Elizabeth Taylor: Life, Controversies, Children and Legacy

Few Hollywood stars have been as simultaneously adored, scrutinized, and mythologized as Elizabeth Taylor; her violet eyes and eight marriages made her tabloid royalty, but behind the headlines was a two-time Oscar winner who reshaped celebrity activism at the height of the AIDS crisis. This article separates the confirmed facts from the enduring rumors about her life, loves, and legacy.

Born: February 27, 1932, London, England ·
Died: March 23, 2011, Los Angeles, California ·
Academy Awards: 2 wins ·
Marriages: 8 marriages to 7 men ·
Children: 4 (3 biological, 1 adopted) ·
Notable fragrance: White Diamonds, launched 1991

Six key biographical facts, one pattern: Taylor’s life breaks cleanly into two halves — the first defined by studio-era stardom and romance, the second by advocacy and personal reinvention.

Was Elizabeth Taylor LGBTQ?

What did Elizabeth Taylor do for LGBTQ rights?

• Co-founded amfAR (the American Foundation for AIDS Research) in 1985 alongside Dr. Mathilde Krim (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• Founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991, which raised over $125 million for HIV/AIDS care and prevention (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• Testified before the U.S. Congress in 1990 to demand increased federal funding for AIDS research (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)
• Received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy in 1993 for her AIDS work (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)

Why is Elizabeth Taylor considered a gay icon?

• She spoke openly about her gay friends and colleagues in Hollywood during the 1950s and 1960s, before it was socially safe to do so (Kennedy Center — artist profile)
• Her 1985 decision to chair the first major amfAR gala drew mainstream Hollywood into the AIDS fight (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• Rock Hudson’s 1985 AIDS disclosure — Hudson was a close friend — galvanized Taylor to go public with her advocacy (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)

Bottom line: Taylor identified as straight and was married eight times to men. Her gay-icon status rests not on her identity but on her actions: she co-founded amfAR, founded her own AIDS foundation, and used her celebrity to normalize AIDS funding when stigma was at its peak.

The pattern: Taylor’s icon status rested on action rather than identity, and that is what made her advocacy legible to the LGBTQ community.

Why was Elizabeth Taylor so controversial?

Was Elizabeth Taylor a nice person in real life?

• First-hand accounts are mixed: co-stars like Roddy McDowall described her as fiercely loyal and generous with her time and money (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)
• Reporters who covered her consistently in the 1950s and 1960s often portrayed her as demanding and entitled, though much of that coverage carried a gendered double standard (Kennedy Center — artist profile)
• Her close friends noted she was notoriously late to set but also the first to visit a sick crew member (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)

What was the Eddie Fisher scandal?

• In 1959, Taylor began a relationship with Eddie Fisher while Fisher was still married to Debbie Reynolds — America’s sweetheart at the time (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)
• The affair became front-page news and Congress even briefly debated a resolution condemning “moral decay” in Hollywood (PBS NewsHour — obituary reporting)
• Taylor and Fisher married in 1959, officially making her a tabloid lightning rod for the next two decades (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)

Why this matters: The Fisher scandal was the first time a celebrity affair was treated as a national moral crisis. It set a template for how the media would cover Taylor for the rest of her life — and, in many ways, how celebrity scandal is still covered today.

The pattern: tabloid narrative and verified biography diverged early, and the gap only widened as her activism grew.

Who was the true love of Elizabeth Taylor’s life?

Why did Richard Burton leave Elizabeth Taylor?

• The first marriage ended in 1974 after a decade of what both described as “volcanic” fights fueled by alcoholism, jealousy, and the pressure of being the most photographed couple in the world (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)
• Burton’s drinking was severe enough to damage the relationship irreparably, according to close friends who spoke to biographies about the couple (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• They remarried in 1975 in a secret ceremony in Botswana, then divorced again in 1976, finalizing the end of a relationship that spanned 13 years total (People — family reporting)

Who did Elizabeth Taylor say was the best in bed?

• No verifiable primary source — interview transcript, letter, or autobiography — contains Taylor directly naming any partner as “the best in bed” (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)
• The quote often attributed to her about Richard Burton in this context cannot be traced to a specific, citable interview (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• This is an area where tabloid recycling has created a “fact” that does not hold up to source-level scrutiny

How many times was Elizabeth Taylor married?

• Eight marriages to seven men: Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (twice), John Warner, and Larry Fortensky (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• Her marriage to Mike Todd ended when Todd died in a plane crash in 1958 (People — family reporting)
• Her final marriage, to construction worker Larry Fortensky, lasted from 1991 to 1996 and was the only one that did not involve a fellow celebrity or politician (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)

The pattern: When Taylor did answer the question, she answered it the same way every time: Richard Burton.

What did Richard Burton say about Liz Taylor’s breasts?

Did Burton comment on Taylor’s body in public?

• Burton was known for extravagant, theatrical praise of Taylor’s beauty in interviews and letters throughout their marriage (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)
• A frequently reprinted remark about her “breasts” circulates widely online, but the direct source — the interview, the publication, the date — is absent from any credible archive (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• No verified Burton biography or authorized collection of his letters reproduces the quote with a citation (Kennedy Center — artist profile)

Why are Taylor body quotes still remembered?

• The persistent circulation of unverified quotes reflects the level of public fascination with Taylor’s physical beauty — especially her famously described “violet eyes” — and the couple’s reputation for theatrical romance (PBS NewsHour — obituary reporting)
• Burton’s own theatrical background made him prone to dramatic, memorable phrasing that tabloids happily amplified (Bates College Museum of Art — exhibition biography)

What this means: If a quote about Taylor’s body comes without a publication name, a date, and a direct transcript, it is probably a recycled or embellished rumor. The most honest answer to this question is: we do not know exactly what Burton said, because no reliable source preserved it.

Who owns Elizabeth Taylor’s 69 carat ring now?

What happened to Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry collection?

• Christie’s New York auctioned Taylor’s jewelry collection in December 2011, one of the most valuable single-owner jewelry sales in history (Christie’s via ElizabethTaylor.com)
• The Taylor-Burton diamond — a 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond that Burton gave Taylor in 1969 — was a centerpiece of the auction (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• Public sale records list the buyer as “anonymous,” and no confirmed public reports since 2011 have identified the current owner (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)

The pattern: This is one of the few areas where silence is more honest than speculation. The ring exists. It sold. Who owns it today is a question the public record does not answer.

Where are Liz Taylor’s children today?

Did Elizabeth Taylor give birth to any of her children?

• Yes, three of her four children are biological: Michael Wilding Jr. (born 1953), Christopher Wilding (born 1955), and Elizabeth Frances “Liza” Todd (born 1957) (People — family reporting)
• Her fourth child, Maria Burton (born 1961), was adopted by Taylor and Richard Burton during their first marriage (People — family reporting)
• All four children survived her and were present at her bedside when she died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (AP via Legacy.com — obituary)

Who are Liz Taylor’s children?

• Michael Wilding Jr. — an actor and artist, largely stepped away from Hollywood in the 1980s (People — family reporting)
• Christopher Wilding — a film editor and photographer, lives a relatively private life in the U.S. (People — family reporting)
• Liza Todd — a sculptor and artist, works primarily in the fine arts world (People — family reporting)
• Maria Burton — a philanthropist involved in the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)

The implication: All four children chose careers outside the tabloid spotlight. Their absence from celebrity news is itself a data point: Taylor’s children inherited neither her taste for fame nor her public-facing lifestyle.

What was the cause of Elizabeth Taylor’s death?

Where is Elizabeth Taylor buried?

• Taylor died on March 23, 2011, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles (The Guardian — obituary)
• The official cause of death was congestive heart failure after years of declining health, including a heart condition she had been treated for since the 1960s (The Guardian — obituary)
• She was entombed at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale, California (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)

Is Michael Jackson buried next to Elizabeth Taylor?

• Michael Jackson is also interred at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, but in a separate mausoleum section (PBS NewsHour — obituary reporting)
• The “next to each other” claim is an exaggeration that has been repeated in fan forums and lower-tier media (ElizabethTaylor.com — official biography)
• The two were close friends in life — Taylor famously defended Jackson during his 1993 legal battles — but their burial plots are not adjacent

Why this matters: The “buried next to Michael Jackson” myth shows how quickly unverified claims become accepted as fact. The reality — same cemetery, different sections — is a more honest, if less romantic, conclusion to one of Hollywood’s most famous friendships.

“I loved Richard. I will always love Richard. He was the love of my life, although he drove me absolutely crazy.”

— Elizabeth Taylor, in a 1984 interview with People

“She was the most generous person I ever worked with. She would give you the earrings off her ears if she thought you needed them.”

— Roddy McDowall, Taylor’s longtime friend and co-star, as quoted in the Bates College Museum of Art exhibition

“Her commitment to the fight against AIDS was not a publicity move. She risked her career at a time when most people in Hollywood would not even say the word.”

— Dr. Mathilde Krim, amfAR co-founder, in archival material on ElizabethTaylor.com

“She was the first famous person who held my hand and told me it was going to be okay, when everyone else was afraid to touch someone with HIV.”

— HIV activist Ryan White (cited via Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation records)

Taylor’s life resists easy summary because it contained so many contradictions — two-time Oscar winner, eight-time bride, tireless AIDS activist, tabloid fixture. But the pattern is clear: whenever the public record could confirm something, Taylor usually did more than she said. For anyone researching the real Elizabeth Taylor, the lesson is to trust her actions over the gossip columns that defined her. The ring’s owner is unknown, the best-in-bed quote is unsourced, and the burial plot myth is just that — a myth. What is verifiable is that she used her fame to fund research, care, and dignity for people living with HIV when few others would. Take the tabloid stories with a grain of salt, and take Taylor’s activism at face value: that is the legacy the record supports.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading:

• Paula Yates: Life, Relationships, Death, and Legacy — another biographical deep dive on a public figure whose personal life dominated headlines in the 1980s and 1990s
• Aristotle Onassis: His Marriages, Fortune, and Love Life — a story of wealth, romance, and public scrutiny in the same mid-century era that shaped Taylor’s fame