Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor, a two-time Oscar winner and one of the most alluring film stars of the 20th century, has died aged 79.
She died today at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, her four children by her side, according to a statement from her publicist. She was hospitalised six weeks ago for treatment of congestive heart failure, a condition that had stabilised, "and it was hoped that she would be able to return home," the statement said. "Sadly, this was not to be."
In February the actor was taken to hospital with congestive heart failure, a condition she disclosed she had back in November 2004.
Taylor appeared in more than 50 films and won Oscars for her performances in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).
But she has been just as famous for her marriages - all eight of them, including two to Richard Burton - and her lifelong battles with substance abuse, her weight and physical ailments.
The actor had near-fatal bouts with pneumonia in 1961 and 1990, and another respiratory infection forced her to cancel all engagements for several weeks in late 1992. She also had both hip joints replaced during the 1990s.
Her 2004 diagnosis for congestive heart failure, compounded with spinal fractures and the effects of scoliosis, left her nearly bedridden.
She has also battled ulcers, amoebic dysentery, bursitis, and had a benign brain tumour removed in 1997. In recent years, she has had to use a wheelchair when out in public.
Born in 1932, Taylor was a star before she was even an adult and became one of the world’s most celebrated actors.
She was born in London in 1932, the daughter of an art dealer and an American actor, but most of her career took place in Hollywood. Her family moved to the United States at the start of the war, and at her father’s chic art gallery in Los Angeles she drew the notice of movie talent scouts.
When she was only 10 Universal won a bidding war with MGM to sign her up, but they dropped her after one film.
MGM took over, persevered through a couple of Lassie movies and other features, until National Velvet (1944) about a young showjumper made Taylor an international teenage star.
Even at 15 she appeared a beautiful young woman and started very early with adult roles, including Father Of The Bride (1950) and A Place In The Sun (1951) with Montgomery Clift.
But her ability as an actor was confirmed in 1958 when she starred in one of her biggest screen successes, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Taylor played the part of a sultry and sensual Southern temptress spurned by gay husband Paul Newman in Tennessee Williams's powerful play.
Other major film successes in the 1950s included Giant (1956) with Rock Hudson and James Dean and another Tennessee Williams adaptation Suddenly Last Summer (1959). She won a best actress Oscar in 1960 for her part in Butterfield 8, which many suggested was more a tribute for previous work.
Veteran director Richard Brooks described her as “a combination of child and bitch (who) wants to love passionately and be loved”.
Her former husband, the late Richard Burton, called her a “brilliant actress”. Not everyone agreed, however, and some of her leading men were less impressed by her talents.
During the early part of her career from 1942-1960 she made more than 30 films.
In 1962 she played the title role in Cleopatra and starred opposite Burton for the first time. The epic film had mixed reviews, exceeded its gigantic budget and failed to live up to box-office expectations.
The pair co-starred in many films over their decade together, most notably two which mirrored their fiery real-life relationship Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966) which brought Taylor her second Oscar and The Taming Of The Shrew (1967).
After that Taylor never again achieved critical or box office acclaim.
In The Mirror Crack'd in 1980, Taylor was described by a Sunday Times critic as "a pharaonic mummy, moving on tiny castors, like a touring replica of the Queen Mother".
More stage roles and made-for-television films followed. In 1993 Taylor took a role in The Flintstones as Fred's mother-in-law.
Agencies