Elizabeth Taylor's Son, Michael Wilding Releases Statement
By: Robert Diamond Mar. 23, 2011
ElizaBeth Taylor's son, Michael Wilding, released a statement on her passing at age 79.
"My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts."
Dame ElizaBeth Taylor has passed away this morning at the age of 79 due to heart failure. According to reports, all four of her children were with her when she passed.
She was the star of more than fifty-five films, among them National Velvet, A Place in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Butterfield 8,Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Little Night Music and Cleopatra.
Her Broadway credits included The Little Foxes, Private Lives and The Corn is Green. She also appeared in a 2007 reading of Love Letters at the Paramount Theatre in Hollywood, alongside James Earl Jones and other stars in honor of World AIDS Day. For nearly two decades, she was been a leader in AIDS activism, including her founding role in the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), and establishment of The ElizaBeth TaylorAIDS Foundation (ETAF).She has also been a successful businesswoman with her bestselling line of fragrances, including "White Diamonds," "Passion," and "Gardenia."
The recipient of numerous honors and awards, she was made a Dame of the British Empire in the year 2000. In 1987, France bestowed upon her its most prestigious award, the Legion d'Honneur, and in 2001 President Clinton recognized her with the Presidential Citizen's Medal. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Actress, and in 1993 she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for her work on behalf of AIDS. She also received the BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, as well as the Lifetime Achievement award from the American Film Institute.
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