04.02.2010 07:19:23

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, (born February 27, 1932), is a two-time Academy Award-winning English-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages, Taylor is considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood's golden years, as well as a larger-than-life celebrity The American Film Institute named Taylor seventh among the Greatest Female Stars of All Time. Taylor was born in Hampstead, a wealthy district of north-west London. At the age of three, Taylor began taking ballet  lessons with Vaccani. Shortly after the beginning of World War II, her parents decided to return to the United States to avoid hostilities. Her mother took the children first, while her father remained in London to wrap up matters in the art business. They settled in Los Angeles, California, where Sara's family, the Warmbrodts, were then living Taylor appeared in her first motion picture at the age of nine in "There's One Born Every Minute", her first and only film for Universal Pictures. Taylor won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performances in" BUtterfield 8" (1960), which costarred then husband Eddie Fisher, and again for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), which costarred then husband Richard Burton and the Supporting Actress Oscar winner, Sandy Dennis. After her Hollywood heyday, Taylor appeared in occasional film roles. She has also appeared a number of times on television. Taylor has a passion for jewelry. She is a client of well-known jewelry designer, Shlomo Moussaieff. Over the years she has owned a number of well known pieces, two of the most talked about being the 33.19 carat (6.638 g) Krupp Diamond and the 69.42 carat (13.884 g) pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond, which were among many gifts from husband Richard Burton Taylor has devoted much time and energy to AIDS-related charities and fundraising. In 1999, Taylor was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire