Elizabeth Taylor

It’s sad to lose a legend, and Elizabeth Taylor’s death this year severed us from one of the remaining links to Hollywood’s golden age. While Audrey Hepburn had kindness, grace and incredible class, Elizabeth had purring sex appeal. No one would have deemed her sweet or innocent. This woman was a born dramatic actress. Her first film, “There’s One Born Every Minute”, was released when she was 10, but audiences truly fell in love with her two years later when she starred in “National Velvet”  with a horse for a costar. She had a natural born sensuality and when she starred in the first film where she played an adult  the director was amazed. After watching the 17-year old (who was supposed to be 21 onscreen) seduce a grown man, (it was part of the script) a local columnist allowed to watch the filming came up to the young actress and asked, “Elizabeth, where on earth did you ever learn how to make love like that?” The answer is that it just came naturally. Is it surprising that Elizabeth Taylor was married 8 times in rapid succession? Perhaps not and technically she was only married seven times because twice it was to the same man, Richard Burton, arguably the love of her life, to whom she was married a cumulative 12 years.

In addition to steamy romance, this queen of drama had a love for extravagant jewelery, although it seems that  what she loved was to receive and not to keep. Some of the pieces she owned included the 33-carat “Krupp Diamond”, the Duchess of Windsor diamond brooch, the Grand Duchess of Russia emeralds, the “La Peregina Pearl” (which was a Valentine present to her from Richard Burton), and the famous pear-shaped 69-carat “Burton-Cartier Diamond” Burton gave her in 1969 (subsequently renamed the “Burton-Taylor Diamond.”). To her credit, a lot of the more magnificent pieces went to charity, establishing much-needed public works projects in various countries.

Elizabeth in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Elizabeth Taylor was born with a genetic mutation-double eyelashes. And maybe if scientists studied carefully, they would discover that it is in eyelashes that our sensuality lies and she was simply born with a double dose. It was interesting that there are not many photographs of Elizabeth in actual outfits. Most photos found online focus on her beautiful face, with the exception of the famous negligee-clad photo from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” which can technically be called an outfit. Maybe Elizabeth was better known for her eyes, cleavage, diamonds and sex appeal than for her actual fashion sense, but she is still without a doubt a style icon.

Cleopatra!