Elizabeth Taylor was one of the most beautiful actresses to ever grace the silver screen. But while her looks may have been unparalleled, there was one woman she worried might lead her love Richard Burton astray — Sophia Loren.
Did Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor really love each other?
Burton and Taylor had an instant connection and attraction to one another and although married to other people (she to Eddie Fisher, he to Sybil Williams), they couldn't contain their feelings and started an extravagant and scandalous love affair.
It was the affair heard around the world, when Elizabeth Taylor infamously stole best friend Debbie Reynolds' husband Eddie Fisher. The “Singin' in the Rain” star — who died in 2016 just a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher — was married to the singer while Taylor was wedded to Mike Todd.
She was married eight times to seven men, converted to Judaism, endured several serious illnesses, and led a jet set lifestyle, including assembling one of the most expensive private collections of jewelry in the world. After many years of ill health, Taylor died from congestive heart failure in 2011, at the age of 79.
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.
Elizabeth Taylor loses temper defending Richard Burton
Did Elizabeth Taylor have biological children with Richard Burton?
Together, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton did not produce biological offspring. However, their love story was enriched by the adoption of Maria Burton-Carroll born in 1961.
He suffered from arthritis, dermatitis and, inevitably, cirrhosis of the liver. Although his death came as a major surprise for many of his fans, Burton had been complaining for some time about severe neck pains and he eventually succumbed to a massive brain haemorrhage.
How much older was Richard Burton than Elizabeth Taylor?
Whether it was through mutual friends or at work, check out their love story beginnings here! Eventually, both Burton and Taylor divorced their respective partners and were wed in Montreal on March 15, 1964, by a Unitarian minister. Elizabeth was 32 years old at the time, Burton was 38.
Did Elizabeth Taylor go to Richard Burton's funeral?
The actor died from a brain haemorrhage in August 1984 in Geneva, Switzerland. Taylor was asked to stay away from the funeral because Burton's family feared her presence would create a media circus.
How many biological children did Richard Burton have?
Burton also had four children. He had two daughters Kate and Jessica, from his marriage to Sybil Christopher. Burton later adopted Taylor's daughter Elizabeth "Liza" Todd, and he and Taylor adopted another daughter, Maria, together.
He married his fourth wife Sally Hay in 1983, and they were married until Burton's death in 1984. According to the Associated Press, Burton “left the bulk of his 2.7 million estate to his fourth wife and nothing to Elizabeth Taylor.
Taylor and Burton reportedly began an affair while filming the movie. At the time, Taylor was married to Eddie Fisher, her fourth husband. Burton was married to Sybil Williams, his first wife.
From her marriages, the actress had four children and 10 grandchildren. It is believed that her trust passed the majority of her assets to her children, grandchildren as well as to various charities.
Sybil Christopher (née Williams; 27 March 1929 – 7 March 2013), formerly known as Sybil Burton, was a Welsh actress, theatre director, and founder of popular celebrity New York nightclub "Arthur". She came into the public eye as the first wife of Richard Burton.
The woman best known as Richard Burton's ex — he left her to marry Elizabeth Taylor — has died. Theater producer and nightclub founder Sybil Christopher was 83. The Bay Street Theater on Long Island has posted an obituary for Christopher on its website.
2025 marks the centenary of the birth of one of Wales' great characters, Richard Burton. The son of a miner turned Hollywood actor who, alongside his (two-time) wife Elizabeth Taylor, became a global icon – one who never forgot his Welsh roots.
Sergeant Tom Lorenz, a police spokesman, said Taylor was placed in the great mausoleum in Forest Lawn memorial park but in a different wing from Jackson. "There's nowhere in the world where more famous people are laid to rest," Lorenz was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times.
"She was more of the pal than the disciplinarian. She was the kind of mother who said, 'I'm here if you want to talk to me. '” William also noted in his book, “She was only [20] when she had Michael, they weren't that far apart in age, and she took that approach with all of them.”
While Elizabeth Taylor made headlines with her violet eyes, her eyes were in fact blue. Blue eyes get their color from light that is coming in and being reflected out, so it is not surprising that they appeared as assorted colors based on lighting conditions. Makeup can bring out certain colors in the eye, Kaplan adds.
