The iconic and enigmatic Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor, known for her roles in films such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Reflections in a Golden Eye, The Sandpiper, Suddenly, Last Summer, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, had a dating life that never ran dry.
Her romantic history, much like her films, was full of drama, and the fact that she was married eight times to seven men stands as proof. At just 18, Taylor married Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr., heir to the hotel empire. They had a lavish 1950 Beverly Hills ceremony attended by 600 guests.
While the wedding seemed like a fairy tale, with MGM paying for Taylor’s gown, the good days did not last long. Hilton turned out to be abusive. Surviving both physical and emotional abuse, along with a miscarriage, Taylor’s first marriage ended in divorce within nine months.
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The heartbreak of her first marriage did not stop Taylor from taking another shot at love. In 1952, she married Michael Wilding, a British actor two decades her senior. The couple had two children together, Michael Jr. (1953) and Christopher (1955). However, their marriage could not survive Taylor’s rising stardom, and they amicably parted ways in 1957.
Next came producer Mike Todd, whom Taylor described as her “great love.” They had a daughter together named Liza. Tragically, Todd died in a plane crash just 13 months into their marriage. His death affected Taylor deeply; she wrote, “God, I loved him. My self-esteem soared under his care.”
Despite the grief, Taylor gave love another chance with Eddie Fisher, Todd’s best friend. Their romance was scandalous, as Fisher left his wife, Debbie Reynolds, for Taylor. They married in 1959, but Fisher became extremely possessive, which ultimately led to a divorce in 1964.
Then came Richard Burton during the 1962 Cleopatra shoot. Both were married to other people when they met, and they married each other in 1964. The couple starred in 11 films together, adopted a daughter, Maria, and divorced in 1974. Interestingly, they remarried in 1975 in Botswana and split again in 1976.
Reflecting on her romance with Burton, Taylor said, “In my heart we would have married a third time.” Despite parting ways, they remained close until Burton passed away in 1984.
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In 1976, Taylor married Senator John Warner, a former Navy secretary who charmed her into matrimony. While she campaigned for his successful Senate bid, her vibrant lifestyle did not mesh with rural Virginia politics. The couple divorced in 1982, and in Taylor’s words, “He married the Senate.”
Taylor’s final husband, construction worker Larry Fortensky, was 20 years her junior. The two met in rehab in 1988 and married in 1991 at Neverland Ranch in a ceremony hosted by Michael Jackson and attended by 200 guests. The marriage, however, did not last and ended amicably in 1996.
Beyond her marriages, Taylor also had romances with other men, including Mickey Rooney, Glenn Davis, William Pawley Jr., George Hamilton, Victor Luna, Anthony Geary, and Colin Farrell.
