20 Things You Didn't Know About Elizabeth Taylor

(February 27, 1932 –  March 23,  2011)

 “I hope with all of my heart that in some way I have made a difference in the lives of people with AIDS. I want that to be my legacy. Better that than for the mole on my cheek.” Elizabeth Taylor

1.      Elizabeth was born with a mutation that caused double rows of eyelashes, which enhanced her appearance on camera.

2.      Before she made films, she had a lemonade stand in Southern California.

3.      She hated being called Liz.

4.      Elizabeth’s love for animals includes a pet chipmunk she named Nibbles.

5.      Elizabeth was the first actress to earn a million dollars for her role in a film.

6.      Elizabeth has never faced a day without perfume.

7.      She loved blood-orange juice.

8.      In her twenties, she nearly lost an eye and a leg.

9.      Second only to Princess Diana, Elizabeth Taylor has appeared solo on the cover of People magazine a total of 14 times.

10.  Elizabeth’s most exotic pet was a baby lion

11.  Elizabeth bares a scar on her neck from undergoing a tracheotomy while she had pneumonia in 1960.

12.  In 1962, she tried to commit suicide by overdosing on medication.

13.  Elizabeth actually died during an operation in the 1960's and came back after seeing a white light.

14.  In the 1980s, she received treatment for alcoholism.

15.  In October, 1991, Elizabeth established The Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation (ETHAF).  With a focus on direct patient care, ETHAF provides funding to AIDS service organizations throughout the world to assist those living with HIV and AIDS.

16.  In 1993, she was given prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

17.  She was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in May 2000.

18.  In 2006, Taylor commissioned a 37-foot (11 m) "Care Van" equipped with examination tables and X Ray equipment and also donated US$40,000 to the New Orleans Aids task force, a charity designed for the New Orleans population with AIDS and HIV.

19.  When Elizabeth Taylor was in the hospital Oct 2009 to have a leaky heart valve repaired, she tweeted her friend Kathy Ireland : “Thanks Darling for the beautiful flowers and all the prayers.”  “Now can you just get my puppy past hospital security. Love.

20.  People on Twitter named her new fragrance, Violet Eyes.

“When I first started doing the work I did for AIDS,” she says, “it was very unpopular. A lot of people told me I’d be badly burned by it, that it was very undignified. And I didn’t give a hoot what people thought about it then, and I don’t now. It’s just that there has to be something done about it. I want to do all I can because I have to live with me.” 

To donate to Elizabeth's foundation please visit http://www.ethaf.org/