When talking about a Hollywood star there was a mix of glamour, drama, mystery, and grandeur. Today’s stars don’t always have the qualities associated with myths like Elizabeth Taylor, often referred to as the last big Hollywood star and who would turn 90 on February 27, 2022.

With a long career, which began as a child, Elizabeth was effectively a legend created in cinema. Stunningly beautiful – especially for her “violet” eyes – the actress was successful at all stages of her career, something extremely rare because the transition from child actress to adult is still not easy. Interestingly one of the rare rules applies to both men and women.

As a young woman, Elizabeth starred in light films such as Little Women or The Father of the Bride (with Spencer Tracy) before appearing in more relevant films, such as A Place in the Sun (with Montgomery Clift), her first film considered to have good dramatic acting. Between smaller films and other successes, Elizabeth has established herself as a strong name at the box office and collecting fans around the world.

Her performance in Giant was praised, but the actress who would go on to win two Oscars had not yet revealed herself. The turning point came with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, followed by Suddenly Last Summer. At the age of 26, already a veteran in Cinema, she started to be respected as an actress as well. Butterfield 8 was the role for which Elizabeth won her first Academy Award for Best Actress. At the turn of the 1960s, nobody was bigger than her in Hollywood. Then came Cleopatra.

The film that broke Fox, which suffered complications to be finished, for which Elizabeth earned a million dollars as a salary, is also known for her first work alongside Richard Burton. The romance between the two, their marriages, and their separations are legendary even in the midst of drama and legend. Together, they starred in several films and plays, including Shakespeare, and Elizabeth shone like never before in a moment of great performances, which even earned her her second Oscar, for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf.

Problems with drinking, medication, and weight reduced Elizabeth’s presence in heavy-duty films in the 1970s when she became the wife of a politician marrying a Senator. In total, including the two unions with Burton, Elizabeth was married 8 times and her personal life often commanded more attention than her work.

A faithful and unconditional friend of stars like Rock Hudson and Michael Jackson, Elizabeth became a spokesperson and activist for AIDS research, but her always fragile health, with several surgeries since she was young, proved to be heavy for the elderly and, although rich, enterprising (her perfume line was a success) and a jewelry collector, she lost her mobility and when, in 2011, she died at the age of 79, she was still known as a legend. Including one of the biggest.