Elizabeth Taylor at a Glance
- Categories: Celebrities > Actors, Celebrities
- Net Worth: $600 Million
- Birthdate: Feb 27, 1932 - Mar 23, 2011 (79 years old)
- Birthplace: Hampstead Garden Suburb
- Gender: Female
- Profession: Actor, Film Producer
- Nationality: United States of America
- Height: 5 ft 2 in (1.6 m)
Elizabeth Taylor’s Net Worth: A Look at the Life and Fortune of a Hollywood Icon
Elizabeth Taylor, a name synonymous with Hollywood glamour, captivating performances, and a life lived to the fullest, left behind a legacy that continues to fascinate and inspire. But what was the financial worth of this iconic actress at the time of her passing? This article delves into the life, career, and net worth of Elizabeth Taylor, exploring the various facets that contributed to her remarkable story.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor in London, England, in 1932, Elizabeth’s early life was marked by privilege and the burgeoning promise of stardom. Her parents, Francis Lenn Taylor, an art dealer, and Sara Sothern, a former stage actress, relocated the family to Los Angeles in 1939, anticipating the outbreak of World War II in Europe. It was in California, with its burgeoning film industry, that young Elizabeth’s extraordinary beauty, particularly her violet eyes and striking dark eyelashes, caught the attention of industry insiders.
Encouraged by family friends, she began auditioning for film roles. In 1941, she secured contracts with both MGM and Universal Pictures, a testament to her early potential. Despite a minor role in Universal’s “There’s One Born Every Minute,” her contract was terminated. However, MGM saw greater promise, offering her a second chance with a small part in “Lassie Come Home.” This led to a three-month trial contract, quickly extended to a standard seven-year agreement in 1943. This marked the true beginning of her meteoric rise.
Taylor’s breakthrough came in 1944 at the age of twelve, with her role in the horse-racing drama “National Velvet.” The film was a massive success, catapulting her into stardom. By the age of fifteen, she was already being compared to established Hollywood stars such as Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. Her teenage roles included films like “Life with Father” (1947), “A Date with Judy” (1948), and “Julia Misbehaves” (1948), as well as the 1949 adaptation of “Little Women,” solidifying her place as a leading young actress.

(Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Adult Roles and Critical Acclaim
As Taylor transitioned into adulthood, she embraced more mature and complex roles. She played the wife of a suspected Soviet spy in 1949’s “Conspirator” and a bride-to-be in “Father of the Bride” (1950). However, her breakthrough in adult roles came with “A Place in the Sun” (1951). In this film, she starred alongside Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters, playing a pampered socialite. The film was a critical and commercial success, garnering six Academy Awards. She continued to build her reputation with successful films for MGM, including “Love is Better Than Ever” (1952), “Ivanhoe” (1952), and “The Last Time I Saw Paris” (1954), a romantic drama alongside Van Johnson.
The peak of her critical acclaim arrived in the latter half of the 1950s and early 1960s. She co-starred with James Dean and Rock Hudson in the epic Western “Giant” (1956). In 1957, she received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in “Raintree County,” a Civil War drama. She received three more consecutive nominations for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958), “Suddenly, Last Summer” (1959), co-starring Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift, and finally won her first Oscar for “BUtterfield 8” (1960), in which she portrayed a high-class sex worker. The film was a huge commercial success.
After completing her MGM contract, Taylor starred in 20th Century Fox’s lavish production of “Cleopatra,” released in 1963. She was paid a then-unprecedented $1 million for the role, becoming the first actress to reach that milestone. It was during the filming of “Cleopatra” that she began an affair with Richard Burton, her future husband and co-star. They went on to star together in “The V.I.P.s” and other films throughout the 1960s. The pinnacle of their collaborations was the 1966 film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” an adaptation of the Edward Albee play, in which they portrayed a bitterly bickering married couple. Her performance was considered the most critically acclaimed of her career, earning her a second Academy Award for Best Actress.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Career Decline and Later Works
In the late 1960s, as she gained weight and faced competition from the “New Hollywood” stars like Jane Fonda, Taylor’s career began to decline. She continued to act throughout the 1970s, though her critical and commercial successes were less frequent. In the early 1980s, she ventured onto the stage, taking on the lead role of Regina Giddens in a Broadway production of “The Little Foxes.” The rest of the decade saw her primarily in made-for-TV productions such as “Malice in Wonderland,” “There Must Be a Pony,” and “Sweet Bird of Youth.” After sporadic work in the 1990s and early 2000s, during which she focused on HIV/AIDS activism, Taylor announced her retirement to dedicate her time to philanthropic endeavors.
Personal Life and Relationships
Elizabeth Taylor’s personal life was as captivating as her on-screen performances, marked by intense media attention and a series of high-profile relationships. Her eight marriages became legendary. Her first marriage was to Conrad Hilton Jr., the heir to the Hilton hotel fortune, when she was eighteen. The marriage lasted only eight months due to Hilton’s abusive and alcoholic behavior.
Her subsequent marriages included actor Michael Wilding (1952-1957), with whom she had two sons; producer Mike Todd (1957-1958), with whom she had one daughter, ending tragically with Todd’s death in a plane crash; Eddie Fisher (1959-1964), a relationship that began as a scandal due to Fisher’s existing marriage; Richard Burton (1964-1974 and 1975-1976), a tumultuous but passionate relationship that captivated the world; John Warner (1976-1982), a Republican politician; and Larry Fortensky (1991-1996), a construction worker. Her relationships were often passionate and dramatic, contributing to her image as a woman who lived life fully.
Philanthropy and Activism
Beyond her acting career and personal life, Elizabeth Taylor was deeply committed to philanthropy and activism. She was one of the earliest celebrities to champion the cause of HIV/AIDS awareness, raising over $270 million for the cause. Taylor testified before Congress to promote the Ryan White Care Act. She founded a number of organizations to raise funds for research and provide services to those suffering from the disease. She also supported Jewish and Zionist causes, converting to Judaism in 1959, raising money for the Jewish National Fund, and serving on the board of trustees of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Death and Legacy
Throughout her life, Elizabeth Taylor faced numerous health challenges, including bone fractures and near-fatal bouts of pneumonia. She struggled with alcohol and painkiller addiction and was eventually confined to a wheelchair due to back problems. In 2011, after being hospitalized for congestive heart failure, Taylor passed away at the age of 79.
Elizabeth Taylor’s legacy is profound. She is remembered as an LGBTQ icon because of her activism and a symbol of Hollywood glamour. She received many accolades, including multiple Oscars and the Presidential Citizens Medal for her philanthropic work. She was also honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1999, the American Film Institute named her the seventh-greatest female screen legend of all time. Her estimated net worth at the time of her death was $600 million, a testament to her successful career and savvy business acumen, cementing her status as one of the most iconic and financially successful stars in Hollywood history.
Career Earnings
Source / Title | Amount |
---|---|
The Flintstones | $2.5 Million |
Poker Alice | $500 Thousand |
North and South | $200 Thousand |
Malice in Wonderland | $1 Million |
The Mirror Crack'd | $250 Thousand |
Winter Kills | $100 Thousand |
The Only Game in Town | $1.3 Million |
Secret Ceremony | $1 Million |
Boom! | $1.3 Million |
The Comedians | $500 Thousand |
The Taming of the Shrew | 50% of gross |
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | $1.1 Million |
The Sandpiper | $1 Million |
Elizabeth Taylor in London | $387.5 Thousand |
Cleopatra | $1 Million |
BUtterfield 8 | $150 Thousand |
Suddenly, Last Summer | $500 Thousand |
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | $4.8 Thousand/week |
Giant | $175 Thousand |
Ivanhoe | $5.5 Thousand/week |
A Place in the Sun | $1.5 Thousand/week |
Courage of Lassie | $750/week |
Lassie Come Home | $100/week |
There's One Born Every Minute | $200/week |
Total Earnings | $12.9 Million |