About Elizabeth - A Short Biography (Part One)
Birth
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on the 27th of February 1932 at 2:30 in the morning, in Hampstead, "a northwestern suburb of London", the youngest child of art dealer Francis Lenn Taylor and actress Sara Sothern - nee Sara Viola Warmbrodt. Elizabeth (and her brother) was therefore of English, German-Swiss, Scots-Irish, Dutch, Welsh and Danish descent. She had one elder brother called Howard born in June 1929, who was declared "a Botticelli angel" by his mother. It was no surprise that Howard and Elizabeth had good looks - for Sara was attractive in her youth, with dark hair and large eyes. Sara was a theatre actress, but once married to Francis in New York in 1926, she retired and never acted again. Francis was an art dealer, and within a few years of marriage to Sara, he was transferred to Young's art gallery in London, where they lived for a few years (and where their children were born) until they returned to the United States in 1939.
When Elizabeth was born, she was born with scoliosis (an abnormal curving of the spine) and residual hypertrichosis (excessive hair body condition) which caused some alarm to Sara. "As the precious bundle was placed in my arms," recalled Sara in a memoir, "my heart stood still. There, inside the cashmere shawl, was the funniest looking baby I had ever seen! Her hair was long and black. Her ears were covered with thick black fuzz and inlaid into the sides of her head; her nose looked like a tip-tilted button and her tiny face was so tightly closed it looked as if it would never unfold." Back then, little did Sara know that her baby girl would grow up to be one of the world's most brilliant and loved actresses! Thankfully for Sara, after a month or so the hair fell away. Elizabeth was a beautiful child - with dark hair, a double row of eyelashes and lavender coloured eyes, it was sure that she was destined for the screen.
When Elizabeth was born, she was born with scoliosis (an abnormal curving of the spine) and residual hypertrichosis (excessive hair body condition) which caused some alarm to Sara. "As the precious bundle was placed in my arms," recalled Sara in a memoir, "my heart stood still. There, inside the cashmere shawl, was the funniest looking baby I had ever seen! Her hair was long and black. Her ears were covered with thick black fuzz and inlaid into the sides of her head; her nose looked like a tip-tilted button and her tiny face was so tightly closed it looked as if it would never unfold." Back then, little did Sara know that her baby girl would grow up to be one of the world's most brilliant and loved actresses! Thankfully for Sara, after a month or so the hair fell away. Elizabeth was a beautiful child - with dark hair, a double row of eyelashes and lavender coloured eyes, it was sure that she was destined for the screen.
Childhood
Elizabeth in front of her Hampstead home
Elizabeth and her brother had a luxurious childhood at Hampstead, surrounded by servants and
nannies. The Taylor family had been "adopted" by two benefactors - Francis's uncle by
marriage, Howard Young, and Victor Cazalet, a family friend. Thanks to Cazalet, the Taylors lived in many magnificent homes and even at his Kent estate where Elizabeth learned horse riding. Victor treated Elizabeth with great affection, reading to her, helping her spell out words and even talking to her about God (Sara alleged that during a terrible fever, Elizabeth asked her to summon Cazalet. Cazalet "held her in his arms and talked to her about God. Her great dark eyes searched his face, drinking in every word, believing and understanding. A wonderful sense of peace filled the room. I laid my head down on the side of the bed and went to sleep [...] When I awakened she was fast asleep. The fever had broken.")
Sara enjoyed her life at Hampstead. Parties were given there, and she was a good hostess. The Taylors socialised with famous figures such as Winston Churchill and even attended the Royal Ascot. The couple mixed well into high English society. The children were taken on trips across England, were spoiled but had good behaviour, and received a lot of attention. When Elizabeth was three, she started taking ballet lessons.
Elizabeth was often compared to celebrated actress Vivien Leigh (who starred as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind) and Sara claimed that people would stop her in the street and say "That child should be in the pictures. Why, she's the spitting image of Vivien Leigh!" Sara even emphasised a mole on Elizabeth's cheek with eyebrow pencil.
In spring 1939, the American embassy in London warned US citizens living in Britain that a war was going to break out and that they should return to the United States as soon as possible. Of course, this was not easy for the Taylors, after having lived such a luxurious life in England. Francis certainly didn't want to go, but Sara concluded that the Taylors had to move to California. Eventually in April 1939, they left England and went to America.
In California, Francis established a new art gallery which attracted many Hollywood celebrities and opened the right doors for the Taylors to establish themselves into society...
nannies. The Taylor family had been "adopted" by two benefactors - Francis's uncle by
marriage, Howard Young, and Victor Cazalet, a family friend. Thanks to Cazalet, the Taylors lived in many magnificent homes and even at his Kent estate where Elizabeth learned horse riding. Victor treated Elizabeth with great affection, reading to her, helping her spell out words and even talking to her about God (Sara alleged that during a terrible fever, Elizabeth asked her to summon Cazalet. Cazalet "held her in his arms and talked to her about God. Her great dark eyes searched his face, drinking in every word, believing and understanding. A wonderful sense of peace filled the room. I laid my head down on the side of the bed and went to sleep [...] When I awakened she was fast asleep. The fever had broken.")
Sara enjoyed her life at Hampstead. Parties were given there, and she was a good hostess. The Taylors socialised with famous figures such as Winston Churchill and even attended the Royal Ascot. The couple mixed well into high English society. The children were taken on trips across England, were spoiled but had good behaviour, and received a lot of attention. When Elizabeth was three, she started taking ballet lessons.
Elizabeth was often compared to celebrated actress Vivien Leigh (who starred as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind) and Sara claimed that people would stop her in the street and say "That child should be in the pictures. Why, she's the spitting image of Vivien Leigh!" Sara even emphasised a mole on Elizabeth's cheek with eyebrow pencil.
In spring 1939, the American embassy in London warned US citizens living in Britain that a war was going to break out and that they should return to the United States as soon as possible. Of course, this was not easy for the Taylors, after having lived such a luxurious life in England. Francis certainly didn't want to go, but Sara concluded that the Taylors had to move to California. Eventually in April 1939, they left England and went to America.
In California, Francis established a new art gallery which attracted many Hollywood celebrities and opened the right doors for the Taylors to establish themselves into society...
Becoming A Film Star
After settling down, Sara enrolled Elizabeth in singing and dancing lessons. She was an ambitious woman who wanted Elizabeth to shine. Friends and strangers even urged her to have Elizabeth audition for the part of Bonnie in Gone With The Wind, yet she refused, as she was unsure about child acting in films and was sure that the family would return to England after the war. However when Elizabeth was eight, a meeting was arranged between gossip columnist Hedda Hopper and the eight-year-old. The nervous child sang "Blue Danube" weakly - but Hedda applauded and later took credit for 'discovering' her.
MGM and Universal Studios were interested in Elizabeth, and it was Universal who succeeded in giving her a contract (though the precocious Elizabeth preferred to have an MGM contract, after visiting the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios). Elizabeth starred in her first film, There's One Born Every Minute (1942), playing a naughty child. However, two weeks after finishing the film, Elizabeth was fired from Universal Studios. She supposedly didn't impress her casting director (Dan Kelly), who said "The kid has nothing." after a test. Elizabeth had beautiful eyes, but Dan said "Her eyes are too old. She doesn't have the face of a kid." Elizabeth was definitely 'older' than her age, in the sense that she was direct and had looks that made her seem older than she really was.
In 1943, Victor Cazalet was killed in a horrible plane crash in Gibraltar. Later Elizabeth said "My biggest regret is that Victor never had a chance to see my success. Oh, how he would have smiled at it."
Elizabeth received her second role in 1943, for an MGM film - Lassie Come Home , in which she acted alongside Roddy McDowall (who, many years later, appeared in Cleopatra) and they became 'lifelong friends'. She was also signed for a seven-year contract with the studio after making Lassie Come Home, and appeared in Jane Eyre as a 'loan-out' to 20th Century Fox. The child had started on an amazing career.
Elizabeth was determined to get the part of Velvet Brown in National Velvet (1944). After all, she was indeedperfect for the role! She could ride horses, she was young, she had an English accent, she'd read the book... The only problem was that Elizabeth was too small and slender to be able to disguise as a boy (watch the film - you'll understand!). However, the twelve-year-old was determined - a characteristic she shared with her mother- and made herself grow by eating, stretching, swimming and exercising. She and her mother knew that the film would make her a star.
Evidently, she got the role. It was a great film - but Elizabeth fell off a horse during filming, and she would have back problems for years to come. Also, she wouldn't let her hair be cut during a scene - so wigs were made for her, one for the haircutting scene and the other for the Grand National scene. The film was very successful, and MGM signed their new star onto a long-term contract. She made more films, Courage of Lassie (1946), A Date with Judy (1948) (her last adolescent film was Little Women)... She was a star in her own right. She was even called "One-Shot Liz", because she could shoot a scene in one take.
Filming was stressful for Elizabeth, who was vigorously trained by her mother to cry on cue and not make mistakes. Sara was often on set to help her along, but it was all very exhausting. Elizabeth later recalled, "One of the few times I've ever really been happy in my life was when I was a kid before I started acting. With the other kids I'd make up games, play with dolls, pretend games ... As I got more famous—after National Velvet, when I was 12—I still wanted to be part of their lives, but I think in a way they began to regard me as a sort of an oddity, a freak. I hated school—because it wasn't school. I wanted terribly to be with kids. On the set the teacher would take me by my ear and lead me into the schoolhouse. I would be infuriated; I was 16 and they weren't taking me seriously. Then after about 15 minutes I'd leave class to play a passionate love scene as Robert Taylor's wife."
Elizabeth was so poorly educated that she counted on her fingers for basic math! It wasn't easy for her as a teenager, though she was a beautiful young woman. MGM reshaped her eyebrows into her signature arch, and plucked her hairline to neaten it! Rumours circulate that she had rhinoplastic surgery because MGM wanted her nose reshaped at the bottom...
When she was sixteen, Elizabeth had had enough, and she told her parents that she wanted to be a regular child. Sara replied "You have a responsibility, Elizabeth. Not just to this family, but to the country now, the whole world." Elizabeth would never experience a normal childhood (much like her friend Michael Jackson).
MGM and Universal Studios were interested in Elizabeth, and it was Universal who succeeded in giving her a contract (though the precocious Elizabeth preferred to have an MGM contract, after visiting the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios). Elizabeth starred in her first film, There's One Born Every Minute (1942), playing a naughty child. However, two weeks after finishing the film, Elizabeth was fired from Universal Studios. She supposedly didn't impress her casting director (Dan Kelly), who said "The kid has nothing." after a test. Elizabeth had beautiful eyes, but Dan said "Her eyes are too old. She doesn't have the face of a kid." Elizabeth was definitely 'older' than her age, in the sense that she was direct and had looks that made her seem older than she really was.
In 1943, Victor Cazalet was killed in a horrible plane crash in Gibraltar. Later Elizabeth said "My biggest regret is that Victor never had a chance to see my success. Oh, how he would have smiled at it."
Elizabeth received her second role in 1943, for an MGM film - Lassie Come Home , in which she acted alongside Roddy McDowall (who, many years later, appeared in Cleopatra) and they became 'lifelong friends'. She was also signed for a seven-year contract with the studio after making Lassie Come Home, and appeared in Jane Eyre as a 'loan-out' to 20th Century Fox. The child had started on an amazing career.
Elizabeth was determined to get the part of Velvet Brown in National Velvet (1944). After all, she was indeedperfect for the role! She could ride horses, she was young, she had an English accent, she'd read the book... The only problem was that Elizabeth was too small and slender to be able to disguise as a boy (watch the film - you'll understand!). However, the twelve-year-old was determined - a characteristic she shared with her mother- and made herself grow by eating, stretching, swimming and exercising. She and her mother knew that the film would make her a star.
Evidently, she got the role. It was a great film - but Elizabeth fell off a horse during filming, and she would have back problems for years to come. Also, she wouldn't let her hair be cut during a scene - so wigs were made for her, one for the haircutting scene and the other for the Grand National scene. The film was very successful, and MGM signed their new star onto a long-term contract. She made more films, Courage of Lassie (1946), A Date with Judy (1948) (her last adolescent film was Little Women)... She was a star in her own right. She was even called "One-Shot Liz", because she could shoot a scene in one take.
Filming was stressful for Elizabeth, who was vigorously trained by her mother to cry on cue and not make mistakes. Sara was often on set to help her along, but it was all very exhausting. Elizabeth later recalled, "One of the few times I've ever really been happy in my life was when I was a kid before I started acting. With the other kids I'd make up games, play with dolls, pretend games ... As I got more famous—after National Velvet, when I was 12—I still wanted to be part of their lives, but I think in a way they began to regard me as a sort of an oddity, a freak. I hated school—because it wasn't school. I wanted terribly to be with kids. On the set the teacher would take me by my ear and lead me into the schoolhouse. I would be infuriated; I was 16 and they weren't taking me seriously. Then after about 15 minutes I'd leave class to play a passionate love scene as Robert Taylor's wife."
Elizabeth was so poorly educated that she counted on her fingers for basic math! It wasn't easy for her as a teenager, though she was a beautiful young woman. MGM reshaped her eyebrows into her signature arch, and plucked her hairline to neaten it! Rumours circulate that she had rhinoplastic surgery because MGM wanted her nose reshaped at the bottom...
When she was sixteen, Elizabeth had had enough, and she told her parents that she wanted to be a regular child. Sara replied "You have a responsibility, Elizabeth. Not just to this family, but to the country now, the whole world." Elizabeth would never experience a normal childhood (much like her friend Michael Jackson).
Elizabeth - The Forties and Fifties
In 1948, Elizabeth went to England to film Conspirator. She was only sixteen, but she played her first adult role: a young woman who falls in love with a spy. She earned about $1000 a week for her performances. Though she was sixteen, she seemed like an adult woman, with a voluptuous woman's figure. The film failed at the box office yet she was praised for her first adult role. Her next film, The Big Hangover (1950) was also a box office failure. At the time, Elizabeth was in a relationship with sports star Glenn Davis, but eventually it ended, and she dated William Pawley. They almost married, but the relationship ended when William tried to persuade Elizabeth to give up her career for him.
Her next films were Father of the Bride (1950) with a sequel in 1951. They were not her best films - A Place In The Sun, which she had begun filming in 1949 and released in 1951, was one of her best. She starred alongside Montgomery Clift, who became a good friend. After that, she made bland films, such as Ivanhoe (1952), Love Is Better Than Ever (1952), Beau Brummell (1954), and Rhapsody (1954).
On set of A Place In The Sun, Elizabeth met dashingly handsome Nicky Hilton, son of Conrad Hilton. In 1950, on May the 6th, Elizabeth Taylor, at just eighteen years of age, married Nicky. She believed that she was in love with him, but she also wanted to gain independence from Sara. However, she didn't know what she was getting into. Nicky was a gambler and an alcoholic. He fought with her and was violent. He hit her. Elizabeth felt miserable. In late January 1951, they divorced after a broken marriage. Nicky had abused Elizabeth so much that he had caused her a miscarriage. "I left him after having a baby kicked out of my stomach." She told later, "[...] I thought, 'This is not why I was put on earth. God did not put me here to have a baby kicked out of my stomach'." Elizabeth's health took a toll: she lost weight, started smoking, had an ulcer, high blood pressure and colitis. It was a terrible time for her.
Her next films were Father of the Bride (1950) with a sequel in 1951. They were not her best films - A Place In The Sun, which she had begun filming in 1949 and released in 1951, was one of her best. She starred alongside Montgomery Clift, who became a good friend. After that, she made bland films, such as Ivanhoe (1952), Love Is Better Than Ever (1952), Beau Brummell (1954), and Rhapsody (1954).
On set of A Place In The Sun, Elizabeth met dashingly handsome Nicky Hilton, son of Conrad Hilton. In 1950, on May the 6th, Elizabeth Taylor, at just eighteen years of age, married Nicky. She believed that she was in love with him, but she also wanted to gain independence from Sara. However, she didn't know what she was getting into. Nicky was a gambler and an alcoholic. He fought with her and was violent. He hit her. Elizabeth felt miserable. In late January 1951, they divorced after a broken marriage. Nicky had abused Elizabeth so much that he had caused her a miscarriage. "I left him after having a baby kicked out of my stomach." She told later, "[...] I thought, 'This is not why I was put on earth. God did not put me here to have a baby kicked out of my stomach'." Elizabeth's health took a toll: she lost weight, started smoking, had an ulcer, high blood pressure and colitis. It was a terrible time for her.
Elizabeth first met Michael Wilding during filming of Ivanhoe. She quickly fell in love and decided that she wanted to marry him - but Michael was unsure. Twenty years older than her, he was more reasonable and was not about to marry her as soon as possible which was what she wanted! After completely cutting off relations with Nicky Hilton in New York, Elizabeth continued dating Michael in California, in 1951. In December, Michael divorced his wife (he was separated from her when he met Elizabeth) and proposed to his movie star girlfriend the same day. Sara and Francis, though, were uncertain about this new marriage - their daughter had just stepped out of one and was entering another, though they trusted Michael. In February 1952, Elizabeth married him ... with her parents absent, since she knew that they 'disapproved' of her marrying someone new. "This, to me, is the beginning of a happy ending." Elizabeth declared. Elizabeth discovered that she was pregnant in the summer of 1952. MGM learned this shortly after she had finished The Girl Who Had Everything(1953) ... and put her on suspension. Meanwhile her husband had recently rejected a script and was also put on suspension. On January the 6th 1953, Elizabeth gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Michael Howard Wilding. She now played a new role - as mother. MGM was keen to publicise the birth; even as soon as she went home from hospital, Elizabeth gave interviews. Elizabeth was the sort of person who -in terms of health-was fragile. She was often very ill and throughout her life she would have to deal with these problems, including back problems and pneumonia. "If she gets a cold," said Michael, "she's almost dead from pneumonia. She stubs her toe, it's broken. [...] No person is that fragile. There's something else at work." In fact, she got ill so often that her husband stopped taking her ailments seriously ... and she began to feel uncared for. Their relationship began to deteriorate - it even became violent! Elizabeth would deliberately provoke Michael into a fight. They both felt miserable.
It didn't help that life at home was too quiet. Elizabeth was bored, and tired of Michael. She was a rising star and she wasn't cut out to be a housewife. So she continued making films, replacing Vivien Leigh in Elephant Walk and making another film called Rhapsody. By the time that their second child, Christopher, was born (on February 27, 1955, the day Elizabeth turned twenty three), the relationship was dead, suffocating and toxic for Elizabeth, who felt hopeless and old, even at twenty three. She sought comfort outside outside her marriage, first in Kevin McClory, assistant to movie producer and Elizabeth's future husband Mike Todd, then Mike Todd, whom she met on a yacht trip. In 1956, it was announced that Elizabeth and Michael were separating and they divorced in 1957.
It didn't help that life at home was too quiet. Elizabeth was bored, and tired of Michael. She was a rising star and she wasn't cut out to be a housewife. So she continued making films, replacing Vivien Leigh in Elephant Walk and making another film called Rhapsody. By the time that their second child, Christopher, was born (on February 27, 1955, the day Elizabeth turned twenty three), the relationship was dead, suffocating and toxic for Elizabeth, who felt hopeless and old, even at twenty three. She sought comfort outside outside her marriage, first in Kevin McClory, assistant to movie producer and Elizabeth's future husband Mike Todd, then Mike Todd, whom she met on a yacht trip. In 1956, it was announced that Elizabeth and Michael were separating and they divorced in 1957.
Mike Todd was, along with Richard Burton, the love of her life - at least, according to Elizabeth. He was much more exciting than Michael Wilding. He brimmed with ambition, and he lived life to the fullest. He had handsome looks. No wonder Elizabeth was attracted to him! Mike first met her after he had finished Around The World in 80 Days (1956) and just after Elizabeth had separated from Michael Wilding. He declared his love to her, wanted to marry her... and wouldn't accept no as an answer. Elizabeth felt swept off her feet and "quite flattered".
The engagement ring (diamond) was 29.4 carats and cost $92,000. It was beautiful, and Elizabeth called it her "ice-skating rink". Mike was extravagant and passionate - he gave her many jewels, including a ruby-and-diamond set. "When Mike gave me the rubies I was pregnant with Liza. We had rented a villa, La Fiorentina, just outside Monte Carlo near St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, about 3 months into our marriage. The most beautiful house you've ever seen. Actually, I rented it twice - once with Mike and once with Richard. I was in the pool, swimming laps at our home, and Mike came outside to keep me company. I got out of the pool and put my arms around him, and he said, "Wait a minute, don't joggle your tiara." Because I was wearing my tiara in the pool! He was holding a red leather box, and inside was a ruby necklace, which glittered in the warm light. It was like the sun, lit up and made of red fire. First, Mike put it around my neck and smiled. Then he bent down and put matching earrings on me. Next came the bracelet. Since there was no mirror around, I had to look into the water. The jewelry was so glorious, rippling red on blue like a painting. I just shrieked with joy, put my arms around Mike's neck, and pulled him into the pool after me. It was a perfect summer day and a day of perfect love."
He gave her a tiara (see photo). "I wore it because he was my king." Elizabeth later said. Mike was tender and loving towards her, and she adored it. However their relationship could get turbulent - Mike would slap her if she misbehaved. Their fights were dramatic. Yet they truly loved one another.
Life with Mike was terribly exciting ! They would run through the streets from the paparazzi, giggling and having the time of their lives. On February 2, 1957, Elizabeth married Mike. Her parents attended, naturally. Debbie Reynolds with her husband Eddie Fisher (a friend of Mike's, and Elizabeth's future husband) were also present. Mike's son from a previous marriage was also there. On August 6, 1957, Elizabeth had a baby girl named Elizabeth Francis (nicknamed Liza). Mike allowed the doctors to perform a tubal ligation on his wife, since the doctors had said that she shouldn't have any more children. However this was a shock to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth continued to make films, such as Raintree County in 1957. Elizabeth had started filming a Cat On A Hot Tin Roof - but arranged for some time off, since she had recently contracted bronchitis and recuperated for a while. Mike told Richard Brooks -the director- that she was feeling better and was able to come with him to New York... yet that didn't happen. Richard told Mike that it simply wouldn't be possible, that she was taking time off yet felt well enough to go to New York. So Elizabeth couldn't go.
Elizabeth later said that, when Mike said his goodbyes, he told her "I'm too happy, and I'm afraid that something's going to happen because I'm too happy." Little did Elizabeth know then what would happen... yet she had a strange feeling when he left. It was a stormy night, and Elizabeth became more and more ill. Mike had reassured her that he would call when they landed for refuelling - yet he didn't. On March 22, 1958, the 'Lucky Liz' crashed from engine failure. All those on board - four of them- died, including Art Cohn, Mike's biographer. At age twenty-six, Elizabeth had become a widow. Naturally she was devastated. Her love, her husband and companion, the father of her tiny daughter, was dead. She was hysterical. She was out of control. Yet she held herself together, went to his funeral and continued the film. Eddie Fisher was practically the only one who comprehended her deep loss - he "dried a widow's tears" ... and both fell in love, much to the world's dismay and shock.
The Sixties
Eddie Fisher was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the 10th of August 1928 to Russian Jewish immigrants. He was one of the most successful pop stars in the early 1950's, and sold millions of records. He first married beautiful actress and singer Debbie Reynolds in 1955 ( a Catholic ceremony) and had two children, Carrie and Todd. His charm enchanted everyone and his match with Debbie seemed perfect: a young couple to look up to. Eddie was close to Mike Todd: the two couples - Elizabeth and Mike, Debbie and Eddie- hung out together. When Mike died on March 22nd 1958, Elizabeth and Eddie were stunned. Elizabeth couldn't have gone to the funeral if it weren't for Eddie: the pain of Mike's death left her in a state of shock. Yet Eddie took her to Chicago, guiding her through the pain.
They started to fall in love, and Elizabeth knew there would be a scandal - and there was. She considered the facts - Debbie was a strong woman and would probably get over it. You would probably think this selfish, but Elizabeth had gotten her way most of her life. She lived in a different world, of glamour and fame, where she could get anything she wanted, and in this case she got Eddie. The media pounced on the opportunity, denouncing her as a homewrecker, the 'other woman', a seductive monstress... which she wasn't. After Mike died, she felt empty, and wanted love. The press didn't understand, and continued to portray her maliciously.
However, Debbie's and Elizabeth's careers shone and Eddie's started to diminish. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof was a success!
Debbie filed for divorce six months after the start of the affair. Elizabeth could marry Eddie after a waiting period - but wanted to convert to Judaism first. Elizabeth had been longing for religious fulfilment - neither Christian Science (her mother's religion) nor Catholicism had fulfilled her needs. In a Larry King interview, Elizabeth said: "I needed -after Mike's death-some very strong faith to keep me alive, something to hang on to. I didn't find it in Christian Science. And I wanted to be close to Mike. So I studied Judaism for a year after his death, and then converted." She did, and her Jewish name was Elisheba Rachel.
On May 12th 1959, Elizabeth married Eddie in a Jewish ceremony. The couple beamed with joy, and they spent their honeymoon in Spain. This was Elizabeth's fourth marriage.
Though Eddie loved her, Elizabeth gradually realised that he was not 'the one'. She didn't really have any romantic feelings towards him. "I somehow believed that I could keep Mike's memory alive through Eddie. Instead, I now find that all I have is Mike's ghost. How can I be his wife when I am still married to a ghost?" She later told Joseph Mankiewicz. She grew more contemptuous towards him. Eddie later said,"Elizabeth, she was the love of my life. Even though our relationship started unhappily, hurting Debbie and all, and although it ended unhappily with me getting hurt, there was a lot of love in the middle of our relationship. We were happy for a while until the cad [Richard Burton] came along." Perhaps Elizabeth did feel love towards Eddie - whatever it was, it didn't last long.
Despite her complicated love life, Elizabeth continued making movies, such as Suddenly Last Summer(1959), Scent of Mystery (1960) and Butterfield 8 (1960 - in which Eddie played a small role). Butterfield 8earned Elizabeth an Academy Award, yet it was a film she loathed (Eddie and Elizabeth referred to it as 'Butterball Four'). "It was the worst job of my life, trying to deal with my hellion of a wife." Eddie said later. She became abusive towards him on set, hoping to provoke a reaction out of him. It was becoming a situation not unlike the one in Elizabeth's second marriage. Elizabeth was making life hell for everyone on set - she even wrote "No Sale" - in lipstick - on the producer's office door. "This picture stinks," said Elizabeth, so did the critics think so. However the film earned more than $7.5 million.
They started to fall in love, and Elizabeth knew there would be a scandal - and there was. She considered the facts - Debbie was a strong woman and would probably get over it. You would probably think this selfish, but Elizabeth had gotten her way most of her life. She lived in a different world, of glamour and fame, where she could get anything she wanted, and in this case she got Eddie. The media pounced on the opportunity, denouncing her as a homewrecker, the 'other woman', a seductive monstress... which she wasn't. After Mike died, she felt empty, and wanted love. The press didn't understand, and continued to portray her maliciously.
However, Debbie's and Elizabeth's careers shone and Eddie's started to diminish. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof was a success!
Debbie filed for divorce six months after the start of the affair. Elizabeth could marry Eddie after a waiting period - but wanted to convert to Judaism first. Elizabeth had been longing for religious fulfilment - neither Christian Science (her mother's religion) nor Catholicism had fulfilled her needs. In a Larry King interview, Elizabeth said: "I needed -after Mike's death-some very strong faith to keep me alive, something to hang on to. I didn't find it in Christian Science. And I wanted to be close to Mike. So I studied Judaism for a year after his death, and then converted." She did, and her Jewish name was Elisheba Rachel.
On May 12th 1959, Elizabeth married Eddie in a Jewish ceremony. The couple beamed with joy, and they spent their honeymoon in Spain. This was Elizabeth's fourth marriage.
Though Eddie loved her, Elizabeth gradually realised that he was not 'the one'. She didn't really have any romantic feelings towards him. "I somehow believed that I could keep Mike's memory alive through Eddie. Instead, I now find that all I have is Mike's ghost. How can I be his wife when I am still married to a ghost?" She later told Joseph Mankiewicz. She grew more contemptuous towards him. Eddie later said,"Elizabeth, she was the love of my life. Even though our relationship started unhappily, hurting Debbie and all, and although it ended unhappily with me getting hurt, there was a lot of love in the middle of our relationship. We were happy for a while until the cad [Richard Burton] came along." Perhaps Elizabeth did feel love towards Eddie - whatever it was, it didn't last long.
Despite her complicated love life, Elizabeth continued making movies, such as Suddenly Last Summer(1959), Scent of Mystery (1960) and Butterfield 8 (1960 - in which Eddie played a small role). Butterfield 8earned Elizabeth an Academy Award, yet it was a film she loathed (Eddie and Elizabeth referred to it as 'Butterball Four'). "It was the worst job of my life, trying to deal with my hellion of a wife." Eddie said later. She became abusive towards him on set, hoping to provoke a reaction out of him. It was becoming a situation not unlike the one in Elizabeth's second marriage. Elizabeth was making life hell for everyone on set - she even wrote "No Sale" - in lipstick - on the producer's office door. "This picture stinks," said Elizabeth, so did the critics think so. However the film earned more than $7.5 million.
Elizabeth signed a contract of $1 million to play Cleopatra. However, just before filming in Rome -in 1961-Elizabeth became seriously ill with pneumonia, and was rushed to the London Clinic. There, she was given an emergency tracheotomy (which can be seen in some film shots). Throughout her life, poor Elizabeth endured many health problems ranging from bronchitis and meningitis to back problems and a brain tumour. Her parents and then-husband Eddie surrounded her whilst she lay in hospital. Whilst Elizabeth received treatment, wild rumours circulated that she was dying - or dead.
Yet, miraculously - she recovered, finding that her room was full of flowers, fan mail and newspaper articles. "I had the chance to read my own obituaries," she later said. "They were the best reviews I'd ever gotten." Elizabeth was alive and kicking. She returned to Hollywood on March 27th, and stayed in California to recuperate for six months before continuing the film.
On April 17th 1961 Elizabeth won her first Oscar for her performance in "BUtterfield 8", a film that she loathed. Despite the honour, Elizabeth considered that it was given to her out of sympathy, because she had almost died - but she was happy enough for the acknowledgement.
She soon started filming Cleopatra. In fact in some of the shots you can see her tracheotomy scar!
Yet, miraculously - she recovered, finding that her room was full of flowers, fan mail and newspaper articles. "I had the chance to read my own obituaries," she later said. "They were the best reviews I'd ever gotten." Elizabeth was alive and kicking. She returned to Hollywood on March 27th, and stayed in California to recuperate for six months before continuing the film.
On April 17th 1961 Elizabeth won her first Oscar for her performance in "BUtterfield 8", a film that she loathed. Despite the honour, Elizabeth considered that it was given to her out of sympathy, because she had almost died - but she was happy enough for the acknowledgement.
She soon started filming Cleopatra. In fact in some of the shots you can see her tracheotomy scar!