The 25 things we don't know about Elizabeth Taylor

Showbiz mourns the passing away of screen legend Elizabeth Taylor who died at 79 of congestive heart failure. We have read about Elizabeth’s bouts with pneumonia, her back problems, her passion to help AIDS victims, her friendship with Michael Jackson, her diamonds and her love affair with Welsh actor Richard Burton. She was an extremely fascinating woman that people could not help but pay attention to her. It is said that when Dame Elizabeth entered a room, everybody was awed by her presence. Her fascinating collection of diamonds is also one for the books. Elizabeth has written about her gems in Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair With Jewelry. “I’ve never thought of my jewelry as trophies. I’m here to take care of it and to love it, for we are only temporary custodians of beauty,” she wrote in her book.

One of the most famous Elizabeth Taylor diamonds was the 69.42 carats pear-shaped Taylor-Burton diamond gifted to her by Burton on her 40th birthday. The diamond was later put on sale to build a hospital in Botswana after her divorce from Burton in 1978. In honor of the woman who had the most beautiful violet eyes, I am printing here a story on the 25 things we don’t know about Elizabeth Taylor from Us Magazine. Read on.

1. Before I made films, I had a lemonade stand in Southern California.

(Born in London in 1932, she was the daughter of two American art dealers, Francis and Sara Taylor, a former actress. After the outbreak of World War II, the family moved back to the United States, settling in L.A. She finally made her cinematic debut in 1942’s There’s One Born Every Minute and became a tween star two years later in National Velvet.)

2. When José Eber is out of town, I love to cut my hair and anyone else’s.

(Eber is a well-known celebrity hairstylist with a flagship salon in Beverly Hills and several books to his name. Other star clients have included Cher and Jaclyn Smith.)

3. I’m mad for Law & Order and have seen every single episode. My children and Mariska Hargitay, a dazzling actress, played together as kids. (Married eight times — twice to Burton — Taylor is survived by four children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Hargitay, 47, is the daughter of Jayne Mansfield who became a blonde-bombshell movie star in the 1950s and died in a car accident in 1967.)

 4. I converted to Judaism in 1959.

(Born a Christian Scientist, Taylor switched religious faiths after the 1958 death of producer-husband Michael Todd and before her marriage to Jewish singer Eddie Fisher. During a 2001 Larry King Live interview, host Larry King asked, “You are Jewish, are you not?” She replied, “I am, I am.”)

5. My Jewish name is Elisheba Rachel.

6. My first horse was named Betty.

7. I didn’t go on a date until I was 16.

8. My legs are too short.

9. The film I’m proudest of is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

(She won her second Best Actress Oscar opposite Burton in the emotionally searing film, directed by Mike Nichols and based on the play written by Edward Albee. Taylor played Martha, the alcoholic, angry wife of history professor George, Burton’s character.)

10. I never face the day without perfume.

11. I dreamed of designing perfume 25 years before I did it.

(Launched in the 1980s, Taylor’s fragrances, including Passion, White Diamonds and Black Pearls, have grossed an estimated $200M in annual sales.)

12. I love blood-orange juice.

13. My very first memory is of pain.

 14. I’m still heartbroken that Richard (Burton) never won an Oscar.

(Although Taylor famously married six other men in her long romantic life, Burton has often been considered the love of her life. The couple met while they were shooting the 1963 epic Cleopatra. Both married at the time, they embarked on a torrid affair that made tabloid headlines. They later married — twice — before divorcing for good in 1974. Although nominated for seven Academy Awards for his film acting, Burton never triumphed.)

15. I am sincerely not worried about getting old.

16. I never tried to act until A Place in the Sun.

17. I am disgusted by the amount of myth about me that is accepted as fact.

18. People on Twitter named my new fragrance, Violet Eyes.

(Even as her health continued to fail, Taylor was an avid user of Twitter. Her final Tweet was on Feb. 9, celebrating her final interview in Harper’s Bazaar mag — where Kim Kardashian donned her famous Cleopatra look. Taylor wrote via iPad: “My interview in Bazaar with Kim Kardashian came out!!!” She complimented Kardashian: “You look like a princess!” A more poignant Tweet, in July: “Every breath you take today should be with someone else in mind. I love you.”

19. I’ve never had acting lessons, though many people think I need them.

21. Nerves are the nemesis of all actors.

22. I hate being called Liz, because it can sound like such a hiss.

23. I believe you can be close to God anywhere.

24. My dog Delilah is in love with my cat Fang. To each his own.

(“Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses,” joked Taylor who also starred in Lassie Come Home in addition to National Velvet. In her private life she was never without canine companions especially — keeping spaniels, dachshunds, Pekingese, lhasa apsos and white Maltese. She even had a pet chipmunk, Nibbles.)

25. My family and people with HIV/AIDS are my life.

(Taylor was one of the first A-list stars to help launch a very public battle against AIDS, using her time and money to help advocate to awareness and funding for research. She helped found the American Foundation for AIDS Research [AmFar] shortly after the shocking 1985 AIDS death of Rock Hudson, her friend and co-star in the film Giant. She founded her own Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation in 1991.)