Actress Elizabeth Taylor in a childhood publicity image.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: REUTERS

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Elizabeth Taylor and Lassie in Los Angeles in 1943. Taylor received $100 a week; the dog made $250. But Elizabeth Taylor was on her way to stardom.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney starred in "National Velvet" in 1944.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MGM/UA

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Elizabeth Taylor and Spencer Tracy star in MGM's 1950 classic, "Father of the Bride."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MGM

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Actress Elizabeth Taylor in "A Place in the Sun" with Montgomery Clift in 1951.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Paramount Pictures

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Elizabeth Taylor on the balcony of the Grand Hotel in Stockholm in 1953.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Elizabeth Taylor with newly born Michael Howard Wilding, her son with English actor Michael Wilding, in 1953.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Elizabeth Taylor in a scene from Warner Bros. 1956 classic, "Giant."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Warner Bros.

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James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor on the set of "Giant" in 1956.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Warner Bros.

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Elizabeth Taylor and husband, Michael Wilding, relax at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas in 1956.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: REUTERS

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Elizabeth Taylor arrives with her husband, Mike Todd, for the 1957 premiere of MGM's "Raintree County" in Louisville, Ky.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Actress Elizabeth Taylor in a scene from "Raintree County" in 1957.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Elizabeth Taylor, grieving over the death of husband Mike Todd, is comforted by her brother, Howard, in a limousine as they leave the airport for home in Los Angeles. Todd was among four people killed when the film producer's plane developed engine trouble and crashed in New Mexico in 1958.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Los Angeles Times / UCLA Archive

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Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in 1958.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Katharine Hepburn, left, Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in "Suddenly, Last Summer" in 1959.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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Elizabeth Taylor and singer Eddie Fisher dine at Chasen's in Beverly Hills in 1959. The couple divorced in 1964.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Los Angeles Times / UCLA Archive

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Elizabeth Taylor watches her fiancé, Eddie Fisher, as he performs at the Tropicana in Las Vegas in 1959.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: John Bryson / Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

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Honeymooning Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher stroll through Portofino on the Italian Riviera, May 20, 1959.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Enrico Menoncia / Associated Press

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Actress Elizabeth Taylor in a scene from the 1959 film, "Suddenly Last Summer."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: REUTERS

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Elizabeth Taylor playfully chases Roddy McDowall on the beach in Malibu. From the book "Liz: The Pictorial Biography of Elizabeth Taylor."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Everett Collection

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Laurence Harvey and Elizabeth Taylor in a scene from 1960's "Butterfield 8." Taylor won her first best actress Academy Award for her role in the film.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Burt Lancaster and Elizabeth Taylor hold their Oscars after being named best actor and best actress at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles in 1961; he for "Elmer Gantry" and she for "Butterfield 8."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Los Angeles Times

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Elizabeth Taylor with two of her children in Gstaad, Switzerland, in 1962.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: European Pressphoto Agency

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Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in a scene from "Cleopatra" in 1963.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Twentieth Century-Fox

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Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor arrive at a London airport in 1963 after attending the premiere of "Lawrence of Arabia" in Paris. Both stars were playing leading roles in "The VIPs" in production at the time in England.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the motion picture "The Sandpiper" in San Dimas in 1964.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Los Angeles Times / UCLA Archive

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Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in a scene from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in 1966.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Warner Bros.

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Elizabeth Taylor and husband Richard Burton star as Kate and Petruchio in Franco Zeffirelli's "Taming of the Shrew" in 1967.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Associated Press

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Actresses Liza Minelli and Elizabeth Taylor, photographed in Beverly Hills in 1985.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Lennox Mclendon / Associated Press

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Elizabeth Taylor makes her first guest appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1992.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: NBC

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Elizabeth Taylor photographed in May 1996.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Susan Ragan / Associated Press

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Elizabeth Taylor arrives with Michael Jackson at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles for her 65th birthday celebration on Feb. 16, 1997.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press

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Elizabeth Taylor poses for photographers at London's Dorchester Hotel in 1999.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Dave Thompson / Associated Press

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In her last major acting appearance, Elizabeth Taylor plays the manager of three aging movie stars – Debbie Reynolds, Shirley MacLaine and Joan Collins – in ABC's 2000 television special, "These Old Broads."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ron Tom / ABC

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President Clinton presents screen legend Elizabeth Taylor with the Presidential Citizens Medal during a ceremony at the White House on Jan. 8, 2001. Taylor was one of 28 honorees recognized for remarkable service and accomplishments in various realms.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STEVE JAFFE / Agence France-Presse

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Elizabeth Taylor arrives at a benefit event in Mougins, near Cannes, France, on May 23, 2002.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI / Agence France-Presse

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Elizabeth Taylor on the set of CNN's "Larry King Live" in Los Angeles on Feb. 3, 2003.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: CHRIS PIZZELLO / CNN/European Pressphoto Agency

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Dame Elizabeth Taylor at the British Film and Television Academy awards in Beverly Hills in November 2005, where she received the Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in International Entertainment.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MARK J. TERRILL / Associated Press

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Actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor attends a benefit event in Santa Monica on Sept. 24, 2009.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

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Flowers adorn Elizabeth Taylor's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 23, 2011.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times

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