Elizabeth

For more than six decades she has been part of our lives. An American icon, Elizabeth Taylor has been surrounded by fame and notoriety since childhood. Now acclaimed biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli looks past the tabloid version of Elizabeth's life to the person she really is -- and how she evolved from a child star to a woman in her own right. At the heart of this impeccably researched work is the first fully realized portrait of Elizabeth Taylor's family: her canny, controlling mother, who, from the moment she laid eyes on her baby, began plotting her success; and her father, often portrayed as distant, but whose connection with his daughter was far more complex than people knew. As Taraborrelli brings to life the people around Elizabeth and her rise in 1940s Hollywood, he reveals the qualities that made her a star, the associations that put her at the right place at the right time, and the ways in which she was singularly unprepared for life out on her own. While Elizabeth's eight marriages to seven men have been widely publicized, this author examines the psychological and emotional roots of each relationship, including her abusive marriage to Nicky Hilton, her attraction to swashbuckling Mike Todd, and the complex, incendiary Taylor-Burton love affair that continued for decades and never truly died. Finally, Taraborrelli chronicles Elizabeth's most bravura performance of all. Despite the highly public battles with substance abuse and chronic illness, she achieved new success and sustenance in family, friendships, and philanthropy. With never-before-published family photos by Taylor historian Tom Gates, as well as rare family photos, Elizabeth is the story of a woman you thought you knew -- and can now finally begin to understand. Title Page......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Prologue......Page 14 Part One: Childhood......Page 18 Sara and Francis......Page 20 A Change in Sara......Page 26 A Family Held Hostage?......Page 30 “Bravo!”......Page 34 “Missing a Father’s Love”......Page 39 “I Think I Might Want to Be an Actress”......Page 44 A New Life in America......Page 46 “But I Want to Be with MGM!”......Page 50 National Velvet......Page 60 Making a Star . . . a Star!......Page 66 Part Two: Finding Her Way......Page 80 Early Suitors . . . and Howard Hughes......Page 82 Nicky Hilton......Page 92 Elizabeth’s Anger......Page 102 Uncle Howard Gets Rid of Nicky Hilton......Page 107 Michael Wilding......Page 114 A Marriage Devoid of Passion......Page 121 Movies......Page 131 Mike Todd......Page 137 Mike Todd’s Sudden Death......Page 146 Eddie Fisher......Page 152 Elizabeth and Eddie Marry......Page 156 Butterfield 8......Page 161 Part Three: Her Destiny......Page 166 A False Start for Cleopatra......Page 168 A Near-Death Experience and Then an Oscar......Page 169 Cleopatra Begins Filming......Page 176 Richard Burton......Page 181 Elizabeth Adopts a Baby......Page 187 “Love, in All of Its Mystery, Unfolds”......Page 191 Elizabeth Confesses to Eddie about Richard......Page 197 Unadulterated Drama......Page 201 Elizabeth Attempts Suicide?......Page 204 “Le Scandale”......Page 208 The Taylor-Burton Sexual Revolution......Page 213 Cleopatra Arrives......Page 215 Elizabeth as a Mother......Page 219 Nightmare in Porto Santo Stefano......Page 224 Finishing Cleopatra......Page 227 A Turning Point in Gstaad......Page 231 Richard Chooses......Page 238 True Love in Mexico......Page 242 Part Four: "Liz and Dick"......Page 248 Elizabeth and Richard: “We Will Have No More Marriages”......Page 250 The Boston Brawl......Page 255 Richard’s Hemophilia......Page 258 “Even Our Fights Are Fun”......Page 263 Elizabeth Apologizes to Debbie......Page 267 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?......Page 269 Bad Movies, Great Riches, and Another Oscar......Page 274 “Francis L. Taylor— All Our Love—1897–1968”......Page 282 “Learning from Each Other”......Page 285 “I Sometimes Curse the Day . . .”......Page 288 “Pray for Us”......Page 294 And What of the Children?......Page 295 Part Five: Confusion Reigns......Page 300 “What Makes Us Women”......Page 302 Henry Wynberg......Page 306 Elizabeth Divorces Richard......Page 310 Elizabeth Marries Richard . . . Again!......Page 314 A Diversion before Divorce......Page 319 Richard Asks for Another Divorce......Page 322 Part Six: Coming to Terms......Page 328 John Warner......Page 330 Elizabeth Marries John......Page 336 An Important Transition......Page 343 The Little Foxes......Page 349 Sifting Through the Wreckage......Page 354 A Birthday Reunion with Richard......Page 359 “God Has Kept an Eye on My Children”......Page 367 Elizabeth Gets Her Way......Page 369 Private Lives and Private Miseries......Page 372 Richard Marries . . . Someone Else......Page 378 Intervention......Page 384 Betty Ford Center......Page 387 Richard Burton Dies......Page 394 Transition......Page 402 Part Seven: The Glory Years......Page 406 “I Will Not Be Ignored”......Page 408 Elizabeth Taylor’s Passion......Page 415 Back at Betty Ford......Page 420 Larry Fortensky......Page 424 Michael Jackson......Page 435 Elizabeth Marries Larry......Page 438 Re-creating Her Mother’s Marriage . . . but Not Quite......Page 442 Part Eight: All Woman......Page 448 “Sara S. Taylor—Loving Mother, Devoted Wife— 1895–1994”......Page 450 Elizabeth and Larry End Their Marriage......Page 454 Facing Her Mortality . . . Again......Page 462 Dame Elizabeth: Honor at Last......Page 471 Selected Cast of Characters......Page 480 Acknowledgments......Page 490 Sources and Other Notes......Page 501 Elizabeth Taylor Filmography......Page 530 Index......Page 548 From the bestselling author of Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairy Tale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainer comes this fascinating biography of film legend Elizabeth Taylor. She has been written about many times, but never like this... For more than six decades she has been part of our lives. An American icon, Elizabeth Taylor has been surrounded by fame and notoriety since childhood. Now acclaimed biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli looks past the tabloid version of Elizabeth's life to the person she really is-and how she evolved from a child star to a woman in her own right.At the heart of this impeccably researched work is the first fully realized portrait of Elizabeth Taylor's family: her canny, controlling mother, who, from the moment she laid eyes on her baby, began plotting her success; and her father, often portrayed as distant, but whose connection with his daughter was far more complex than people knew. As Taraborrelli brings to life the people around Elizabeth and her rise in 1940s Hollywood, he reveals the qualities that made her a star, the associations that put her at the right place at the right time, and the ways in which she was singularly unprepared for life out on her own. While Elizabeth's eight marriages to seven men have been widely publicized, this author examines the psychological and emotional roots of each relationship, including her abusive marriage to Nicky Hilton, her attraction to swashbuckling Mike Todd, and the complex, incendiary Taylor-Burton love affair that continued for decades and never truly died. Finally, Taraborrelli chronicles Elizabeth's most bravura performance of all. Despite the highly public battles with substance abuse and chronic illness, she achieved new success and sustenance in family, friendships, and philanthropy. With never-before-published family photos by Taylor historian Tom Gates, as well as rare family photos, Elizabeth is the story of a woman you thought you knew-and can now finally begin to understand "For more than six decades Elizabeth Taylor has been a part of our lives. Now acclaimed biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli looks past the tabloid version of Elizabeth's life and offers the first-ever fully realized portrait of this American icon. You'll meet her controlling mother who plotted her daughter's success from birth ... see the qualities that catapulted Elizabeth to stardom in 1940s Hollywood ... understand the psychological and emotional underpinnings behind the eight marriages ... and, finally, rejoice in Elizabeth's most bravura performance of all: the new success in family, friendships, and philanthropy she achieved despite substance abuse and chronic illness. It's the story of the woman you thought you knew--and now can finally understand."--Publisher's website An insightful biography of a true screen legend, this book covers Elizabeth Taylor's journey through the dark and often lonely world of a fame unparalleled in the 1960s and 1970s, a time during which alcohol and drugs played a major part in her life. A portrait of Oscar award-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor examines her struggles with drugs and alcohol in the 1960s and 1970s, her philanthropic work as an AIDS activist, and her successes as a businesswoman