The Last True Hollywood Star

“One of Elizabeth Taylor’s most potent on-screen powers was her ability to make uncomplicated clothes seem magnificent. In contrast, the star’s off-screen tastes ran to excess, particularly when it came to jewelry. ‘Enough is never enough,’ Taylor said in describing her personal style.”

She was the Queen of Hollywood. Iconic. A classic beauty. Activist. Humanitarian. Mother — Dame Elizabeth Taylor was 79 when she passed away Wednesday. The two-time Academy Award winner died of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Taylor’s publicist Sally Morrison confirmed to the AP

She was known for her captivating violet eyes, her raven locks, her seven marriages, style that epitomized Hollywood glamour, and a jewelry collection to die for. Taylor paved the way for celebrities to capitalize on their fame for profit through endorsed scents.

Taylor’s White Diamonds scent continues to be one of the best-selling celebrity fragrances, grossing a remarkable $61.3 million globally in 2010, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.

Just before turning 60 in 1992, she summed herself up for Life magazine, saying: “I’ve been lucky all my life. Everything was handed to me: looks, fame, wealth, honors, love. But I’ve paid for that luck with disasters. Terrible illnesses, destructive addictions, broken marriages. [People]

No leading film actress today, not even Angelina Jolie, can claim to have an off-screen life as riveting, as tumultuous, and as entertaining. When people call Elizabeth Taylor the “last star,” they speak of her as the final member in a glorious parade of personalities — Gable, Cooper, Dietrich, Hepburn, Wayne, Tracy — whose magnetism grew solely in dark rooms smelling like popcorn and illuminated on a big screen. No one could claim her place in that line now. No one should. [CNN.com]

Taylor was laid to rest on Thursday at Forest Lawn in Glendale with a private service inside the Grand Mausoleum.

USA. 1948. American actress Elizabeth TAYLOR poses for the magazine "Life." Photo: Dailymail

Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and Loraine Day arriving in New York September 2, 1954

Elizabeth Taylor was married eight times, twice to actor Richard Burton, whom she had met on the set of Cleopatra. In 1969, Burton expressed his love by buying her one of the world’s largest diamonds, a 244 carat South African stone from Cartier with the hefty price tag of $1,069,000. Photo: CNBC.com

September 1953, Rome, Italy --- Elizabeth Taylor models for the Fontana Sisters here in Rome. She is wearing a white full length gown. --- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS