Eight marriages, 50 movies, two Oscars, 100 operations, a fortune of £360m, but only one... Elizabeth the Great

By TOM LEONARD

Mesmerising: Elizabeth Taylor, pictured here on the set of Suddenly, Last Summer, has died aged 79


In 79 fabulous years, she looked death in the eye countless times and lived to tell the tale.

But yesterday, after a life as dramatic as any movie script, Elizabeth Taylor's battle was over.

She died of heart failure in hospital, with her four children at her side. And when the New York Times paid tribute to Hollywood's last movie goddess, it had to admit that Miss Taylor had actually outlived the obituary writer by six years.

The Oscar-winning actress spent the final six weeks of her life at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles. She had been admitted after her weight plummeted to less than 98lb and the heart failure diagnosed in 2004 threatened to overwhelm her.



A friend described her as 'tiny and fighting for every breath' and added: 'She still felt she had so much to live for.

'But she was happy with her life at the end. She was happy with her family. She was at peace.'

Miss Taylor's publicist said she died peacefully, watched over by the children from three of her seven husbands – Michael and Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd and Maria Burton.

'My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour and love,' said Michael, 57.

'We know, quite simply, the world is a better place for Mum having lived in it.'

He said the family, which includes ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, were 'incredibly proud' of her 'remarkable body of work in film, her success as a businesswoman, and her brave advocacy in the fight against HIV/Aids'.


Iconic: Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton in Cleoptra. He was the love of her life and she was to marry him twice


A private family funeral is expected to be held this week.

Miss Taylor's family is expected to share much of her £360 million fortune although friends say she is leaving some of it to her Aids charity. They may also benefit from the proceeds of handwritten diaries she had reportedly discussed publishing.

Never one to miss a party, she had celebrated her 79th birthday with family and friends a month early as she had to go into hospital ten days later. She had asked fans to pray for her as she faced her latest health hurdle.


Determined: Taylor in National Velvet (1944). At 10, she set her heart on the lead role but was told she was too short. After weeks of punishing exercise and a weight-gaining diet, she convinced the director she'd gained three inches in height - and got the part


One of her last Twitter messages read simply: 'I'll let you know when it is all over. Love you, Elizabeth.'

Miss Taylor had been plagued by health problems all her life. She estimated she had almost died four times.

In one of her last interviews she said her first memory was of 'pain'.


Luminous: Elizabeth Taylor as a girl in 1934 (left) and already a child star in the film National Velvet in 1944


She was born with scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, and suffered back problems which were partly to blame for her subsequent addiction to painkillers and alcohol. But she never gave up.

She had both hips replaced and beat skin cancer,a brain tumour, diabetes, seizures and a stroke. She endured an estimated 70 illnesses and had 100 operations, 20 of them major surgery.


Short-lived romance: In 1950, aged 18, she married Nicky Hilton, a deceptively charming young man whose father, Conrad, founded the Hilton hotel-chain. Nicky was an abusive drunk who battered his young bride so brutally, she lost the baby she was carrying


A child star who managed to make the transition to adult roles, she won two Oscars – for Butterfield 8 and Who's

Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? However, her 50-strong list of film credits tends to be overshadowed by her list of seven husbands, most notably Richard Burton, whom she married and divorced twice.

In 2000, she was thrilled to become Dame Elizabeth Taylor in recognition of her services to film.

She once described herself as a 'living example of what people can go through and survive'.



Scorching: Taylor smouldered on screen including in the 1958 classic Cat On A Hot Tin Roof


Legends: Taylor with Richard Burton on their first wedding day in 1964. He was to be her fifth and sixth husband


Much married: Taylor arrives at London Airport with her fourth husband, singer Eddie Fisher, and her sons Michael, six, and Christopher, four, children of her former marriage to Michael Wilding


Longevity: Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Zee and Co in 1972 in which she played opposite Micahel Caine


Honour: Taylor was made a Dame at Buckingham Palace in 2000


Close: Elizabeth Taylor holds the hand of her good friend Jason Winters in 2007. She was said to be contemplating a ninth wedding with the LA property developer, 28 years her junior


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source: dailymail