From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Residence and First Women , the first ever authorized biography of the most famous movie star of the twentieth century, Elizabeth Taylor. No celebrity rivals Elizabeth Taylor’s glamour and guts or her level of fame. She was the last major star to come out of the old Hollywood studio system and she is a legend known for her beauty and her magnetic screen presence in a career that spanned most of the twentieth century and nearly sixty films. But her private life was even more compelling than her Oscar-winning on-screen performances. During her seventy-nine years of rapid-fire love and loss she was married eight times to seven different men. Above all, she was a survivor—by the time she was twenty-six she was twice divorced and once widowed. Her life was a soap opera that ended in a deeply meaningful way when she became the first major celebrity activist to lead the fight against HIV/AIDS. A co-founder of amfAR, she raised more than $100 million for research and patient care. She was also a shrewd businesswoman who made a fortune as the first celebrity perfumer who always demanded to be paid what she was worth. In the first ever authorized biography of the Hollywood icon, Kate Andersen Brower reveals the world through Elizabeth’s eyes. Brower uses Elizabeth’s unpublished letters, diary entries, and off-the-record interview transcripts as well as interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family to tell the full, unvarnished story of her remarkable career and her explosive private life that made headlines worldwide. Elizabeth Taylor captures this intelligent, empathetic, tenacious, volatile, and complex woman as never before, from her rise to massive fame at age twelve in National Velvet to becoming the first to negotiate a million-dollar salary for a film, from her eight marriages and enduring love affair with Richard Burton to her lifelong battle with addiction and her courageous efforts as an AIDS activist.  Here is a fascinating and complete portrait worthy of the legendary star and her legacy. Elizabeth Taylor features a photo insert. “Not unlike one of Taylor’s performances, Brower’s book captures your attention and won’t let go.” - AV Club “This well-researched biography gets as close to telling Taylor’s story in her own words as readers will ever get.” - Library Journal “Brower’s book is more tapestry than treatise, bringing some new, fascinating facts to the fore on nearly every page.” - Bookreporter “In this first authorized biography of the last of the great Hollywood studio-system stars, Brower mines previously unpublished interviews, personal letters, and diary entries as well as input from hundreds of friends and family to offer a comprehensive and intimate biography of a true icon. . . . Taylor's tumultuous life unfolds in Brower's portrait like one of her own epic screen adventures. A must-read for Taylor’s legions of fans and all who savor well-told and well-documented tales of Old Hollywood.” - Booklist “There is perhaps no bigger (or more misunderstood) star than Elizabeth Taylor, who at last gets an authorized biography courtesy of Kate Andersen Brower and the Taylor estate. With access to Taylor's unpublished letters, diary entries, and off-the-record interview transcripts, as well as her own interviews with 250 of Taylor's closest friends and family, readers will get the most personal look at Taylor ever put to paper.” - Entertainment Weekly “A well-researched, gossipy portrait of a star…Brower chronicles Taylor’s career, illnesses, marriages, affairs, and notoriously lavish lifestyle.” - Kirkus Reviews "Brower convincingly depicts Taylor as a complex woman whose glamour, even today, is 'intoxicating.' The result is a mesmerizing appreciation of a legendary star." - Publishers Weekly "The book shares never-before-published details that capture her many sides. This well-researched biography gets as close to telling Taylor’s story in her own words as readers will ever get.  VERDICT  There have been countless biographies of Elizabeth Taylor, but this one offers fascinating insight and may stand as the definitive one about the legendary actress." - Library Journal “Told with style and great detail, making this a must read for new fans and longtime admirers alike.” - Town & Country “The last great movie star of the Hollywood studio system, the legendary Elizabeth Taylor was as complex and captivating as any role she ever played. Kate Andersen Brower vividly captures the icon throughout her eventful but tempestuous life, as an accomplished actress, much-married wife, devoted mother, loyal friend, savvy businesswoman, compassionate humanitarian, and international celebrity.” - Mark K. Updegrove, president & CEO of the LBJ Foundation and author of Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency “A dazzling portrait of an incredible woman. Elizabeth's life was more captivating than any film could ever be." - Demi Moor