Elizabeth Taylor's Birthday

On February 27, 1932, in Heathwood, a suburb of London, to Francis Lenn Taylor and his wife, Sarah Viola Warmbrodt a daughter was born - Elizabeth Rosemond.

A Place in the Sun. Director George Stevens, 1951

The father of the future actress, an American of Irish descent, was a successful art dealer, the head of a branch of a large American network of art galleries Howard Young Galleries. Francis Taylor's great uncle Howard Young owned this network. Howard Young had a large multi-million dollar fortune, had extensive connections in American government circles, and was friends with Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower, who served as President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. Suffice it to say that when Elizabeth's boyfriend, Glenn Davis, was drafted into the army to be sent to take part in the fighting in Korea, it was enough for Howard Young to call Ike for Davis to be immediately released from the draft. Due to his financial and administrative power, Howard Young had a serious influence on his great-nephew, Francis Taylor. When Francis decided to marry Sarah Warmbrodt, a famous American theater actress who performed under the name Sarah Sothern, Howard Young insisted that Sarah quit the stage.

Father of the Bride. Director Vincente Minnelli, 1950.

In 1939, the Taylor family, on the advice of US Ambassador to Great Britain Joseph Kennedy, who was well aware of the imminent outbreak of World War II, moved to the United States. The Taylor family settled in the famous American celebrity city of Beverly Hills, California. There, thanks to her mother's connections in theatrical and film circles, Elizabeth Taylor already at the age of 10 got a role in the film "There's One Born Every Minute" directed by Harold Young (an amazing coincidence with the name of the all-powerful uncle). However, it is possible that mother's troubles would not be very necessary for Elizabeth to get into the movies. The fact is that from childhood, Elizabeth showed a rare genetic mutation, which manifested itself in a double row of fluffy black eyelashes in combination with an unusual - lavender - eye color. Surely, this feature would sooner or later attract the attention of filmmakers.

National Velvet. Director Clarence Brown, 1944.

But, anyway, at the age of 12, Elizabeth Taylor played one of the main roles in the film "National Velvet" directed by Clarence Brown. Elizabeth Taylor's partner in this film was the extremely popular Mickey Rooney at the time (remember the funny Mr. Yunioshi from Breakfast at Tiffany's?)

Giant. Director George Stevens, 1956. Movie's Rating - 8,288; 424th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

Elizabeth Taylor's cinematic activity lasted for more than 50 years, until about the mid-90s, when the Actress began to have serious health problems. During this time, she played in 48 full-length feature films, not counting numerous TV movies and TV series. Three films starring Elizabeth Taylor entered the Golden Thousand, including "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "Giant", "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". Thanks to this indicator and her unique beauty, Elizabeth Taylor is included in the list of the 100 most beautiful and sexy Actresses of world cinema compiled by FilmGourmand.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Director Richard Brooks, 1958. Movie's Rating - 8,115; 574th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

Elizabeth Taylor's acting talent has been recognized with 40 film awards, including such prestigious awards as 2 Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, 3 David di Donatello Awards of the Italian Film Academy, a BAFTA Award of the British Academy of Film Awards, a Berlin International Film Festival Prize, as well as honorary Oscars, BAFTA and 3 Golden Globes.

The Taming of the Shrew. Director Franco Zeffirelli, 1967.

I, like many Soviet moviegoers, for the first time, being a schoolboy, saw Elizabeth Taylor in the film "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare, then we saw her in the image of the beautiful Cleopatra (although eyewitnesses claim that this Egyptian queen was ugly). And I'm sure many people remember her for a long time in this role. In the late 70s, Soviet moviegoers had the opportunity to see the great Actress in a joint film adaptation of Metterlink's play "The Blue Bird". In 1980, in frames of the Moscow Film Festival, I had a chance to see "The Mirror Crack'd", in which in which I was struck by Taylor's lilac eyes. But the best films with the participation of an Actress, staged based on the plays of classic playwrights - Theodore Dreiser, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee - shot back in the 50s and 60s, I had a chance to watch already in perestroika and post-perestroika times.

Cleopatra. Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1963.

Today, in commemoration of the birthday of the great Actress, I want to remind her fans of footage from the best films with her participation.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Director Mike Nichols, 1966. Movie's Rating - 8,570; 296th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

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