Patricia Owens

w/ Charles Bronson

Katharine Hepburn

Natalie Wood

Elizabeth Taylor

Date of Birth

27 February 1932, Hampstead, London, England, UK 

Date of Death

23 March 2011, Los Angeles, California, USA (congestive heart failure) 

Birth Name

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor 

Nickname

Liz 

Kitten 

Height

5.2

Spouse
Larry Fortensky (6 October 1991 - 31 October 1996) (divorced)
John Warner (4 December 1976 - 7 November 1982) (divorced)
Richard Burton (10 October 1975 - 1 August 1976) (remarried) (divorced)
Richard Burton (15 March 1964 - 26 June 1974) (divorced) 1 child
Eddie Fisher (12 May 1959 - 6 March 1964) (divorced)
Michael Todd (2 February 1957 - 22 March 1958) (his death) 1 child
Michael Wilding (21 February 1952 - 30 January 1957) (divorced) 2 children
Conrad Hilton Jr. (6 May 1950 - 1 February 1951) (divorced)

Trade Mark
Deep sultry voice

Voluptuous figure

Dark hair, violet eyes and pale skin

Her multiple marriages and divorces, with only one marriage ending in widowhood.

Her love affair with beautiful jewelry

Trivia

She was bridesmaid for Jane Powell for her first marriage. Powell was bridesmaid for Taylor at her first marriage.

Has four children and nine grandchildren.

Mother of Christopher Edward Wilding and Michael Wilding Jr.

Her daughter, Liza Todd Burton, with Michael Todd, is a sculptor, who has two sons, Quinn and Rhys, with her husband artist Hap Tivey

Has appeared solo on the cover of PEOPLE magazine 14 times, second only to Princess Diana (as of 1996).

Her episode of "Biography" (1987) was the highest-rated episode of that series on Arts & Entertainment (thru the end of 1995).

Liz was a close friend of Montgomery Clift until his death in 1966. They met for the first time when Paramount decided that she had to accompany him to the premiere of The Heiress (1949) because they were both to star in the upcoming A Place in the Sun (1951). They liked each other right away. Clift used to call her "Bessie Mae". When he had a car accident a few years later that disfigured him, he had just left a party at Liz's house. It was she who found him first, got into the wreck and removed some teeth from his throat that threatened to choke him.

Her perfumes have been Passion (1987), White Diamonds (1991), Diamonds and Rubies, Diamonds and Emeralds, Diamonds and Sapphires and Black Pearls (1995).

At one point during her life-threatening illness while filming BUtterfield 8 (1960), she was actually pronounced dead.

First actress to earn $1,000,000 for a movie role (in Cleopatra (1963)).

Along with Julie Andrews, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II on New Year's Eve, 1999.

Lives in BelAir house once owned by Frank Sinatra when he was married to first wife, Nancy.

Has owned some of the world's most magnificent jewelry, including the 33-carat "Krupp Diamond", the Duchess of Windsor diamond brooch, the Grand Duchess of Russia emeralds, the "LaPeregina Pearl" (which was a Valentine present to her from Richard Burton), and the famous pear-shaped 69-carat "Burton-Cartier Diamond" Burton gave her in 1969 (subsequently renamed the "Burton-Taylor Diamond.").

Considered Michael Jackson among her closest friends.

She is a recipient of the 2002 John F. Kennedy Center Honors.

Admitted in an interview with Barbara Walters in the late 1990s that she would still like to act but, because of her medical problems, no movie company will insure her. In addition to many other medical problems, including a benign brain tumor she had removed, she has broken her back four times. This causes her severe pain when walking or standing for long amounts of time.

Has four children. Two sons with Michael Wilding: Michael Howard (born January 6, 1953) and Christopher Edward (born February 28, 1955). Her daughter with Michael Todd, Elizabeth Frances Todd, called "Liza", was born August 6, 1957. Her daughter, Maria Burton, (adopted 1964 with Richard Burton) was born August 1, 1961.

Ranked #7 in the American Film Insitutes list of the 50 'Greatest American Screen Legends', the top 25 male and top 25 female.

Although born in England, her parents were actually Americans who were just working in England. Her mother was of German descent and her dad was of Scots-Irish descent.

Is portrayed by Sherilyn Fenn in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (1995) (TV)

Was unable to give evidence at Michael Jackson's trial due to illness.

She was (along with Marisa Berenson) co-matron of honor at Liza Minnelli's and David Gest's wedding.

She and Richard Burton starred together in 11 movies: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), The V.I.P.s (1963), Under Milk Wood (1972), The Taming of the Shrew (1967), The Sandpiper (1965), Hammersmith Is Out (1972), Doctor Faustus (1967), Divorce His - Divorce Hers (1973) (TV), The Comedians (1967), Cleopatra (1963) and Boom! (1968). She had an uncredited cameo in Burton's film Anne of the Thousand Days (1969).

In 1969, Richard Burton bought her one of the world's largest and most beautiful diamonds from the jeweler Cartier after losing an auction for the 69-carat, pear-shaped stone to the jeweler, who won with a $1-million bid. The rough diamond that would yield the prized stone weighed 244 carats and was found in 1966 at South Africa's Premier mine. Harry Winston cut and polished the diamond, which was put up for auction in 1969. Burton purchased the diamond from Cartier the next day for $1,069,000 to give to Taylor. The small premium was the result of the publicity Cartier garnered from selling the stone, then called the "Burton-Cartier Diamond," to the then "world's most famous couple." Ten years later, the twice-divorced-from-Burton Taylor herself auctioned off the "Burton-Taylor Diamond" to fund a hospital in Botswana. The last recorded sale of the Taylor-Burton was in 1979 for nearly $3,000,000 to an anonymous buyer in Saudi Arabia. The ring was the center of the classic "Here's Lucy" (1968) episode "Lucy Meets the Burtons," in which Lucy Carter, played by Lucille Ball, gets the famous ring stuck on her finger. The actual ring was used and the episode was the highest rated episode of the very popular series.

Auctioned off her diamond-and-emerald engagement ring from Richard Burton to raise money for an AIDS charity.

Her third husband Michael Todd gave her a 29-carat diamond ring during their marriage, a feat topped by fifth husband Richard Burton when he gave her the 69-carat "Burton-Cartier" (later renamed "Burton-Taylor") diamond. Fourth-husband Eddie Fisher said that a $50,000 diamond could keep Taylor happy for approximately four days.

Was named a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on the Millenium New Year's Honours List, December 31, 1999.

1976: Won the title of "Most Memorable Eyebrows" in a magazine poll. The first runner up was Lassie.

In 2006 she introduced a line of diamond and precious stone jewelry called "House of Taylor". The designs are said to be inspired by certain favorite pieces in her own collection. She actually wrote a book on jewelry and is considered to be an authority on the subject.

Underwent radiation therapy in 2002 for basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.

Godmother of Paris Jackson.

Godmother of Prince Michael.

Announced her retirement from acting in 2003.

Has had three hip replacements.

Received $500,000 divorce settlement from Conrad Hilton Jr., 1951.

The 1963 Andy Warhol portrait of hers was sold for $ 23,7 million to an anonymous bidder at a Christie's auction in New York (14 November 2007).

After the death of husband Mike Todd, she and Todd's son sued the company Ayer Lease Plan, Inc. for $5,000,000 charging negligence. They were awarded only $40,000, of which $13,000 went to attorney's fees. The remaining $27,000 went to their daughter, Frances.

Actively sought the role of Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady (1964), but Audrey Hepburn was cast instead.

Has a street named after her in Iowa City, Iowa.

Underwent heart surgery in October 2009 to repair a leaky valve.

Was a heavy smoker until being mistakenly diagnosed with lung cancer in October 1975.

Returned to work seven months after giving birth to her daughter Liza Todd Burton in order to begin filming Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958).

First husband Conrad Hilton Jr. was physically abusive, which was partly caused by a drug problem.

Fourth husband Eddie Fisher was a close friend of her late husband Michael Todd. Fisher left his wife Debbie Reynolds to be with Taylor.

On Monday evening, November 8, 2010, Andy Warhol's "Men in Her Life", a 1962 painting based on an image of Elizabeth Taylor between husbands, was auctioned at Phillips de Pury & Company's new salesroom on Park Avenue in New York City. An unidentified bidder bought it for $63.3 million.

Although Taylor was raised as a Christian Scientist, in 1959, at the age of 27, she converted to Judaism. She denied that her conversion was motivated by her marriages to Mike Todd or Eddie Fisher (both of whom were Jewish), saying that she had always been drawn to Judaism. Her conversion took place at Temple Israel of Hollywood, where she had studied Torah and Jewish history and traditions under Rabbi Max Nussbaum. It is traditional for converts to receive a Hebrew equivalent to their names upon conversion (since they wouldn't have received one shortly after birth, as those born into Judaism would have); Taylor's was Elisheba Rachel, Elisheba being the Hebrew for "Elizabeth," and Rachel being the name of Jacob's second wife in the Torah.

Had fallen pregnant by her first husband Conrad Hilton Jr. six months into their marriage, but suffered a miscarriage due to one of his drug-induced violent outbursts towards her. Following this Taylor walked out on their marriage.

Delivered all three of her biological children via Caesarean section.

Her biological grandchildren are Leyla (b. 1971), Naomi (b. 1976) and Tarquin (b. 1990), via her son Michael Wilding Jr., Caleb (b. 1983), Andrew (b. 1985) and Lowell (b. 1991), via her son Christopher Wilding, and Quinn (b. 1986) and Rhys (b. 1991), via her daughter Liza Todd Burton. Her adoptive grandchildren are Eliza (b. 1984) and Richard (b. 2001), via her adoptive daughter Maria Burton.

Launched 12 perfumes and colognes - Passion 1988, Passion for Men 1989, White Diamonds 1991, Diamonds and Emeralds 1993, Diamonds and Rubies 1993, Diamonds and Sapphires 1993, Black Pearls 1996, Sparkling White Diamonds 1999, Brilliant White Diamonds 2001, Forever Elizabeth 2002, Gardenia 2003, and Violet Eyes 2010.

On March 1, 2013, her fifth (and sixth) husband, Richard Burton, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was placed next to Elizabeth's star at 6336 Hollywood Boulevard.


Personal Quotes

My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.

[on her weight fluctuations] When you're fat, the world is divided into two groups - people who bug you and people who leave you alone. The funny thing is, supporters and saboteurs exist in either camp.

Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.

You find out who your real friends are when you're involved in a scandal.

[on Michael Jackson] What is a genius? What is a living legend? What is a mega star? Michael Jackson - that's all. And when you think you know him, he gives you more . . . I think he is one of the finest people to hit this planet, and, in my estimation, he is the true King of Pop, Rock and Soul.

If someone's dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I'm certainly not dumb enough to turn it down.

[on Michael Jackson] He is part of my heart. We would do anything for each other.

[on Marilyn Monroe] She seemed to have a kind of unconscious glow about her physical self that was innocent, like a child. When she posed nude, it was 'Gee, I am kind of, you know, sort of dishy,' like she enjoyed it without being egotistical.

I will love Michael Jackson forever. (On Michael Jackson's death)

[on the death of Michael Jackson] I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. How I feel is between us. Not a public event.

[on Michael Jackson] He is one of the most normal people I know.

Kim Novak

Date of Birth

13 February 1933, Chicago, Illinois, USA 

Birth Name

Marilyn Pauline Novak 

Nickname

The Lavender Girl 

Height

5.6 

Spouse

Dr. Robert Malloy (12 March 1976 - present)

Richard Johnson (15 March 1965 - 26 May 1966) (divorced)

Trivia

Raises horses and llamas in Oregon and California

As a starlet with Columbia Pictures, she resisted pressure to change her name to "Kit Marlowe". Years later, the name was used for the character she played on the television series "Falcon Crest" (1981). (She did agree to change her first name from Marilyn to Kim, as the public associated her given name with Marilyn Monroe).

She arrived in Hollywood as The Lavendar Girl. When she became a star at Columbia Pictures, the studio had her blonde hair tinted with lavender highlights.

Visited Sammy Davis Jr. in hospital shortly before his death.

Her sister, Arlene Malborg, is a fashion designer in Chicago.

Was seriously injured in a horse-riding accident in 2006 and broke her ribs, punctured a lung and had nerve damage. She made a full recovery within a year.

When she was a kid, she had a scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing cancer treatment [October 19, 2010].

Claims that she was raped as a child [6 March 2012].

Revealed in a 2012 interview that she is bipolar.

Although she smoked in some films during her youth and posed for publicity photos with a cigarette in her hand, in real life she has always been a non-smoker.

Personal Quotes

[Alfred Hitchcock], contrary to what I'd heard about him, allowed me very much to have my own interpretation and everything.

I always felt Jimmy [James Stewart] was trapped in Hollywood. He felt it himself. He loved aviation so much and he wanted to be able to do more of that. He somehow just got stuck here.

Well, I'm Czech, but Polish, Czech, no matter, it's my name

[on her role in Vertigo (1958)] I don't think it's one of my best works, but to have been part of something that has been accepted makes me feel very good.

They'll always remember me in Vertigo (1958), and I'm not that good in it, but I don't blame me because there are a couple of scenes where I was wonderful.

Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo

Date of Birth

18 September 1905, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden 

Date of Death

15 April 1990, New York City, New York, USA (pneumonia) 

Birth Name

Greta Lovisa Gustafsson 

Nickname

The Face 

The Swedish Sphinx 

Garbo 

Height

5.7.5

Measurements

35.5-26-38 

Trivia

Lived the last few years of her life in absolute seclusion.

Letters and correspondence between Garbo and poet, socialite and notorious lesbian Mercedes de Acosta were unsealed on April 15, 2000, exactly 10 years after Garbo's death (per De Acosta's instructions). The letters revealed no love affair between the two, as had been rumored.

Once voted by The Guinness Book of World Records as the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

Her personal favourite movie of her own was Camille (1936).

She disliked Clark Gable, a feeling that was mutual. She thought his acting was wooden while he considered her a snob.

Left John Gilbert standing at the altar in 1927 when she got cold feet about marrying him.

Before making it big, she worked as a soap-latherer in a barber's shop back in Sweden.

In the mid-1950s she bought a seven-room-apartment in New York City (450 East 52nd Street) and lived there until she died.

1951: Became a US citizen.

Garbo's sets were closed to all visitors and sometimes even the director! When asked why, she said: "During these scenes I allow only the cameraman and lighting man on the set. The director goes out for a coffee or a milkshake. When people are watching, I'm just a woman making faces for the camera. It destroys the illusion. If I am by myself, my face will do things I cannot do with it otherwise."

Garbo was prone to chronic depression and spent many years attacking it through Eastern philosophy and a solid health food regiment. However, she never gave up smoking and cocktails.

Except at the very beginning of her career, she granted no interviews, signed no autographs, attended no premieres, and answered no fan mail.

She was as secretive about her relatives as she was about herself, and, upon her death, the names of her survivors could not immediately be determined.

Never married, she invested wisely and was known for her extreme frugality.

Although it was believed that Garbo lived as an invalid in her post-Hollywood career, this is incorrect. She was a real jet setter, traveling with international tycoons and socialites. In the 1970s she traveled less and grew more and more eccentric, although she still took daily walks through Central Park with close friends and walkers. Due to failing health in the late 1980s, her mobility was challenged. In her final year it was her family that cared for her, including taking her to dialysis treatments. She died with them by her side.

Popularized trenchcoats & berets in the 1930s.

Spanish sculptor Pablo Gargallo created three pieces based on Garbo: "Masque de Greta Garbo à la mèche," "Tête de Greta Garbo avec chapeau," and "Masque de Greta Garbo aux cils."

(Masque de Greta Garbo aux cils)

Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue"

Pictured on a 37¢ USA commemorative postage stamp issued 23 September 2005, five days after her 100th birthday. On the same day, Sweden issued a 10kr stamp with the same design. The likeness on the stamps was based on a photograph taken during the filming of As You Desire Me (1932).

Once lived in the famed Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles (8221 Sunset Boulevard).

Was offered the role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950), but she turned it down. Gloria Swanson was cast instead and she went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.

Garbo's dramatic eye make-up was the inspiration for many a Hollywood starlet - including Marilyn Monroe - and not without good reason. To create the look, she would apply a super-thin layer of petroleum jelly over the eyelids, cover with neutral skin-toned powder all the way up to the brow line and blend a dark shade into the crease for a theatrical, deep-set appearance. She'd also line the upper lid with eyeliner made from a blend of  petroleum and charcoal pigment, and finish with mascara.

Get the look

Using Petroleum jelly and neutral powder does work, but to avoid your eyeliner running, go for a great primer like Benefit's Lemon Aid

Lupe Vélez

Date of Birth
18 July 1908, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Date of Death
13 December 1944, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (suicide)

Birth Name
María Guadalupe Vélez de Villalobos

Nickname
Mexican Spitfire

Height
5'

Spouse
Johnny Weissmuller (8 October 1933 - 1939) (divorced)

Trivia
Lupe wanted to be remembered; that was her one wish. Since she was not being remembered by her films, she decided to be remembered by her suicide. She had everything planned; the pretty silk night gown, and make-up, the position. She knew that picture would make front cover news the next day.

She was pregnant at the time of her death, and in her suicide note named Austrian actor Harald Maresch as the father.

The most popular Italian crossword weekly magazine, "La Settimana Enigmistica", which typically features the picture of a star on its cover page puzzle, had Lupe Velez on its no. 1 issue back in the '30s.

She had one brother and two sisters. When she was a child, her father, a Mexican Army officer, died during a revolution, and she had to work for a living. Her mother was an opera singer (though some say, she was a prostitute), with whom she first saw what stage life was like.

Was best friends with Mrs. Jack Oakie and retired actress Estelle Taylor and, who was the last person to see her alive.

Velez' estate, valued at $125,000 and consisting mostly of her Rodeo House home, two cars, jewelry, and personal effects were left to her secretary Beulah Kinder with the remainder in trust for her mother, Mrs. Josephine Velez.


Personal Quotes
The first time you buy a house you think how pretty it is and sign the check. The second time you look to see if the basement has termites. It's the same with men.

[on divorcing Johnny Weissmuller] Marriage - eet stinks.