iraqi bibliophile See also [ edit ] Sassoon family Albert Abdullah David Sassoon (1818–1896), English businessman David Sasson , Israeli diplomat David of Sassoun ,
172-484: A Civil War drama which it hoped would replicate the success of Gone with the Wind (1939). Taylor found her role as a mentally disturbed Southern belle fascinating, but overall disliked the film. Although the film failed to become the type of success MGM had planned, Taylor was nominated for the first time for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Taylor considered her next performance as Maggie
258-595: A Golden Globe for Best Actress for the latter. Although she disliked her role as a call girl in BUtterfield 8 (1960), her last film for MGM, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. During the production of the film Cleopatra in 1961, Taylor and co-star Richard Burton began an extramarital affair, which caused a scandal. Despite public disapproval, they continued their relationship and were married in 1964. Dubbed "Liz and Dick" by
344-793: A jet set lifestyle, including assembling one of the most expensive private collections of jewelry in the world. After many years of ill health, Taylor died from congestive heart failure in 2011, at the age of 79. Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on 27 February 1932, at Heathwood, her family's home at 8 Wildwood Road in Hampstead Garden Suburb , northwest London, England. She received dual British–American citizenship at birth as her parents, art dealer Francis Lenn Taylor (1897–1968) and stage actress Sara Sothern (1895–1994), were United States citizens, both originally from Arkansas City, Kansas . They moved to London in 1929 and opened an art gallery on Bond Street; their first child,
430-639: A "low point" in her career, and said that the studio had cut out the scenes which she felt provided the "core of the characterization." Taylor intended to follow Cleopatra by headlining an all-star cast in Fox's black comedy What a Way to Go! (1964), but negotiations fell through, and Shirley MacLaine was cast instead. In the meantime, film producers were eager to profit from the scandal surrounding Taylor and Burton, and they next starred together in Anthony Asquith 's The V.I.P.s (1963), which mirrored
516-409: A "normal" teenager attending parties and going on dates. Film magazines and gossip columnists also began comparing her to older actresses such as Ava Gardner and Lana Turner . Life called her "Hollywood's most accomplished junior actress" for her two film roles that year. In the critically panned Cynthia (1947), Taylor portrayed a frail girl who defies her over-protective parents to go to
602-663: A Broadway production of Lillian Hellman 's The Little Foxes . Instead of portraying Giddens in negative light, as had often been the case in previous productions, Taylor's idea was to show her as a victim of circumstance, explaining, "She's a killer, but she's saying, 'Sorry fellas, you put me in this position'." The production premiered in May 1981, and had a sold-out six-month run despite mixed reviews. Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote that Taylor's performance as "Regina Giddens, that malignant Southern bitch-goddess ... begins gingerly, soon gathers steam, and then explodes into
688-708: A black and thunderous storm that may just knock you out of your seat", while Dan Sullivan of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Taylor presents a possible Regina Giddens, as seen through the persona of Elizabeth Taylor. There's some acting in it, as well as some personal display." She appeared as evil socialite Helena Cassadine in the day-time soap opera General Hospital in November 1981. The following year, she continued performing The Little Foxes in London's West End , but received largely negative reviews from
774-614: A brief supporting role. Taylor received American and British honors for her career: the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1993, the Screen Actors Guild honorary award in 1997, and a BAFTA Fellowship in 1999. In 2000, she was appointed a Dame Commander in the chivalric Order of the British Empire in the millennium New Year Honours List by Queen Elizabeth II . After supporting roles in
860-578: A brothel keeper in the historical mini-series North and South in 1985. She also starred in several television films, playing gossip columnist Louella Parsons in Malice in Wonderland (1985), a "fading movie star" in the drama There Must Be a Pony (1986), and a character based on Poker Alice in the eponymous Western (1987). She re-united with director Franco Zeffirelli to appear in his French-Italian biopic Young Toscanini (1988), and had
946-512: A commercial success, grossing over $ 4 million in the box office. Taylor's last adolescent role was as Amy March in Mervyn LeRoy 's Little Women (1949), a box-office success. The same year, Time featured Taylor on its cover, and called her the leader among Hollywood's next generation of stars, "a jewel of great price, a true sapphire." Taylor made the transition to adult roles when she turned 18 in 1950. In her first mature role,
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#17327756565651032-503: A drama about a high-class call girl, in an adaptation of a John O'Hara 1935 novel of the same name . The studio correctly calculated that Taylor's public image would make it easy for audiences to associate her with the role. She hated the film for the same reason, but had no choice in the matter, although the studio agreed to her demands of filming in New York and casting Eddie Fisher in a sympathetic role. As predicted, BUtterfield 8
1118-422: A drug and alcohol rehabilitation center after the play's run ended, and Burton died the following year. After the failure of Private Lives , Taylor dissolved her theatre company. Her only other project that year was the television film Between Friends . From the mid-1980s, Taylor acted mostly in television productions. She made cameos in the soap operas Hotel and All My Children in 1984, and played
1204-471: A fictional character in the Armenian war poem Daredevils of Sassoun Frederick David Sassoon (1853–1917), English merchant Reuben David Sassoon (1835–1905), English merchant Solomon David Sassoon (1915–1985), English educator Solomon David Sassoon (1841–1894) , (1841–1894), English businessman Sassoon David Sassoon (1831–1867), English businessman [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
1290-587: A film, Doctor Faustus (1967), with the same cast. It was also panned by critics and grossed only $ 600,000 in the box office (equivalent to $ 5.48 million in 2023). Taylor and Burton's next project, Franco Zeffirelli 's The Taming of the Shrew (1967), which they also co-produced, was more successful. It posed another challenge for Taylor, as she was the only actor in the project with no previous experience of performing Shakespeare; Zeffirelli later stated that this made her performance interesting, as she "invented
1376-530: A highly publicized ceremony. The event was organized by MGM, and used as part of the publicity campaign for Taylor's next film, Vincente Minnelli 's comedy Father of the Bride (1950), in which she appeared opposite Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett as a bride preparing for her wedding. The film became a box-office success upon its release in June, grossing $ 6 million worldwide ($ 75,983,402 in 2023 dollars ), and
1462-525: A new seven-year contract with a weekly salary of $ 750. They cast her in a minor role in the third film of the Lassie series, Courage of Lassie (1946). MGM also published a book of Taylor's writings about her pet chipmunk, Nibbles and Me (1946), and had paper dolls and coloring books made in her likeness. When Taylor turned 15 in 1947, MGM began to cultivate a more mature public image for her by organizing photo shoots and interviews that portrayed her as
1548-514: A ranching dynasty, which co-starred Rock Hudson and James Dean . Its filming in Marfa, Texas , was a difficult experience for Taylor, as she clashed with Stevens, who wanted to break her will to make her easier to direct, and was often ill, resulting in delays. To further complicate the production, Dean died in a car accident only days after completing filming; the grieving Taylor still had to film reaction shots to their joint scenes. When Giant
1634-442: A repressed gay military officer and his unfaithful wife. It was originally slated to co-star Taylor's old friend Montgomery Clift, whose career had been in decline for several years owing to his substance abuse problems. Determined to secure his involvement in the project, Taylor even offered to pay for his insurance. But Clift died from a heart attack before filming began; he was replaced in the role by Marlon Brando . Reflections
1720-536: A son named Howard (died 2020), was born the same year. The family lived in London during Taylor's childhood. Their social circle included artists such as Augustus John and Laura Knight and politicians such as Colonel Victor Cazalet . Cazalet was Taylor's unofficial godfather and an important influence in her early life. She was enrolled in Byron House School , a Montessori school in Highgate, and
1806-419: A spoiled socialite who comes between a poor factory worker ( Montgomery Clift ) and his pregnant girlfriend ( Shelley Winters ). Stevens cast Taylor as she was "the only one ... who could create this illusion" of being "not so much a real girl as the girl on the candy-box cover, the beautiful girl in the yellow Cadillac convertible that every American boy sometime or other thinks he can marry." A Place in
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#17327756565651892-421: A star, as MGM started to control every aspect of her life. She described the studio as a "big extended factory actory", where she was required to adhere to a strict daily schedule. Her days were spent attending school, and filming at the studio lot. In the evenings, Taylor took dancing and singing classes, and practiced the following day's scenes. Following the success of National Velvet , MGM gave Taylor
1978-460: A successful $ 14 million in the box office (equivalent to $ 135 million in 2023). Their next project, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), an adaptation of a play of the same name by Edward Albee , featured the most critically acclaimed performance of Taylor's career. She and Burton starred as Martha and George, a middle-aged couple going through a marital crisis. In order to convincingly play 50-year-old Martha, Taylor gained weight, wore
2064-557: A troubled married couple, won her the David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress . She appeared with Burton in the adaptation of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood ; although her role was small, the producers decided to give her top-billing to profit from her fame. Her third film role that year was playing a blonde diner waitress in Peter Ustinov 's Faust parody Hammersmith Is Out , her tenth collaboration with Burton. Although it
2150-415: A weekly salary of $ 4,700 ($ 53,524 in 2023 dollars ), MGM agreed to give the couple a loan for a house, and signed her husband for a three-year contract. Due to her financial dependency, the studio now had even more control over her than previously. Taylor's first two films made under her new contract were released ten days apart in early 1954. The first was Rhapsody , a romantic film starring her as
2236-410: A wig, and used makeup to make herself look older and tired – in stark contrast to her public image as a glamorous film star. At Taylor's suggestion, theatre director Mike Nichols was hired to direct the project, despite his lack of experience with film. The production differed from anything she had done previously, as Nichols wanted to thoroughly rehearse the play before beginning filming. Woolf
2322-503: A woman caught in a love triangle with two musicians. The second was Elephant Walk , a drama in which she played a British woman struggling to adapt to life on her husband's tea plantation in Ceylon . She had been loaned to Paramount Pictures for the film after its original star, Vivien Leigh , fell ill. In the fall, Taylor starred in two more film releases. Beau Brummell was a Regency era period film, another project in which she
2408-636: A year. She was then signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and became a popular teen star after appearing in National Velvet (1944). She transitioned to mature roles in the 1950s, when she starred in the comedy Father of the Bride (1950) and received critical acclaim for her performance in the drama A Place in the Sun (1951). She starred in the historical adventure epic Ivanhoe (1952) with Robert Taylor and Joan Fontaine . Despite being one of MGM 's most bankable stars, Taylor wished to end her career in
2494-766: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages David Sassoon (designer) David Sassoon (born 1932) is a high end British fashion designer, who owns the Bellville Sassoon salon in Knightsbridge , London , founded by Belinda Bellville in 1953. Born to Iraqi Jewish parents, Gourgi and Victoria Sassoon in north London, Sassoon initially intended becoming an actor but turned to fashion when his father disapproved. He attended Avigdor High School and Lauderdale Road Synagogue in West London. He
2580-706: The American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. From the early 1990s until her death, she dedicated her time to philanthropy, for which she received several accolades, including the Presidential Citizens Medal . Throughout her career, Taylor's personal life was the subject of constant media attention. She was married eight times to seven men, converted to Judaism , endured several serious illnesses, and led
2666-510: The American film industry was beginning to face serious competition from television, which resulted in studios producing fewer films, and focusing instead on their quality. The change benefited Taylor, who finally found more challenging roles after several years of career disappointments. After lobbying director George Stevens, she won the female lead role in Giant (1956), an epic drama about
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2752-685: The British press. Encouraged by the success of The Little Foxes , Taylor and producer Zev Buffman founded the Elizabeth Taylor Repertory Company. Its first and only production was a revival of Noël Coward 's comedy Private Lives , starring Taylor and Burton. It premiered in Boston in early 1983, and although commercially successful, received generally negative reviews, with critics noting that both stars were in noticeably poor health – Taylor admitted herself to
2838-629: The Cat in the screen adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) a career "high point." But it coincided with one of the most difficult periods in her personal life. After completing Raintree Country , she had divorced Wilding and married producer Mike Todd . She had completed only two weeks of filming in March 1958, when Todd was killed in a plane crash. Although she
2924-599: The Italian Muriel Spark adaptation The Driver's Seat (1974), was a failure. Taylor took fewer roles after the mid-1970s, and focused on supporting the career of her sixth husband, Republican politician John Warner , a US senator. In 1976, she participated in the Soviet-American fantasy film The Blue Bird (1976), a critical and box-office failure, and had a small role in the television film Victory at Entebbe (1976). In 1977, she sang in
3010-888: The London gallery and joined them in December. In early 1940, he opened a new gallery in Los Angeles. After briefly living in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, with the Chapman family, the Taylor family settled in Beverly Hills, California , where the two children were enrolled in Hawthorne School. In California, Taylor's mother was frequently told that her daughter should audition for films. Taylor's eyes in particular, drew attention; they were blue, to
3096-609: The Mediterranean island on which she has retired. Secret Ceremony is a psychological drama that also stars Mia Farrow and Robert Mitchum . Taylor's third film with George Stevens, The Only Game in Town (1970), in which she played a Las Vegas showgirl who has an affair with a compulsive gambler, played by Warren Beatty , was unsuccessful. The three 1972 films in which Taylor acted were somewhat more successful. X Y & Zee , which portrayed Michael Caine and her as
3182-424: The Sun was a critical and commercial success, grossing $ 3 million. Herb Golden of Variety said that Taylor's "histrionics are of a quality so far beyond anything she has done previously, that Stevens' skilled hands on the reins must be credited with a minor miracle." A.H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote that she gives "a shaded, tender performance, and one in which her passionate and genuine romance avoids
3268-700: The United States; the film grossed $ 15.7 million at the box office (equivalent to $ 156 million in 2023). Regardless, it took several years for the film to earn back its production costs, which drove Fox near to bankruptcy. The studio publicly blamed Taylor for the production's troubles and unsuccessfully sued Burton and Taylor for allegedly damaging the film's commercial prospects with their behavior. The film's reviews were mixed to negative, with critics finding Taylor overweight and her voice too thin, and unfavorably comparing her with her classically trained British co-stars. In retrospect, Taylor called Cleopatra
3354-450: The already filmed material, and moved the production to Rome, changing its director to Joseph Mankiewicz, and the actor playing Mark Antony to Burton. Filming was finally completed in July 1962. The film's final cost was $ 62 million (equivalent to $ 625 million in 2023), making it the most expensive film made up to that point. Cleopatra became the biggest box-office success of 1963 in
3440-553: The animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1992) and The Simpsons (1992, 1993), and cameos in four CBS series – The Nanny , Can't Hurry Love , Murphy Brown , and High Society – all airing on February 26, 1996, to promote her new fragrance. Her last theatrically released film was in the critically panned, but commercially successful, The Flintstones (1994), in which she played Pearl Slaghoople in
3526-532: The cause since the mid-1980s. She began her philanthropic work after becoming frustrated with the fact that very little was being done to combat the disease despite the media attention. She later explained for Vanity Fair that she "decided that with my name, I could open certain doors, that I was a commodity in myself – and I'm not talking as an actress. I could take the fame I'd resented and tried to get away from for so many years – but you can never get away from it – and use it to do some good. I wanted to retire, but
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3612-552: The critically panned film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim 's musical A Little Night Music (1977). After a period of semi-retirement from films, Taylor starred in The Mirror Crack'd (1980), adapted from an Agatha Christie mystery novel and featuring an ensemble cast of actors from the studio era, such as Angela Lansbury , Kim Novak , Rock Hudson, and Tony Curtis . Wanting to challenge herself, she took on her first substantial stage role, playing Regina Giddens in
3698-462: The early 1950s. She resented the studio's control and disliked many of the films to which she was assigned. She began receiving more enjoyable roles in the mid-1950s, beginning with the epic drama Giant (1956), and starred in several critically and commercially successful films in the following years. These included two film adaptations of plays by Tennessee Williams : Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959); Taylor won
3784-635: The endorsement of gossip columnist Hedda Hopper , a friend of the Cazalets. Through a client and a school friend's father, Taylor auditioned for both Universal Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in early 1941. Both studios offered Taylor contracts, and Sara Taylor chose to accept Universal's offer. Taylor began her contract in April 1941 and was cast in a small role in There's One Born Every Minute (1942). She did not receive other roles, and her contract
3870-480: The extent of appearing violet, and were rimmed by dark double eyelashes caused by a genetic mutation . Sara was initially opposed to Taylor appearing in films, but after the outbreak of war in Europe made return there unlikely, she began to view the film industry as a way of assimilating to American society. Francis Taylor's Beverly Hills gallery had gained clients from the film industry soon after opening, helped by
3956-469: The film was a drama about mental illness, childhood traumas, and homosexuality, it was again promoted with Taylor's sex appeal; both its trailer and poster featured her in a white swimsuit. The strategy worked, as the film was a financial success. Taylor received her third Academy Award nomination and her first Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance. By 1959, Taylor owed one more film for MGM, which it decided should be BUtterfield 8 (1960),
4042-412: The film, and later stated that it "convinced me I wanted to be an actress instead of yawning my way through parts." While The Last Time I Saw Paris was not as profitable as many other MGM films, it garnered positive reviews. Taylor became pregnant again during the production, and had to agree to add another year to her contract to make up for the period spent on maternity leave. By the mid-1950s,
4128-457: The first movie star to be paid $ 1 million for a role; Fox also granted her 10% of the film's gross profits, as well as shooting the film in Todd-AO , a widescreen format for which she had inherited the rights from Mike Todd. The film's production – characterized by costly sets and costumes, constant delays, and a scandal caused by Taylor's extramarital affair with her co-star Richard Burton –
4214-494: The going-away outfit." Aside from Diana, Sassoon has designed clothes for Princess Margaret , Princess Michael of Kent , the Duchess of York , the Duchess of Gloucester , Jackie Kennedy , Audrey Hepburn , Elizabeth Taylor and Jerry Hall . His designs have appeared on the covers of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar . Sassoon has claimed that he is "probably the only designer around today who has dressed every female member of
4300-425: The headlines about them. Taylor played a famous model attempting to leave her husband for a lover, and Burton her estranged millionaire husband. Released soon after Cleopatra , it became a box-office success. Taylor was also paid $ 500,000 (equivalent to $ 4.98 million in 2023) to appear in a CBS television special, Elizabeth Taylor in London , in which she visited the city's landmarks and recited passages from
4386-587: The last starring role of her career in a television adaptation of Sweet Bird of Youth (1989), her fourth Tennessee Williams play. During this time, she also began receiving honorary awards for her career – the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1985, and the Film Society of Lincoln Center 's Chaplin Award in 1986. In the 1990s, Taylor focused her time on HIV/AIDS activism. Her few acting roles included characters in
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#17327756565654472-516: The late 1960s, although she continued starring in films until the mid-1970s, after which she focused on supporting the career of her sixth husband, United States Senator John Warner . In the 1980s, she acted in her first substantial stage roles and in several television films and series. She became the second celebrity to launch a perfume brand after Sophia Loren . Taylor was one of the first celebrities to take part in HIV/AIDS activism. She co-founded
4558-546: The majority of Taylor's films during this period seemed to "conform to, and reinforce, the image of an indulgent, raucous, immoral or amoral, and appetitive (in many senses of the word) 'Elizabeth Taylor ' ". Taylor and Burton's first joint project following her hiatus was Vincente Minelli's romantic drama The Sandpiper (1965), about an illicit love affair between a bohemian artist and a married clergyman in Big Sur , California. Its reviews were largely negative, but it grossed
4644-621: The media as the union of "America's sweethearts." The affair – and Fisher's subsequent divorce – changed Taylor's public image from a grieving widow to a "homewrecker". MGM used the scandal to its advantage by featuring an image of Taylor posing on a bed in a slip in the film's promotional posters. Cat grossed $ 10 million in American cinemas alone, and made Taylor the year's second-most profitable star. She received positive reviews for her performance, with Bosley Crowther of The New York Times calling her "terrific", and Variety praising her for "a well-accented, perceptive interpretation." Taylor
4730-498: The media, they starred in 11 films together, including The V.I.P.s (1963), The Sandpiper (1965), The Taming of the Shrew (1967), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). Taylor received the best reviews of her career for Woolf , winning her second Academy Award and several other awards for her performance. She and Burton divorced in 1974 but reconciled soon after, remarrying in 1975. The second marriage ended in divorce in 1976. Taylor's acting career began to decline in
4816-435: The necessary skills. At that time Taylor was deemed too short for the role so filming was delayed several months in order for Taylor to grow an inch or two. In the interim Taylor spent her time practicing her horseback riding. In MGM's effort developing Taylor into a film star, they required her to wear braces to straighten her teeth, and had two of her baby teeth pulled out. The studio also wanted to dye her hair, change
4902-412: The part from scratch." Critics found the play to be fitting material for the couple, and the film became a box-office success by grossing $ 12 million (equivalent to $ 109.65 million in 2023). Taylor's third film released in 1967, John Huston 's Reflections in a Golden Eye , was her first without Burton since Cleopatra . Based on a novel of the same name by Carson McCullers , it was a drama about
4988-483: The pathos common to young love as it sometimes comes to the screen." Taylor next starred in the romantic comedy Love Is Better Than Ever (1952). According to Alexander Walker, MGM cast her in the "B-picture" as a reprimand for divorcing Hilton in January 1951 after only eight months of marriage, which had caused a public scandal that reflected negatively on her. After completing Love Is Better Than Ever , Taylor
5074-405: The prom; in the period film Life with Father (1947), opposite William Powell and Irene Dunne , she portrayed the love interest of a stockbroker's son. They were followed by supporting roles as a teenaged "man-stealer" who seduces her peer's date to a high school dance in the musical A Date with Judy (1948), and as a bride in the romantic comedy Julia Misbehaves (1948). This became
5160-480: The public was tiring of Burton and her, and criticized their jet set lifestyle. In 1968, Taylor starred in two films directed by Joseph Losey – Boom! and Secret Ceremony – both of which were critical and commercial failures. The former, based on Tennessee Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore , features her as an ageing, serial-marrying millionaire, and Burton as a younger man who turns up on
5246-553: The rest of her life. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her seventh on its greatest female screen legends list. Born in London to socially prominent American parents, Taylor moved with her family to Los Angeles in 1939 at the age of 7. She made her acting debut with a minor role in the Universal Pictures film There's One Born Every Minute (1942), but the studio ended her contract after
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#17327756565655332-472: The royal family except the Queen." Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. She then became the world's highest-paid movie star in the 1960s, remaining a well-known public figure for
5418-407: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Sassoon&oldid=1047239144 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
5504-521: The shape of her eyebrows, and proposed that she use the screen name "Virginia", but Taylor and her parents refused. National Velvet became a box-office success upon its release on Christmas 1944. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times stated that "her whole manner in this picture is one of refreshing grace", while James Agee of The Nation wrote that she "is rapturously beautiful... I hardly know or care whether she can act or not." Taylor later stated that her childhood ended when she became
5590-606: The television film These Old Broads (2001) and in the animated sitcom God, the Devil and Bob (2001), Taylor announced that she was retiring from acting to devote her time to philanthropy. She gave one last public performance in 2007, when she performed the play Love Letters at an AIDS benefit at the Paramount Studios with James Earl Jones . Taylor was one of the first celebrities to participate in HIV/AIDS activism and helped to raise more than $ 270 million for
5676-484: The thriller Conspirator (1949), she plays a woman who begins to suspect that her husband is a Soviet spy. Taylor had been only 16 at the time of its filming, but its release was delayed until March 1950, as MGM disliked it and feared it could cause diplomatic problems. Taylor's second film of 1950 was the comedy The Big Hangover (1950), co-starring Van Johnson . It was released in May. That same month, Taylor married hotel-chain heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr. in
5762-619: The works of famous British writers. After completing The V.I.P.s , Taylor took a two-year hiatus from films, during which she and Burton divorced their spouses and married each other. The supercouple continued starring together in films in the mid-1960s, earning a combined $ 88 million over the next decade; Burton once stated, "They say we generate more business activity than one of the smaller African nations." Biographer Alexander Walker compared these films to "illustrated gossip columns", as their film roles often reflected their public personae, while film historian Alexander Doty has noted that
5848-616: The year. Taylor received her second Academy Award, and BAFTA, National Board of Review , and New York City Film Critics Circle awards for her performance. In 1966, Taylor and Burton performed Doctor Faustus for a week in Oxford to benefit the Oxford University Dramatic Society ; he starred and she appeared in her first stage role as Helen of Troy , a part which required no speaking. Although it received generally negative reviews, Burton produced it as
5934-461: Was The Girl Who Had Everything (1953), a remake of the pre-code drama A Free Soul (1931). Despite her grievances with the studio, Taylor signed a new seven-year contract with MGM in the summer of 1952. Although she wanted more interesting roles, the decisive factor in continuing with the studio was her financial need; she had recently married British actor Michael Wilding , and was pregnant with her first child. In addition to granting her
6020-487: Was a critical and commercial failure at the time of its release. Taylor and Burton's last film of the year was the adaptation of Graham Greene 's novel, The Comedians , which received mixed reviews and was a box-office disappointment. Taylor's career was in decline by the late 1960s. She had gained weight, was in her late 30s and did not fit in with New Hollywood stars such as Jane Fonda and Julie Christie . After several years of nearly constant media attention,
6106-569: Was a major commercial success, grossing $ 18 million in world rentals. Crowther wrote that Taylor "looks like a million dollars, in mink or in negligée", while Variety stated that she gives "a torrid, stinging portrayal with one or two brilliantly executed passages within." Taylor won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. After completing her MGM contract, Taylor starred in 20th Century-Fox 's Cleopatra (1963). According to film historian Alexander Doty, this historical epic made her more famous than ever before. She became
6192-603: Was cast against her will. Taylor disliked historical films in general, as their elaborate costumes and makeup required her to wake up earlier than usual to prepare. She later said that she gave one of the worst performances of her career in Beau Brummell . The second film was Richard Brooks ' The Last Time I Saw Paris , based on F. Scott Fitzgerald 's short story. Although she had wanted to be cast in The Barefoot Contessa (1954) instead, Taylor liked
6278-461: Was cast in her first starring role at the age of 12, when she was chosen to play a girl who wants to compete as a jockey in the exclusively male Grand National in National Velvet . She later called it "the most exciting film" of her career. Since 1937, MGM had looked for a suitable actress with a British accent and the ability to ride horses. They decided on Taylor at the recommendation of White Cliffs director Clarence Brown , who knew she had
6364-465: Was closely followed by the media, with Life proclaiming it the "Most Talked About Movie Ever Made." Filming began in England in 1960, but had to be halted several times because of bad weather and Taylor's ill health. In March 1961, she developed nearly fatal pneumonia , which necessitated a tracheotomy ; one news agency erroneously reported that she had died. Once she had recovered, Fox discarded
6450-426: Was considered ground-breaking for its adult themes and uncensored language, and opened to "glorious" reviews. Variety wrote that Taylor's "characterization is at once sensual, spiteful, cynical, pitiable, loathsome, lustful, and tender." Stanley Kauffmann of The New York Times stated that she "does the best work of her career, sustained and urgent." The film also became one of the biggest commercial successes of
6536-469: Was devastated, pressure from the studio and the knowledge that Todd had large debts led Taylor to return to work only three weeks later. She later said that "in a way ... [she] became Maggie", and that acting "was the only time I could function" in the weeks after Todd's death. During the production, Taylor's personal life drew more attention when she began an affair with singer Eddie Fisher , whose marriage to actress Debbie Reynolds had been idealized by
6622-499: Was followed by a successful sequel, Father's Little Dividend (1951), ten months later. Taylor's next film release, George Stevens ' A Place in the Sun (1951), marked a departure from her earlier films. According to Taylor, it was the first film in which she had been asked to act, instead of simply being herself, and it brought her critical acclaim for the first time since National Velvet . Based on Theodore Dreiser 's novel An American Tragedy (1925), it featured Taylor as
6708-574: Was invited by Belinda Bellville to join her salon in 1958 and in 1970 it became the Bellville Sassoon. In 2023, it was announced that some of Sassoon's designs would be featured in an exhibition on the role of Jewish designers in London's fashion scene. He counts numerous socialites and the royal family as amongst his clientele and was the most prolific of Princess Diana 's early designers. Sassoon has said of Diana, "When she got engaged, her mother brought her in to us and asked us to make
6794-412: Was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA . Taylor's next film, Joseph L. Mankiewicz 's Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), was another Tennessee Williams adaptation, with a screenplay by Gore Vidal and also starring Montgomery Clift and Katharine Hepburn . The independent production earned Taylor $ 500,000 for playing the role of a severely traumatized patient in a mental institution. Although
6880-648: Was overall not successful, Taylor received some good reviews, with Vincent Canby of The New York Times writing that she has "a certain vulgar, ratty charm", and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times saying, "The spectacle of Elizabeth Taylor growing older and more beautiful continues to amaze the population." Her performance won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival . Taylor and Burton's last film together
6966-684: Was raised according to the teachings of Christian Science , the religion of her mother and Cazalet. In early 1939, the Taylors decided to return to the United States due to fear of impending war in Europe . United States ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy contacted her father, urging him to return to the US with his family. Sara and the children left first in April 1939 aboard the ocean liner SS Manhattan and moved in with Taylor's maternal grandfather in Pasadena, California. Francis stayed behind to close
7052-555: Was released a year later, it became a box-office success, and was widely praised by critics. Although not nominated for an Academy Award like her co-stars, Taylor garnered positive reviews for her performance, with Variety calling it "surprisingly clever", and The Manchester Guardian lauding her acting as "an astonishing revelation of unsuspected gifts." It named her one of the film's strongest assets. MGM re-united Taylor with Montgomery Clift in Raintree County (1957),
7138-424: Was sent to Britain to take part in the historical epic Ivanhoe (1952), which was one of the most expensive projects in the studio's history. She was not happy about the project, finding the story superficial and her role as Rebecca too small. Regardless, Ivanhoe became one of MGM's biggest commercial successes, earning $ 11 million in worldwide rentals. Taylor's last film made under her old contract with MGM
7224-416: Was terminated after a year. Universal's casting director explained her dislike of Taylor, stating that "the kid has nothing ... her eyes are too old, she doesn't have the face of a child." Biographer Alexander Walker agrees that Taylor looked different from the child stars of the era, such as Shirley Temple and Judy Garland . Taylor later said that, "apparently, I used to frighten grown ups, because I
7310-525: Was the Harlech Television film Divorce His, Divorce Hers (1973), fittingly named as they divorced the following year. Her other films released in 1973 were the British thriller Night Watch (1973) and the American drama Ash Wednesday (1973). For the latter, in which she starred as a woman who undergoes multiple plastic surgeries in an attempt to save her marriage, she received a Golden Globe nomination. Her only film released in 1974,
7396-629: Was totally direct." Taylor received another opportunity in late 1942, when her father's acquaintance, MGM producer Samuel Marx , arranged for her to audition for a minor role in Lassie Come Home (1943), which required a child actress with an English accent . After a trial contract of three months, she was given a standard seven-year contract in January 1943. Following Lassie , she appeared in minor uncredited roles in two other films set in England – Jane Eyre (1943) playing Helen Burns, and The White Cliffs of Dover (1944). Taylor
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