HOLLYWOOD's leading celebrities, including the king of pop and new father Michael Jackson, turned out in style to pay tribute to Elizabeth Taylor for the film legend's 65th birthday.
Jackson, making his first public appearance since his wife, Ms Debbie Rowe Jackson, gave birth to their baby boy last Thursday, delivered one of Sunday night's tributes to Taylor in a ballad with the refrain Elizabeth, I Love You.
Wearing an emerald coloured gown and diamond jewellery, Taylor addressed the audience - many of whom paid up to $1,000 per ticket for the AIDS charity event - with a brief statement.
"I'm not here to celebrate my birthday," Taylor said. "I'm here to celebrate all the people in the world with AIDS." The benefit raised more than $1 million.
Taylor, who has a benign brain tumour and faces imminent surgery, arrived at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Hollywood escorted by, Jackson, who is one of her best friends.
Actor Hugh Grant said Taylor was his third favourite Elizabeth after his partner, Liz Hurley, and the queen of England. Hurley dressed in a sheer lace gown, thanked Taylor for an acting career "jolly well done".
The violet eyed Taylor debuted on the silver screen at the age of 10 in 1942's Lassie Come Home. She won Academy Awards for Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who'd Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966). But her personal life, featuring eight marriages, has attracted as much attention as her profession.