Elizabeth Taylor, the Actress Who Got Married 8 Times to 7 Different Men

Elizabeth Taylor was an icon in Hollywood, where she became a trendsetter in the 1950s. Besides conquering the world with her memorable performances in films such as Cleopatra or Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? she captured many hearts. So many that her love life became sort of a public affair, too.

Elizabeth Taylor was a young actress known for her unique beauty.

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born in 1932. She began in Hollywood as a child star until she transitioned to mature roles in the 1950s, starring in romantic films.

Taylor became the highest-paid movie star during the 1960s. She is also a multi-award-winning actress with three Oscars and four Golden Globes.

Taylor was considered the most beautiful woman in the world during her prime and was reportedly described as a “miracle” of genetics.

Her beautiful hair, hourglass figure, rare violet eyes, and a double row of eyelashes (due to a genetic mutation) made her so uniquely beautiful that some researchers even analyzed her features.

She said her roles made her yearn to be an adult, which triggered a series of marriages.

Taylor said her screen image made her want to be a real woman and a wife. And she saw marriage as a way to live an independent adult life. She also admitted to being a “hopless romantic.”

She married her first husband at age 18 but it was a short story.

Her first husband was Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr., and they were together for only 8 months, from May 1950 to January 1951. Hilton was the son of hotelier Conrad Hilton.

According to records, they split up due to Hilton’s bad habits.

She became a mother in her second marriage.

Taylor gave marriage a second chance in February 1952. She said “I do” to British actor Michael Wilding, who was 20 years her senior.

They had 2 sons together, Michael Jr. and Christopher. In an article, Christopher said that Taylor allowed them to play with her Golden Globe trophies but not her Oscars when they were children.

As Taylor’s career launched her to international fame, her relationship with Wilding soured. And after five years of marriage, they divorced.

The third time is the charm, and rightly so, because it was full of luxurious gifts and jewels.

Just a month after her marriage to Wilding ended, Taylor walked down the aisle again with her third husband, entertainment producer Mike Todd. The couple had a daughter named Liza.

Apparently, Todd indulged his wife with lavish gifts, from a special meal on a plane from Paris to a full jewelry display in his garden.

Sadly, their relationship ended abruptly when Todd died in a plane crash in 1958.

Her fourth marriage was controversial, but she did not regret it.

Her marriage to singer Eddie Fisher in 1959 made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Fisher was still married to actress Debbie Reynolds at the time but left her to marry Taylor. And this resulted in negative publicity for both of them.

Taylor supposedly announced that their honeymoon phase would last 40 years, but 5 years after they said “I do,” they split up.

Her stormy relationship with her fifth (and sixth) husband hit Hollywood hard.

Taylor fell in love with actor Richard Burton on the set of Cleopatra. It became a whirlwind romance, and they married the same month Taylor divorced Fisher (May 1964).

Their relationship was known to be extremely passionate, and certain institutions criticized them for inappropriate behavior.

After starring in a TV drama about divorce, Burton and Taylor ended their 10-year marriage in 1974. But that didn’t last long, and after 16 months (October 1975), they remarried.

Taylor said she loved Burton madly and would never marry anyone else again. But their second marriage lasted less than a year, and Taylor did exchange vows with other men after all.

Although her last two marriages did not work out, she remained good friends with both ex-husbands.

The sixth man to marry Taylor was politician John Warner. They bonded over their love of horses, but after nearly 6 years together, they also divorced.

The last man in her string of marriages was construction worker Larry Fortensky, who was 20 years her junior. But unlike Taylor, Fortensky was not used to being in the spotlight, and they finally broke up in 1996.

Taylor kept in touch with both Warner and Fortensky for the rest of her life.

After her failed marriages, Elizabeth Taylor lived out her remaining years with a purpose.

Even in her later years, Taylor continued to perform on television and on stage. She had her own jewelry and perfume line and established a foundation to find a cure for HIV/AIDS.

Taylor was also honored by Queen Elizabeth II for her charitable acts and was made a Dame Commander alongside music star Julie Andrews.

Taylor passed away in 2011 from heart disease. Before that, she wrote that she was “meant to give love, be a mother, a wife, and a friend,” and that was exactly how she lived her life.

How do you feel about marriage? Do you know anyone who has been married many times?