Dimensions
130 x 184 x 22mm
Passion is the ingredient in me that has made me who I am. It's my passion for life...my passion for passion that has made me never give up.
- Elizabeth Taylor
From the time she appeared in National Velvet, the film that skyrocketed her to international fame at age twelve in 1944, until her death in 2011, Elizabeth Taylor's beauty, allure, and personal strength captivated the world. In a career that spanned more than sixty years, she brought her raw talent and magnetism to bear in now-classic films such as Father of the Bride, Suddenly, Last Summer, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Giant, Cleopatra, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Off screen, she lived just as passionately. That intensity brought her enormous joy and pain -- and notoriety, whether it was from her vast collections of extraordinary fine jewelry and art to her battles with addiction and ill health, from her internationally recognized humanitarian efforts on behalf of AIDS to her scandalous love affairs and seven highly scrutinized marriages.
This anthology -- illustrated with more than 30 gorgeous images of the star throughout her career and personal life -- reveals the candor and honesty with which the actress led her extraordinary life. Here are Elizabeth's first-person reflections on her childhood, career, love and marriages, motherhood, beauty, aging, extravagances, charity, and sense of self. Whether witty or poignant, these words are always demonstrative of her generous, unapologetic, and fiercely determined nature, reflecting the essence of a great star and legendary modern woman.
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Organized thematically, each section in this book contains introductory text on the subject at hand, followed by entertaining quotes and anecdotes related by Taylor herself as well as her many husbands, costars, friends, and fellow humanitarians. Thirty to forty gorgeous images supplement this text. Also throughout are entertaining sidebars highlighting little known facts about her life, career, and many marriages--and of course, her vast jewelry collection.
The book is divided into the following sections, each of which begins with a brief introductory text.
Introduction
I. Childhood
II. Acting
III. Marriage
IV. Motherhood
V. Self
VI. Beauty
VII. Aging
VIII. Extravagances
IX. Charity
X. Life
Acknowledgments
Filmography
Bibliography
Photography Credits