Seven divorces, health drama & a public affair – Elizabeth Taylor’s life revealed as new audio shares her side

A CONTROVERSIAL documentary has revealed a brand-new side of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor.

The new documentary featuring the beloved Hollywood star takes a fresh look at her several failed marriages as well as her persistent health problems.

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In never-before-heard audio, the Cleopatra star manages to give her own voice to the problems she experienced as an icon on the silver screen.

“She lived big. She lived very, very big,”  the documentary director, Natalie Burnstein, told ABC’s Good Morning America.

“Every day was a big day in Elizabeth Taylor’s life. She did what she wanted, she made choices in her love life and her personal life, despite whatever the fallout would be publicly, [and] the public was obsessed with her for all of those reasons.”

Natalie later told ABC News that the Cat on A Hot Tin roof star was “under scrutiny 24/7.”

“She was the first modern celebrity,” she explained. “We look at what happened with Princess Di[ana] or Taylor Swift, the paparazzi follows you and you are judged in everything you do.”

According to Natalie, the new HBO documentary will feature audio from a 1964 interview the actress had with a LIFE Magazine reporter named Richard Meryman.

“I think some part of me is sorry that I became… a public utility,”  Elizabeth can be heard telling the journalist.

“I know I should be grateful… I don’t like fame. I don’t like the sense of belonging to the public.”

While her achievements on the movie screen are well known, the documentary touches on the more private aspects of the film star’s life.

One point frequently touched upon is the fact that the former child actor had married and divorced three times before turning 30.

In 1951, at the age of 18, Elizabeth married socialite and hotel heir, Conrad Hilton Jr.

The marriage between the two lasted a full year before the pair separated.

Elizabeth later married fellow actor Michael Wilding in 1952 only to separate five years later.

Perhaps the most prominent of Elizabeth’s relationships was her fourth husband, Eddie Fisher.

The singer and Elizabeth reportedly got together after Eddie left his wife, Debbie Reynolds, as well as his daughter, Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, in 1959 to marry the actress.

However, it’s revealed in the tapes that Elizabeth was never truly in love with her fourth husband.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t remember too much about my marriage to him,” Elizabeth said in a clip according to People.

“Except it was one big, friggin’ awful mistake. I knew it before we were married and didn’t know how to get out of it.”

“She was definitely considered a homewrecker,” Natalie shared.

“She and Eddie are getting off a plane after their honeymoon, and the press asked him if she can cook, and he says,’She doesn’t have to.'”

Despite the marital setbacks, Elizabeth continued to see her career soar.

HOLLYWOOD GOLDEN GIRL

In 1967, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Marth in the critically acclaimed film Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

She had also won the same award for the 1960s drama Butterfield 8, which also started Eddie.

Despite her tumultuous marriages, Natalie says that Elizabeth often found solace in her friendships.

“You see the tears and the pain,” she said.

“Her closest friends were gay men in Hollywood who were publicly closeted, and she cherished her friendships. She felt safe with them, and they felt safe with her, she had zero homophobia.”

Her close friendships with gay men eventually led her to be a prominent figure in advocating for AIDS fundraising and research in the 1980s

“In the end, she’s able to do the most satisfying thing she’s ever done in her life,” Natalie said.

“So much more important to her than any of the movies that she ever made.

Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes is set to debut on August 3, 2024 on HBO and will stream on Max.

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