We Pause in Memory of Elizabeth Taylor
It saddens me to announce that at age 79, Elizabeth Taylor passed away; and along with her, part of my American childhood also passed. Elizabeth Taylor was an icon to women of our generation. The first time we saw those famous violet eyes was National Velvet in 1944. In this early milestone of her long cinematic career, it was not only the beauty of Elizabeth Taylor that captured our attention — it was her strength. From National Velvet to Cleopatra, she portrayed women accomplishing great things in life. Onscreen, Elizabeth Taylor helped exemplify success for a generation of women learning to achieve independence. Off screen, she demonstrated that we need not settle for an unhappy marriage… underscored by her eight marriages to seven men. Best known in later years for said eventful love life and her kooky antics in response to the media, we also know Elizabeth Taylor for her love of gems — she had more than one diamond named after her. The star also built a perfume empire. But when she wasn’t chasing the shining American dream, Elizabeth Taylor dedicated her time to AIDS, helping found the American Foundation for AIDS.
One thing is certain: Elizabeth Taylor did not fear death. Having multiple publicized near death encounters, she shares her experience in the below interview.
SevenPonds wonders if Elizabeth Taylor perhaps opted to remain with us as a cherished gem by requesting her body become one? Farewell, Elizabeth Taylor. You will always be our national (velvet) treasure.
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But is she really dead though? She’s been immortalized in countless pictures, dozens of movies, hundreds of clips from newsreels around the world throughout her lifetime. She’ll never really be dead to us because that’s as real as she got to the vast majority of the population – that 2 dimensional celluloid projection of this supposedly real person named Elizabeth Taylor that billions of people never met in person. Honestly, tell me the truth now…were you more saddened by the “death” of Santa Claus realizing that he was just as real as the tooth fairy than by this news of Elizabeth Taylor passing away? I wonder if that is more traumatic to people’s lives than knowing that some poster-girl from the 50’s died today.
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There’s truth in that — like any celebrity, Elizabeth Taylor was never “real” to me, so her death can only be so real. How do you feel about her passing, Marianne?
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I find it difficult to be heartless to the real person behind all those movie images. There were only so many icons for me in my life and yes she was one of them. I suspect to you – not. I’m sure at some point someone famous, whom you never met, will impact you in a true way. We all cannot help but connect with certain famous people in both iconic and personal ways based on how their screen life and personal life touched us.
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