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Elizabeth Taylor Biography
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Elizabeth was born on February 27, 1932 in Hampstead, London, England as the second child of Francis Lenn Taylor and Sara Viola Warmbrodt, who were Americans residing in England. She got her education from Hawthorne School when she was a kid, studied ballet with Vaccani and attended high school at the Univerty High School, Los Angeles, California.
Elizabeth Taylor’s mother was a former stage actress who stopped when she got married. They lived in London until Elizabeth reached the age of seven. When war broke out in Europe, the family moved to LA. Mr. Taylor followed after settling matters with the family business.
A family friend noticed Elizabeth Taylor and persuaded her to take a screen test. Her test impressed executives at Universal Pictures they got her to sign a contract under them. Elizabeth was only 10 when she first appeared on the screen in There's One Born Every Minute (1942). Universal did not renew Elizabeth’s contract after it but she was soon picked up by MGM. The first project she made under it was the successful film Lassie Come Home (1943). MGM then signed her up for a full yearcontract.
The smash hit National Velvet (1944) made her MGM’s top child star. MGM signed her up for a long term contract after it. In 1945, she did not have any film project but she returned in 1946 with Courage of Lassie. After a year, she starred in Life with Father (1947) with such heavyweights as William Powell, Irene Dunne and Zasu Pitts. This was followed by other successful releases. In 1955, she appeared in the blockbuster film Giant (1956) with the famous James Dean who died in a car accident before the film was released.
In 1957, Elizabeth Taylor starred in Raintree County and in spite of negative criticisms the film got, it gave her an Academy Award nomination. She was again nominated for her role as Maggie Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Another nomination followed in 1959 for the mega hit Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). In 1960, she finally brought home her very first Oscar award for her performance in Butterfield 8 (1960).
In 1963, Elizabeth Taylor flourished in Cleopatra and her award-winning performance as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) marked her finest to date. Elizabeth, whose colourful love life evolved in a total of 8 marriages, continued to appear in various movies and TV programs. In February 1997, she underwent a successful brain tumor operation.
