Elizabeth Taylor Research Paper

ELIZABETH TAYLOR

Elizabeth Taylor starred in many movies throughout her lifetime. During her time of her career she married many men that all ended in divorce beside one death. Taylor had two boys and two girls, one of her daughters were adopted. When she got to her last days she helped found an organization for AIDS. She later died but lived a very fulfillment life. Elizabeth Taylor started her life in London, England, yet when she arrived in the United States she made a huge impact in movie star history. The start of Elizabeth Taylor began with her birth. Elizabeth Rosemund Taylor was born 1932 in London to Francis Taylor and Sara (Corliss).
At 10, Elizabeth was fighting for a spot in a program called There’s One Born Every Minute (Corliss). After her first time in the spot light she got her first big break with MGM. MGM producer Sam Marx had a problem: the girl he had cast as the female lead in Lassie Come Home was not right for the part so Elizabeth got the part (Corliss). Though she played in many movies she received only five nominations and one award. Her first Oscar nomination as Best Actress was from the movie Raintree County (Taraborrelli 133). Taylor received her second nomination as playing as a woman with a “voracious” appetite for sex in the movie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (144). Joseph Mankiewicz had directed Suddenly, Last Summer that led Elizabeth to an Oscar nomination (164). She finally won her an Oscar. Taylor played the haughty prostitute role in Butterfield 8 and won a Best Actress Award for it (Corliss). Elizabeth had another nomination but did not win for her role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (Taraborrelli 267). She had many nominations but only one Oscar award to show for her work. Elizabeth Taylor married many men during her lifetime but none lasted.
Her first marriage was to an heir to the Hilton hotels. On May 6, 1950 Elizabeth was eighteen and married Nicky Hilton (82-83). Their marriage lasted less than nine months (Corliss). They divorced in February of 1951 (Taraborrelli 88). She then married Michael Wilding on February 21, 1952 (102). Elizabeth Taylor then gave birth to her first child named Michael Howard Wilding, born on January 6, 1953 (Kelley 129). A little later she gave birth to her second child named Christopher on February 27, 1955 (Taraborrelli 114). Though she had two children with this man, she was divorced from him a little over fourteen years later. On July 19, 1956, MGM announced the separation of Elizabeth and Michael Wilding (Kelley 159). Falling in love with Michael Todd, she divorced her second husband, Michael Wilding, and married Todd two days later (Corliss). They announced they would marry on February 2, 1957 (Kelley 176). Elizabeth Taylor then gave birth to a baby girl named Elizabeth Francis Todd which they nicknamed Liza (Taraborrelli 132). On March 22, 1958, Mike soared off in the “The Lucky Liz” into a dark and stormy sky which later he crashed and died (134). Elizabeth Taylor probably would have never married again if the sudden death her of husband did not occur. In June Elizabeth Taylor accompanied Eddie Fisher and Debbie Fisher to Eddie’s Las Vegas opening at the Tropicana, her first public appearance since Michael Todd’s funeral (Kelley 210). She found comfort in the arms of Eddie Fisher, who ended his marriage to Debbie Reynolds for Elizabeth (Corliss). Their wedding was set for May 12; three hours after Eddied received his Nevada divorce (Kelley 225). Eddie and Elizabeth Taylor adopted a nine-month-old baby girl named Maria Taylor in 1962 (Taraborrelli 177). On April 2, 1962, Elizabeth and Eddie Fisher were announced to be divorced (195). There would be two more marriages for Elizabeth: to Virginia
Senator John Warner for six years, and construction worker Larry Fortensky for five years, ending in 1996 (Corliss). Everyone knew that Elizabeth Taylor was having an affair with Richard Burton (Taraborrelli 195). Richard and Elizabeth Taylor married on March 15, 1964 (237). Then of course they did not last long either. On April 26, 1974 they announced they were getting a divorce (300). The wedding of John and Warner and Elizabeth Taylor took place on Saturday, December 4, 1976 (Kelley 497). Later on they decided to separate and their reasoning was she was just over him, finished with marriage and he felt the same way; official announcement was on December 21, 1981 (Taraborrelli 340). She then married one last time. Her last husband, Larry Fortensky and Elizabeth Taylor married October 6, 1991 (422). In February 1996, she filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court (446). Elizabeth Taylor never married again after her divorce to Larry. Through all the movies and many divorces she slows down her life with something completely new. Though she was a beautiful, actress she had a heart to help people. According to Corliss, she helped found amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, and raised one hundred million dollars for the cause. She then finished up her acting career playing in a small part. During her last decade, Taylor made films only as a “visiting dignitary”, vacationing from her good works (Corliss). From the many years of marriage, divorces and movies she passed away. Elizabeth Taylor died on March 23, 2011 at age seventy-nine in Los Angeles from congestive heart failure (Corliss). Taylor did very big things during her last decade of her life. Taylor played many different roles in many different movies. While her career was in action she married seven times that all ended in divorced except one was caused by death. Elizabeth Taylor had three children during her life and adopted one. After her career and marriages came to a halt she helped found the AIDS Research Foundation. Her many years as an actress came to an end with her death. Elizabeth Taylor started her life in London, England, yet when she arrived in the United States she made a huge impact in movie star history.

OUTLINE
Thesis Statement: Elizabeth Taylor started her life in London, England, yet when she arrived in the United States she made a huge impact in movie star history.

I. Introduction
II. Early life and start to fame
A. Born
B. Lassie Come Home
C. Raintree County
D. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
E. Suddenly, Last Summer
F. Butterfield 8
G. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?
III. Husbands and children
A. Nicky Hilton
B. Michael Wilding
1. Michael Howard Wilding
2. Christopher Wilding
C. Michael Todd
1. Elizabeth Francis Todd
2. Michael Todd’s death
D. Eddie Fisher
1. Adoption
2. Maria Taylor
E. Richard Burton
F. John Warner
IV. Ending career and death
A. amfAR
B. Last decade
C. Death
V. Conclusion

WORKS CITED
Corliss, Richard. Elizabeth Taylor. Time 177. 13 (2011): 58-63. Academic Search Elite. Web. 11 Sept. 2013..
Kelley, Kitty. Elizabeth Taylor: The Last Star. Boston, Massachusetts: G.K. Hall &Co., 1982. Pp. 129,159,176,210,225,497.
Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Elizabeth. New York: Warner Books, 2006. Pp. 82-83,88,102,114,132-134,144,164,177,195,237,267,300,340,422,446.