In Memoriam: Elizabeth Taylor's Tragic Cause of Death Revealed

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born in Hampstead, London, on February 27, 1932, to art dealer Francis Taylor and Sara, a former stage actress. Her unique beauty inspired her mother to put her into show business, and by age 3, Elizabeth was taking ballet lessons. "I never could kick up my heels like other kids; there were too many restraints," Taylor wrote in her 1988 memoir, 'Elizabeth Takes Off'. "My life was overscheduled and overdisciplined," she further wrote.

Taylor appeared in her first movie, the 1942 comedy 'There's One Born Every Minute,' when she was just 9 years old. MGM noticed her potential and her remarkable violet-colored eyes and signed her for 1943's 'Lassie Come Home.' The following year, she made her star-making turn in 'National Velvet' playing the determined "Velvet Brown", who takes her horse all the way to the Grand National.

In 1952, she married actor Michael Wilding, who was 20 years her senior. Their marriage lasted five years and had two children.

A week after divorcing Wilding, she married Hollywood producer Mike Todd. After some slow work in the early '50s, she appeared in renowned films, notably 'Giant' (1956) opposite James Dean and Rock Hudson. Todd suggested her for the role of Maggie the Cat in 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' (1958).

Todd died in a plane crash in March 1958. After his death, Taylor was comforted by Todd's best friend, actor and singer Eddie Fisher. This comfort turned into an affair, complete with bold headlines, which broke apart Fisher's marriage to "America's sweetheart," actress Debbie Reynolds. Taylor was now labeled "the other woman," scorned as a homewrecker and, based on box office returns, more popular than ever.

Fisher and Taylor married in 1959 and appeared opposite each other in the next year's 'BUtterfield 8,' with Taylor cast as a sexually voracious party girl. Although she disliked the film, her performance—and a sudden case of pneumonia that threatened her life—invited the sympathy of the Motion Picture Academy, and she finally won an Oscar. "I lost to a tracheotomy," fellow nominee Shirley MacLaine said.

In 1960, now perhaps the most famous actress in the world, Taylor was offered the lead in 20th Century Fox's production of 'Cleopatra.' She demanded $1 million—the highest fee ever requested by an actress at the time. Producer Walter Wanger agreed, and the adventure of "Cleopatra" began, consuming the showbiz world in ways unknown in the early '60s

In her prime, she was hailed as the world's most beautiful and desirable woman. Her affair with actor Richard Burton, which began on the set of the film 'Cleopatra,' sparked an unprecedented paparazzi frenzy. The two later married twice, providing gossip columns and movie magazines with endless material.

Throughout these years, Taylor faced more health issues, including a brain tumor and severe back problems that eventually put her in a wheelchair.

Most notably, however, she devoted herself to charity. In 1985, she organized a benefit dinner to raise money for her friend Rock Hudson, who was dying of AIDS. The project eventually led to the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR); in 1991, she began the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation.