Dame Elizabeth Taylor would have celebrated her 93rd birthday today. Many devotees of the lavender eyed-one believed the more she aged, the more beautiful she became.
While the public watched from a distance the child actress grew into a sex-kitten then a lover of other woman’s lovers. Taylor, the personification of a smoldering “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” was a scandal draped woman many people couldn’t stand to see; but couldn’t resist watching her feline moves.
“Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” 1958
Although Taylor said “Buttterfield 8 ” was a film she hated, the complicated melodrama of Upper East Side styled-relationships, enthusiastic embrace of sensuality and frequent loss of moral compass were undeniable fundaments of her personal legend. Ultimately, Taylor used those foibles to strengthen herself and others who were lost.
“Butterfield 8 ” 1960
Culturally, the DNA of Taylor’s legacy is a helix of fascinating contradictions. Roles in Lassie Come Home, Jane Eyre and National Velvet set her stage as an ingenue. A quick marriage to Conrad Hilton and more sophisticated film roles launched her collection of jewelry that rivaled constellations. More films and a series of sex-capdes, that included but weren’t limited to eight marriages, added shape to Elizabeth Taylor’s cover letter.
Yet, she was also a devoted mom, entrepreneur and activist un-phased by criticism from the Pope, tabloid magazines and popular opinions.
She knew her private choices turned her public life into a nightmare. With every challenge Elizabeth Taylor remained true to herself. The broad didn’t sell out. Ya gotta wonder since Elizabeth Taylor was so far ahead of her times if she’s worthy of being considered a modern-day woman we should admire.
The global icon left a legacy more fascinating than eye-brow raising oval office smoke-sessions. She was a flawed but fabulous international poster-child for the human conditions we all suffer from. Taylor openly discussed her addictions to booze, pills, men and food. She also shared her struggles with recovery. And, she continued to work like her life and ours depended on it.
It’s not unreasonable to say the scars of ordinary life made the extraordinary actress more beautiful as she aged. Her problems conspicuously deepened her sense of empathy. Courage and compassion inspired her to use her assets to benefit others. She sold her prized possessions for AIDS Research, she celebrated relationships others ridiculded and she remained a loving parent to her kids and their kids.
Dame Elizabeth Taylor died of heart failure on March 23, 2011. But the strong heart of the woman so many people saw as ‘just a broad’ left the world a better, more velvety place of international beauty.
“SHE” celebrates all the lessons of your life Elizabeth Taylor.
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