English actress Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on the 27th February 1932, in Hampstead, London, England, regarded by some as one of the greatest actresses of all time, probably best recognized for starring in the role of Catherine Holly in “Suddenly, Last Summer” (1959), playing Gloria Wandrous in “Butterfield 8” (1960), and as Martha in “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?” (1966). Her career was active from 1942 to 2007. She passed away in 2011.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Elizabeth Taylor was? According to authoritative sources, it was estimated that Elizabeth’s net worth at the impressive amount of $600 million at the time of her death, accumulated largely through her successful career as an actress. Other sources of her wealth came from the sales of her two best-selling perfumes – “Passion” and “White Diamonds”, and her own fashion company called House of Taylor. Additionally, one suspects that divorce settlements from her eight marriages may have contributed too.
Elizabeth Taylor Net Worth $600 Million
Elizabeth Taylor was the daughter of Francis Lenn Taylor, an art dealer, and Sara Sothern, a stage actress; as her parents were Americans, she received dual citizenship at birth. She attended Byron House, a Montessori school, but when the family returned to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, , she continued her education at Hawthorne School. Soon, under the influence of her mother, she began to pursue a career initially as a child actress, as her eyes were blue, almost violet sometimes, which drew audiences attention.
Elizabeth was spotted by John Cheever Cowdin, so auditioned at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Universal Pictures, which offered her a contract in 1941, so making her debut appearance in “There’s One Born Every Minute” the following year, which marked the beginning of her net worth. Later, she signed a contract with MGM, and was cast as Priscilla in “Lassie Come Home” in 1943, and as “Jane Eyre” in the same year, which was followed the next year by appearances in such other film titles “National Velvet”, and “Father Of The Bride” (1950), among others.
Her popularity started expanding enormously when she was chosen for one of the leading roles in George Stevens’ film “A Place In The Sun” (1951), which became a commercial success. In the following year, Elizabeth starred in the role of Anastacia Macaboy in the romantic comedy “Love Is Better Than Ever”, after which she was cast in “Ivanhoe” in the same year. In 1956 she was cast as Leslie Lynnton Benedict in the film “Giant”, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Special Achievement. From then, she lined up success after success, playing Susanna Drake in “Raintree County” in 1957, and as Maggie ‘The Cat’ Pollit in “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” in 1958, both earning her a Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance. In the next year, she won Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for her performance as Catherine Holly in the film “Suddenly, Last Summer”, and in 1960, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for starring in the role of Gloria Wandrous in “Butterfield 8”. All of these roles added a considerable amount to her net worth.
Elizabeth’s next big role came in 1963, when she appeared in the title role in the film “Cleopatra”, alongside her future husband Richard Burton, and three years later they appeared together in leading roles in “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?”, which marked her whole acting career, as she won numerous awards, including the second Academy Award for Best Actress, BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance, etc.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Elizabeth appeared in several prominent roles, including as Jimmie Rosie Probert in “Under Milk Wood”, portraying Barbara Sawyer in Larry Peerce’s film “Ash Wednesday”, and as Desiree Armfeldt in “A Little Night Music”. In 1981, she made her debut guest-appearance in the TV series “General Hospital”, as Helena Cassadine, and four years later, she starred in the role of Louella Parsons in the TV film “Malice In Wonderland”, and was selected to portray Madam Conti in the TV mini-series “North And South”. All of these roles increased her net worth by a large margin.
To speak further about her acting career, in the next decade, Elizabeth continued with guest-starring roles in such TV series as “Captain Planet And The Planeteers”, “The Nanny” and “Can’t Hurry Love” (1996), among others, increasing her net worth. Moreover, she landed a role in the 2001 film “These Old Broads”, and also did a voice-overs in several titles, including “The Simpsons” from 1992 to 1993, “High Society” in 1996, and “God, The Devil And Bob” in 2001. Her last performance was on the stage, when she appeared in the play “Love Letters” in 2007.
Thanks to her accomplishments in the film industry, Elizabeth Taylor was named seventh on the list of the Greatest American Screen Legends by the American Film Institute in 1999. She also received a Life Achievement Award.
Regarding her personal life, it was as expansive as her acting career. Elizabeth Taylor was married eight times to seven husbands; she married twice actor Richard Burton, firstly from 1964 to 1974, and later from 1975 to 1976. Her other husbands were Conrad Hilton, Jr. (1950-1951); Michael Wilding (1952-1957) with whom she had two children; Michael Todd(1957-1958) with whom she had one child; Eddie Fisher (1959-1964); John Warner (1976-1982); and Larry Fortensky (1991-1996).
Apart from her acting career, Elizabeth was also recognized as a philanthropist, and one of the first celebrities who established the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, for which she was made a Knight of the French Legion of Honour two years later. She continued to help people with this problem and in 1993 launched the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, and in the same year won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her efforts.
Elizabeth Taylor passed away from congestive heart failure at the age of 79, on the 23rd March 2011 in Los Angeles, California USA.
