Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm love you, Jai Jones.
Speaker 1: I'm a New York Times best sell and author, speaker,
Speaker 1: and host of the podcast Professional Troublemaker. I'm so excited
Speaker 1: to be your guest host for this month of Wimanica.
Speaker 1: This month, we're highlighting prodigies, women who achieved greatness at
Speaker 1: a young age. This is especially a passion point for
Speaker 1: me because my latest book, Rising Troublemaker, A Fear Fighter
Speaker 1: Mayo fourteens reminds them that they are never too young
Speaker 1: to make a significant impact. Today, we are talking about
Speaker 1: one of the most revered actresses of the twentieth century.
Speaker 1: With a career spanning seventy years, she served as an
Speaker 1: icon for generations of moviegoers. Let's give it up for
Speaker 1: Elizabeth Taylor. Elizabeth Taylor was born on February twenty seventh,
Speaker 1: nineteen thirty two, in London. Her father was an American
Speaker 1: art dealer. Her mother had been a stage actress before
Speaker 1: getting married. Elizabeth would become known for her striking eyes,
Speaker 1: which were naturally violet, but she was also born with
Speaker 1: the rare condition that gave her a double roll of eyelashes.
Speaker 1: Elizabeth spent her earliest years in England, where she learned
Speaker 1: to horseback ride, but when World War Two appeared on
Speaker 1: the horizon, the family fled. They settled in Beverly Hills,
Speaker 1: and with Hollywood just next door, Elizabeth's mother encouraged her
Speaker 1: daughter to act. In nineteen forty two, ten year old
Speaker 1: Elizabeth made her big screen debut in a film called
Speaker 1: There's One Born Every Minute. Her career initially sent to
Speaker 1: stall out, but then an audition came through for a
Speaker 1: new movie called National Velvet. For years, the casting directors
Speaker 1: had searched for young actress who could horseback ride and
Speaker 1: speak in an English accent. Elizabeth fit the role perfectly
Speaker 1: except for small detail she was too short. The studio
Speaker 1: delayed production for several months in hopes that she would
Speaker 1: get a bit taller. Elizabeth later said that she willed
Speaker 1: herself to grow three inches. National Velvet became an enormous hit,
Speaker 1: grossing more than four million dollars. Elizabeth, at just twelve
Speaker 1: years old, became a star. But National Velvet wasn't an
Speaker 1: entirely positive experience. Elizabeth fell off a horse on set,
Speaker 1: breaking her back and leaving her with a lifetime injury.
Speaker 1: She also had to sign a long and restrictive contract
Speaker 1: with MGM. Though she didn't have much formal acting training,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth seemlessly transitioned from child star to movie vixen at eighteen,
Speaker 1: as she began taking on more adult roles. She also
Speaker 1: entered into her first marriage with hotel air Nicki Hilton.
Speaker 1: Over three thousand fans gathered outside the church, but the
Speaker 1: marriage only lasted about a year. Elizabeth would go on
Speaker 1: to marry seven more times, with the paparazzi following her
Speaker 1: every move. While her love life made international headlines, Elizabeth
Speaker 1: continued to shine on the big screen. She delivered dynamic
Speaker 1: performances in the drama A Place in the Sun and
Speaker 1: the film adaptation of the Edna Ferber novel Giant, co
Speaker 1: starring James Dean. Two years later, she dazzled audiences in
Speaker 1: the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams cat on a Hot
Speaker 1: Tin roof the year after, she starred in another Williams classic,
Speaker 1: Suddenly Last Summer. In nineteen sixty, Elizabeth earned her first OSCAR,
Speaker 1: winning the Best Actress Award for her role as a
Speaker 1: call girl in Butterfield eight. The public's obsession with Elizabeth's
Speaker 1: love was reinvigorated when she started dating Richard Burton. They'd
Speaker 1: fallen in love while on the of Cleopatra, a film
Speaker 1: that cost thirty seven million dollars to make, the most
Speaker 1: expensive production at the time. In nineteen sixty six, she
Speaker 1: won her second Academy Award for Best Actress for her
Speaker 1: role as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Elizabeth
Speaker 1: would go on to marry Richard Burton not once, but twice.
Speaker 1: Elizabeth had beauty, wealth, fame, and a notoriously huge jewelry collection,
Speaker 1: but she also dealt with a number of health issues.
Speaker 1: Struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse, and had several near
Speaker 1: death experiences. In the early nineteen eighties, she went to rehab,
Speaker 1: one of the first celebrities to do so. Eventually, Elizabeth
Speaker 1: got sober and moved into a new phase of her career, activists.
Speaker 1: After her friend, the actor Rock Hudson, was diagnosed with AIDS,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth helped establish the American Foundation for Aid's Research. In
Speaker 1: its first year, the foundation awarded one point five million
Speaker 1: dollars in research grants. Elizabeth overcame a litany of health
Speaker 1: problems throughout the nineteen nineties, from diabetes to congestive heart failure.
Speaker 1: She had both hips replaced, and in nineteen ninety seven
Speaker 1: had a brain tumor removed. On March twenty third, twenty eleven,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth passed away from heart failure. Known for always being late,
Speaker 1: she asked for her funeral to start fifteen minutes after
Speaker 1: it was supposed to so she could be in the
Speaker 1: afterlife as she was while she was still alive. All month,
Speaker 1: we're highlighting prodigies. For more information, find us on Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram. At Womanica Podcast, you can order a Rising
Speaker 1: Troublemaker everywhere books are sold. Special thanks to creators Jenny
Speaker 1: and Liz Kaplan for inviting me to guest host Talk
Speaker 1: to You Tomorrow four