Elizabeth Taylor

Born February 27, 1932, in England, Elizabeth Taylor is one of the world’s most beloved actresses. Making her big screen debut in 1942’s There’s One Born Every Minute, Taylor went on to star in films such as National Velvet, Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, Giant and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

The two-time Oscar winner (and mother of four) is also well-known for her multiple marriages. Throughout the course of her life, Taylor was wed to hotel heir Conrad “Nicky Hilton, British actor Michael Wilding, movie producer Michael Todd, singer Eddie Fisher (who was married to actress Debbie Reynolds when he began seeing Taylor), Virginia Republican John Warner (who was later elected to the U.S. Senate) and construction worker Larry Fortensky. She also cheated on Fisher with her Cleopatra costar, Richard Burton; she and Burton married twice.

The jewelry-loving actress released her first fragrance, White Diamonds, in 1991. She spent much of her later life devoted to AIDS-related charities and fundraising; she even helped create the American Foundation for AIDS research (AmfAR) in 1985.

Taylor, who suffered from congestive heart failure, died at the age of 79 on March 23, 2011; she was surrounded by her four children.