I don't think President Bush is doing
anything at all about AIDS. In fact
I'm not sure he even knows
how to spell AIDS
Dame Elizabeth Taylor DBE
B: 27 February 1932
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Her devotion to the fight against AIDS has overshadowed a remarkable career, one filled with
great highs that give contrast to public lows and inparticular her eight failed marriages;
albeit to seven husbands!
A child star at the age of twelve thanks to her captivating performance in the 1944 feature
NATIONAL VELVET, subsequent key works include GIANT / 1956 with in-the-closet co-stars
Rock Hudson and James Dean, the Hollywood reworking of Tennessee Williams' homosexual
themed drama CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF / 1958 with Paul Newman, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER / 1959 with
sexually ill-at-ease Montgomery Clift, her first Academy® Award for her performance
in BUTTERFIELD 8 / 1960 and most notably the 1963 four hour epic CLEOPATRA with
husband-to-be Richard Burton, a role that at that time made her the highest
paid star in Hollywood.
It was during this period that the sheer brilliance of her acting ability coupled with her
natural beauty, was mirrored by her vast popularity at the box-office, with her career
defining performance in the Mike Nichols' classic WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA
WOOLF? / 1966 warranting a second Academy® Award.
Yet success is fleeting, especially in Hollywood and when both looks and box-office receipts
started to fade, she triumphantly turned the situation around and spurred on by the death
of Rock Hudson, began a tireless battle against AIDS.
In 1994 and after a fourteen year absence, she returned to the big screen in the role of Fred
Flintstone's mother-in-law in the film outing of the popular cartoon series, although
more notable was her appearance alongside Shirley MacLaine, Joan Collins and
inparticular Debbie Reynolds in the 2001 telemovie THESE OLD BROADS.
Along the way, she launched the House of Taylor Jewelry collection and further introduced her
own highly successful perfume lines PASSION and BLACK PEARLS, with the brand WHITE
DIAMONDS being one of the best selling fragrances of all time.
In 2000 she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in recognition of her outstanding
charity work, both as part of The American Foundation for AIDS Research and later for the
Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation itself, having raised in excess of over 50 million
US dollars to fight the disease. It is a job that she insists is for life,
or until a cure is found!
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