Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Taylor, DBE, (born February 27, 1932) is a British Academy Award winning actress.

Early life and career

She was born Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor in Hampstead, London, England, the second child of Francis Lenn Taylor (December 28, 1897-November 20, 1968) and Sara Viola Warmbrodt (August 21, 1896-September 11, 1994), who were Americans working in Britain. Her older brother is Howard Taylor (born 1929).

Related Topics:
Hampstead - London - England - December 28 - 1897 - November 20 - 1968 - August 21 - 1896 - September 11 - 1994 - 1929

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Though sometimes referred to as "Liz," she is not fond of that name. She prefers her given name to be pronounced Eee-lizabeth. Her given and middle names were in honor of her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Taylor, who was born Elizabeth Mary Rosemond.

Related Topics:
Given name - Middle - Paternal

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Taylor was born with dual British and American citizenship. Her American parents were both originally from Arkansas City, Kansas. Her father was an art dealer and her mother a former actress whose stage name was Sara Sothern. Sara retired from the stage when she and Francis Taylor married in 1926 in New York. Although most of Taylor's ancestry is English, she has German heritage from her maternal grandfather, Samuel Sylvester Warmbrodt, and Italian ancestry from her paternal great-great-grandfather, Jonathan Perigo.

Related Topics:
British - American - Arkansas City - Kansas - Stage name - Stage - 1926 - New York - English - German - Italian

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At the age of three, Elizabeth began taking ballet lessons. After the UK entered 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.

Related Topics:
World War II - Los Angeles - California

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Taylor appeared in her first motion picture at the age of nine for Universal. They let her contract drop and she was signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Her first movie with that studio was Lassie Come Home (1943). This drew favorable attention. After a couple more movies, the second on loan-out to 20th Century Fox, she appeared in her first leading role and achieved child star status playing Velvet Brown, a young girl who trains a horse to win the Grand National in Clarence Brown's movie National Velvet (1944) with Mickey Rooney. National Velvet was a big hit, grossing over $4,000,000 at the box-office, and she was signed to a long term contract.

Related Topics:
Motion picture - Universal - Contract - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Studio - Lassie Come Home - 1943 - 20th Century Fox - Star - Grand National - Clarence Brown - National Velvet - 1944 - Mickey Rooney

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She attended school on the MGM lot and University High School in Los Angeles, where she received her diploma on January 26, 1950, the same year she was first married at age 18.

Related Topics:
MGM - University High School - January 26 - 1950

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