Claim: Elizabeth Taylor was a stage actress.

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor , DBE -LRB- February 27 , 1932 -- March 23 , 2011 -RRB- was a British American actress , businesswoman , and humanitarian . She began as a child actress in the early 1940s , and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s . She continued her career successfully into the 1960s , and remained a well known public figure for the rest of her life . In 1999 , the American Film Institute named her the seventh-greatest female screen legend .   Born in London to wealthy , socially prominent American parents , Taylor moved with her family to Los Angeles in 1939 , and she soon was given a film contract by Universal Pictures . She made her screen debut in a minor role in There 's One Born Every Minute -LRB- 1942 -RRB- , but Universal terminated her contract after a year . Taylor was then signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , and had her breakthrough role in National Velvet -LRB- 1944 -RRB- , becoming one of the studio 's most popular teenaged stars . She made the transition to adult roles in the early 1950s , when she starred in the comedy Father of the Bride -LRB- 1950 -RRB- and received critical acclaim for her performance in the tragic drama A Place in the Sun -LRB- 1951 -RRB- .   Despite being one of MGM 's most bankable stars , Taylor wished to end her career in the early 1950s , as she resented the studio 's control and disliked many of the films to which she was assigned . She began receiving better roles in the mid-1950s , beginning with the epic drama Giant -LRB- 1956 -RRB- , and starred in several critically and commercially successful films in the following years . These included two film adaptations of plays by Tennessee Williams , Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -LRB- 1958 -RRB- and Suddenly , Last Summer -LRB- 1959 -RRB- ; Taylor won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for the latter . Although she disliked her role in BUtterfield 8 -LRB- 1960 -RRB- , her last film for MGM , she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance . She was next paid a record-breaking $ 1 million to play the title role in the historical epic Cleopatra -LRB- 1963 -RRB- , the most expensive film made up to that point . During the filming , Taylor and co-star Richard Burton began having an extramarital affair which caused a scandal . Despite public disapproval , Burton and she continued their relationship and were married the first time -LRB- his second marriage , her fifth -RRB- in 1964 . Dubbed `` Liz and Dick '' by the media , they starred in 11 films together , including The V.I.P.s -LRB- 1963 -RRB- , The Sandpiper -LRB- 1965 -RRB- , The Taming of the Shrew -LRB- 1967 -RRB- , and Who 's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? -LRB- 1966 -RRB- . Taylor received the best reviews of her career for Woolf , winning her second Academy Award and several other awards for her performance .   Taylor 's acting career began to decline in the late 1960s , although she continued starring in films until the mid-1970s , after which she focused on supporting the career of her sixth husband , Senator John Warner . In the 1980s , she acted in her first substantial stage roles and in several television films and series , and became the first celebrity to launch a perfume brand . Taylor was also one of the first celebrities to take part in HIV/AIDS activism . She co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991 . From the early 1990s until her death , she dedicated her time to philanthropy . She received several accolades for it , including the Presidential Citizens Medal .   Throughout her life , Taylor 's personal affairs were subject to constant media attention . She was married eight times to seven men , endured serious illnesses , and led a jet set lifestyle , including amassing one of the most expensive private collections of jewelry . After many years of ill health , Taylor died from congestive heart failure at the age of 79 in 2011 .