born Feb. 27, 1932, London, Eng.
U.S. film actress.
She left London for Los Angeles with her American parents at the outset of World War II. Noted for her exceptional beauty from childhood, she was discovered by a talent scout in Beverly Hills. She made her screen debut in 1942, appeared in Lassie Come Home in 1943, and became a star with National Velvet in 1944. She was a glamorous adult star in A Place in the Sun (1951), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Butterfield 8 (1960, Academy Award). In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966, Academy Award) and other films, she starred opposite her husband, Richard Burton . After the mid-1970s, she appeared only intermittently in films, Broadway plays, and television films. Taylor's personal life (she was married eight times) was exceptionally well publicized and often tended to overshadow her acting career.