"Big girls need big diamonds. "

Elizabeth Taylor is a film actress, known as one of the most beautiful women of all time.

Taylor is the second child of Francis Lenn Taylor and Sara Viola Warmbrodt, who were Americans living in Britain. Her father was an art dealer and her mother was a former actress; both raised in Arkansas City, Kansas. Taylor was born with dual British and American citizenship. She has one older brother, Howard Taylor. She was named after her grandmother, Elizabeth Taylor, who was born Elizabeth May Rosemond. Taylor is often called "Liz," but prefers to be called by her birth-name.

She appeared in her first motion picture when she was nine in Lassie Come Home (1943). She had her first leading role playing Velvet Brown in National Velvet (1944). The film grossed over $4,000,000, and was then signed to a long-term contract. She was married at 18.

In 1963 she was the highest paid film actress; at that time she was paid $1,000,000 for her role in 20th Century Fox Cleopatra. This was her first time to work with Richard Burton (her later husband).

Taylors' personal life involves eight marriages: Nicky Hilton, actor Michael Wilding, producer Mike Todd, singer Eddie Fisher, actor Richard Burton (twice), Senator John Warner, and construction-equipment operator Larry Fortensky. She had two sons with Michael Wilding, one daughter with Mike Todd, and one adoption with Richard Burton.

Taylor has owned several well-known pieces of jewelry. Two of the most talked about are the 33.19 carat Krupp Diamond and the 69.42 carat pear sharped Taylor-Burton Diamond, which were both gifts from Richard Burton. Her book, My love Affair with Jewelry, eternalizes her pieces. Taylor has two very successful perfume lines: "Passion" and "White Diamonds," which earn $200,000,000 annually. She makes considerable contributions to AIDS-related charities and research; she started the American Foundation for AIDS Research after her good friend, Rock Hudson died of AIDS. She has raised over $50,000,000 to fight AIDS.

Taylor was diagnosed with cogestive heart failure in 2004, which is a terminal condition. She is now confined to a a wheelchair. She has survived a variety threatening conditions, including broken backs, a brain tumor operation, skin cancer, and pneumonia.

Taylor was very attached to her dog, Sugar, a tiny Maltese who died in June 2005. In an interview she said, "I've never loved a dog like this in my life. . .sometimes I think there's a person in there. There's something to say for this kind of love - it's unconditional." She recently bought a new dog she named Daisy.