Elizabeth Taylor's most dramatic health moment occurred half a century ago. While filming the epic flop “Cleopatra” in Rome, she contracted pneumonia and underwent an emergency tracheotomy so she could breathe.
What happened to Elizabeth Taylor during Cleopatra?
During the production of the film Cleopatra in 1961, Taylor and co-star Richard Burton began an extramarital affair, which caused a scandal. Despite public disapproval, they continued their relationship and were married in 1964.
In her 79 years she suffered from injuries, scoliosis and skin cancer, and endured more than 30 surgeries. In the months leading up to her death Wednesday, those who knew her said she was wheelchair-bound with dark bruises on her arms.
How many times did Elizabeth Taylor have pneumonia?
Taylor's health woes, including her near-fatal bouts with pneumonia in 1961 and 1990, became as much a part of Hollywood lore as her Oscar-winning performances and marriages.
What was Elizabeth Taylor illness during Cleopatra?
Did Elizabeth Taylor have a birth defect?
Born with Scoliosis
While filming National Velvet in 1944, then 12-year-old Taylor was thrown off a horse and hurt her back. However it was not that injury but scoliosis, or a curvature in her spine that she was born with, that was responsible for the chronic back pain she faced throughout her life.
“A child out of wedlock. The studio and her mother gave baby Norah away. Money was exchanged. Living in Ireland, the child, resenting the mother who gave her up, wanted nothing to do with Elizabeth.
And, well, she must have loved playing that part, because Liz would infamously walk down the aisle eight times (to seven husbands, marrying Richard Burton twice) over the next 40 years. Her first wedding took place in 1950, at the age of 18, and she didn't stop until her last stint as bride in 1991, at the age of 59.
All other terms of Taylor's revocable living trust have remained private, as intended. It's rumored that the trust passed the majority of her assets to her children, grandchildren, and to various charities. Taylor's AIDS work saw her address the General Assembly at the United Nations.
Taylor's twin-set of lashes are thought to be the result of a genetic mutation at the FOXC2 gene. (Funny that a woman most men would describe as "foxy" was possibly affected by the FOXC2 gene!) An extra row of eyelashes is known medically as distichiasis (pronounced dis-tic-key-i-asis) and it's a rare disorder.
What was so special about Elizabeth Taylor's eyes?
Taylor also had a rare genetic defect that resulted in her having two layers of eyelashes, which really helped give her colorful eyes that dramatic pop.
Not only had Taylor's spinal curve worsened to 53°, but she was also experiencing back pain so severe at times it would cause her to fall to the ground.
Having met at Mocambo nightclub — per Entertainment Weekly — in Los Angeles the year before, Taylor was only 18 when she wed then-23-year-old hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton on May 6, 1950. However, the ill-fated eight-month marriage began crumbling even before their 14-week European honeymoon was over.
Did Elizabeth Taylor do her own makeup in Cleopatra?
Taylor would often do her own make-up for movie roles and red carpet appearances, including in her role as Cleopatra, which called for dramatic eyeshadow play. “When I was younger, for a long time I didn't wear any make-up in films; when I did start to wear make-up, I always did it myself,” she once said.
How many dresses did Elizabeth Taylor wear in Cleopatra?
The costume of Cleopatra is unmistakable: gold, heavy adornments, lavish headdresses, dramatic makeup. The film honours this and then some, providing Taylor with 65 costume changes and showing off Cleopatra's imitable beauty and style at every opportunity.
Later, while under sedation for a caesarean section, she was given a tubal ligation without her knowledge. As a child actress and product of the MGM studio system, Elizabeth was given pills to pep her up and pills to calm her down – starting her on a path that would see her in and out of rehab in later years.
Elizabeth Taylor died March 23, 2011 at the age of 79 of congestive heart failure. She also suffered from a lifetime of poor health and crippling accidents. Though she quit smoking in 1990, she was a heavy smoker for 40 years.
Legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor's eyes were famous for being stunningly beautiful and distinct. Widely known for having the most striking eyes in Hollywood, Taylor had what appeared to be rare, natural purple irises.
Fortensky made headlines in the years after the divorce when he fell down a flight of stairs in 1999 and ended up in a coma. He suffered short-term memory loss because of the accident. He also had a home in Temecula repossessed in 2010. Taylor reportedly left him $825,000 when she died in 2011.
Did Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor have any children together?
In all the coverage of Taylor's life, her children seemed like little more than a footnote. She had four of them: two sons by her second husband Michael Wilding, a daughter by her third husband Mike Todd, and an adopted daughter with her fifth and sixth husband Richard Burton.
Taylor, who died on March 23 at the age of 79, was famously married eight times and had four children. She had two sons Christopher , 55, and Michael , 57, with her second husband, British actor Michael Wilding. She had a daughter, Liza, 53, with her third husband, film producer Michael Todd.
