Legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor died
Wednesday at the age of 79, the Associated Press reported.
Taylor died in the Los Angeles hospital
where she had been admitted two months earlier for treatment of
congestive heart failure.
Among her legendary movie roles, Taylor
played Leslie Benedict opposite Rock Hudson in the 1956 epic Giant,
Margaret “Maggie the Cat” Pollitt opposite Paul Newman and Burt
Ives in the 1958 big screen adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof, and the lead role
in the 1963 blockbuster Cleopatra. She met her future husband
Richard Burton on the set of Cleopatra. She would go on to
marry eight times in total.
Taylor reportedly died surrounded by
her four children – Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd
and Maria Burton – at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“My mother was an extraordinary woman
who lived life to the fullest with great passion, humor and love,”
said Michael Wilding in a statement.
After the 1985 death of actor Rock
Hudson from AIDS complications at the age of 59, Taylor became a
leading advocate for AIDS research, raising millions for non-profits.