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Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor is one of our last great movie stars. An Oscar-winning actress, she has lived her entire life in front of the spotlights, and her glamour and smouldering, sensual charisma are the stuff of legend. In Elizabeth, Alexander Walker presents the story of a life that was lived, on and off camera, with a passion rarely matched by even today's outspoken celebrities. From her privileged childhood, the influence of her strong-willed mother, and her rise to stardom in films like National Velvet, A Place in the Sun, and Cleopatra, to her husbands, her obsession with jewelry, and her amazing resilience in the face of public scandal and personal tragedy, Walker shows us the real Elizabeth--as an actress and as a person determined to live on her own terms.
- GenresBiographyNonfictionFilm
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
33 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Walker
27 books18 followersAlexander Walker was a film critic and author of a number of biographies and books on the film industry.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 3, 2024
Having picked up, opened, then flung aside many a sensationalised book on this woman, I was relieved to come across this very readable one.
Elizabeth was loved by not just her public but within the entertainment industry too. She earned her respect and survived much harsh press throughout her life. Such professional longevity is a rare and special thing in this game.
Of course, no biography would be complete without the obligatory affairs and broken marriages, but Walker at least tries to focus on Taylor's career (putting her relationships into context with that).
Here was a great star, tagged the world's most beautiful woman (how many people have worn it?) which is always tough to live up to after a while, when yet another 'the world's most beautiful woman' steps into the spotlight and winks at you to stand aside. Then everyone scribbles furiously about you in the tabloids when you try to get the odd, discrete chin tuck or eye lift.
When self-preservation became more than just being about looking gorgeous, Taylor's gruelling work ethic extended to her addiction rehabilitation efforts. Here she nobly led the way for many a diva. The Betty Ford must have benefited immeasurably.
Her earlier life, heyday and many media controversies gradually turned her into a more private person, as if compensating for the over exposure. She nevertheless remained a generous soul, one who cared deeply for friends and gave of herself freely when she saw fit.
From a young age, Elizabeth developed a devil-may-care streak. She had the capacity to shock and impress simultaneously. She made remarkably few enemies - ultimately, not even Debbie Reynolds. Her later off-screen work was admirable, as she balanced her perfumery juggernaut with needy, worthy causes few of her contemporaries would touch.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would consider almost any Alexander Walker book well worth a go.
Elizabeth was loved by not just her public but within the entertainment industry too. She earned her respect and survived much harsh press throughout her life. Such professional longevity is a rare and special thing in this game.
Of course, no biography would be complete without the obligatory affairs and broken marriages, but Walker at least tries to focus on Taylor's career (putting her relationships into context with that).
Here was a great star, tagged the world's most beautiful woman (how many people have worn it?) which is always tough to live up to after a while, when yet another 'the world's most beautiful woman' steps into the spotlight and winks at you to stand aside. Then everyone scribbles furiously about you in the tabloids when you try to get the odd, discrete chin tuck or eye lift.
When self-preservation became more than just being about looking gorgeous, Taylor's gruelling work ethic extended to her addiction rehabilitation efforts. Here she nobly led the way for many a diva. The Betty Ford must have benefited immeasurably.
Her earlier life, heyday and many media controversies gradually turned her into a more private person, as if compensating for the over exposure. She nevertheless remained a generous soul, one who cared deeply for friends and gave of herself freely when she saw fit.
From a young age, Elizabeth developed a devil-may-care streak. She had the capacity to shock and impress simultaneously. She made remarkably few enemies - ultimately, not even Debbie Reynolds. Her later off-screen work was admirable, as she balanced her perfumery juggernaut with needy, worthy causes few of her contemporaries would touch.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would consider almost any Alexander Walker book well worth a go.
September 3, 2011
Definately an interesting read - but I have to read more to see if there are such inconsinstancies as with Marilyn bios. I have no doubt there will be some, but Marilyn seems to be the prey of all bad biographers or wanna-be biographers, or memoirs by friends, wanna-be friends, lovers and wanna be lovers. Or fiction claimed to be fact by daughters, sons, ghost hunters, mediums and born again Marilyn's. I am sure it is not that bad with Liz, party due to her long life. At least there won't be anyone claiming to be HER anytime soon. Maybe in 20 years.
However, thanks to my experiences and studies of MM biographies I take the tales of Liz too with a grain of salt. I have my own theory of biographers, but I think I won't get into it here ;)
I still enjoyed the book, and it did give a great overview of her life and movies, enough to make me read more about her - and to compare notes :-)
However, thanks to my experiences and studies of MM biographies I take the tales of Liz too with a grain of salt. I have my own theory of biographers, but I think I won't get into it here ;)
I still enjoyed the book, and it did give a great overview of her life and movies, enough to make me read more about her - and to compare notes :-)
Read
July 14, 2015I enjoyed this book. I have read 5 or 6 other books on Ms Taylor and this had some good information that I hadn't read before. It had more about all of her marriages not just a couple of them. I will never understand though why women like her and Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner etc feel a need to HAVE to have a man. They almost have a new one lined up before getting rid of the current one. These women seem to have everything except self confidence.
November 15, 2015
The beginning of this book was pretty interesting, but how many times can one intelligent human being make the same huge mistakes over and over again? What most amazes me is that there are people who aspire to this kind of life even now. It was really difficult to keep reading to the end of this book.
June 11, 2016
Very Mundane. Included many facts about Elizabeth Taylor's life, but didn't capture the passion with which she lived. Painted an accurate portrait of the interest points of her life, but failed to unearth details that would have brought more interest to the book.
November 15, 2013
Interesting read but it went much more in depth than I really cared for. This accompanied by the quotes from foul-mouthed people, made it a difficult book to finish.
Read
March 18, 2014read the 1990 edition fontana
August 16, 2015
This book provides an extensive portrayal of her life- to a point of ad nauseam.
February 1, 2021
Elizabeth Taylor was a survivor! That is her in a nutshell. She survived as a star, a mother and a woman. She is just amazing. Her badass attitude towards men and her career is what got her through all the drama in her life. True, she sometimes caused the drama but at others it just happened to her. As an accident-prone woman she had to overcome so many near death experiences. I've always known her as a beautiful actress with many marriages, but didn't know all her suffering.
This book was published in 1990, which doesn't cover her entire life (or marriages). But I started out with this one because this was hailed as the most thoroughly written account of her life at the time, written without an angle or agenda. I will be reading others to get the full picture. I came out really in awe of this woman and want to learn more about her. Also her beauty is so captivating, no wonder men threw jewelry at her. I was happy to read that she never encouraged her kids to go into the movies. Especially her daughter. Poor kid would never live up to her famous mother and press would never let her forget it.
Here are my summaries of her marriages:
Marriage #1- Nick Hilton. Poor Elizabeth had no idea the challenges of marriage much less that of marrying a selfish drool of a man. She was clearly traumatized by this experience. 18 years old.
Marriage #2- Michael Wilding, 40 year old English actor who used her to get a contract with MGM but never actually worked. She was 20. Two sons.
Marriage #3- Mike Todd, movie director who was the first to spoil her and put her on the pedestal like the queen that she was. 1 daughter, widowed.
Marriage #4- Eddie Fisher. BFF of previous husband who took the opportunity of her grieving to leave Debby Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor.
Marriage #5- Richard Burton was mesmerized by her and like all previous husbands wanted to own her. They cuckhold Eddie Fisher and like the small man he was he didn’t challenge. She is barely 30! Adopted a daughter, Maria.
Marriage #6- Richard Burton, part deux. After a long 10 year marriage ending in verbal abuse and cruelty, they reconcile and remarry. So much jewelry!
Marriage #7- John Warner, politician. Brought her on to use her star power to win a Senate seat.
This book was published in 1990, which doesn't cover her entire life (or marriages). But I started out with this one because this was hailed as the most thoroughly written account of her life at the time, written without an angle or agenda. I will be reading others to get the full picture. I came out really in awe of this woman and want to learn more about her. Also her beauty is so captivating, no wonder men threw jewelry at her. I was happy to read that she never encouraged her kids to go into the movies. Especially her daughter. Poor kid would never live up to her famous mother and press would never let her forget it.
Here are my summaries of her marriages:
Marriage #1- Nick Hilton. Poor Elizabeth had no idea the challenges of marriage much less that of marrying a selfish drool of a man. She was clearly traumatized by this experience. 18 years old.
Marriage #2- Michael Wilding, 40 year old English actor who used her to get a contract with MGM but never actually worked. She was 20. Two sons.
Marriage #3- Mike Todd, movie director who was the first to spoil her and put her on the pedestal like the queen that she was. 1 daughter, widowed.
Marriage #4- Eddie Fisher. BFF of previous husband who took the opportunity of her grieving to leave Debby Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor.
Marriage #5- Richard Burton was mesmerized by her and like all previous husbands wanted to own her. They cuckhold Eddie Fisher and like the small man he was he didn’t challenge. She is barely 30! Adopted a daughter, Maria.
Marriage #6- Richard Burton, part deux. After a long 10 year marriage ending in verbal abuse and cruelty, they reconcile and remarry. So much jewelry!
Marriage #7- John Warner, politician. Brought her on to use her star power to win a Senate seat.
June 4, 2020
Good but not great book on Elizabeth Taylor. Explores her career, marriages, near-death experiences fairly. The one thing I noticed was that Walker doesn't give us much warning that divorce is imminent in some of the marriages; they just sort of seem to happen, with little insight into why a particular marriage broke down. Considering that this book was written while Taylor was still alive, it is surprisingly good and treats the subject with respect. But now I'm going to read a biography written after her death to see how much more information came out.
November 28, 2021
My dear mom was low key obsessed with Elizabeth Taylor. In the generation of really dishy and glamorous movie stars, Elizabeth Taylor was her favorite. She followed her through her tabloid marriages and friendship with Michael Jackson -- through her entire life.
When my mom died, I grabbed this book and blithely decided to read it. I didn't make it very far before realizing that I do not love ET as much as Mom did, nor do I have time to read a 700 page biography of her. The hundred or so pages that I did read were interesting, and I have said goodbye to the book to move it along.
When my mom died, I grabbed this book and blithely decided to read it. I didn't make it very far before realizing that I do not love ET as much as Mom did, nor do I have time to read a 700 page biography of her. The hundred or so pages that I did read were interesting, and I have said goodbye to the book to move it along.
August 11, 2018
This was a compelling story about a very beautiful, but flawed celebrity that thumbed her nose at convention and did what she wanted.
No matter how many times life and/or illness tried to beat her down, she got back up. And sometimes she even had to create a whole new life for herself.
It makes one wonder how her children fared. A biography written by one of them would be most interesting.
No matter how many times life and/or illness tried to beat her down, she got back up. And sometimes she even had to create a whole new life for herself.
It makes one wonder how her children fared. A biography written by one of them would be most interesting.
November 17, 2018
Amazing !
What an amazing woman and book. I couldn't put it down. Every chapter was better than the last one. What a life !
What an amazing woman and book. I couldn't put it down. Every chapter was better than the last one. What a life !
December 13, 2018
Interesting.
May 17, 2020
What a life indeed
June 22, 2023
Very interesting
I thought the book was well written and honest. I like Liz! I wish it would have been a little longer and had a better ending.
I thought the book was well written and honest. I like Liz! I wish it would have been a little longer and had a better ending.
June 29, 2012
She was a beautiful woman; a loyal friend and a fiercely independent soul.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews