Elizabeth Taylor, the violet-eyed beauty whose hectic off-screen love life often eclipsed her most sultry film roles, has died. She was 79.HRC's statement on Taylor:She died today at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, her four children by her side, according to a statement from her publicist. She was hospitalized six weeks ago for treatment of congestive heart failure, a condition that had stabilized, "and it was hoped that she would be able to return home," the statement said. "Sadly, this was not to be."
The former child actress grew into a voluptuous and jewel- drenched movie star, making headlines with stormy love affairs and eight marriages. Her husbands included actor Richard Burton (twice), singer Eddie Fisher, U.S. Senator John Warner and producer Mike Todd.
"I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands," she said in an interview with Kim Kardashian posted by Harper's Bazaar on Feb. 9. "For me, life happened, just as it does for anyone else. I have been supremely lucky in my life in that I have known great love, and of course I am the temporary custodian of some incredible and beautiful things."
Today, Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, issued the following statement on the news of the death of actress Elizabeth Taylor:"We are deeply saddened by the death Elizabeth Taylor. Ms. Taylor was a true ally to the LGBT community. She was one of the first public voices to speak up about the AIDS crisis while many others stayed silent in the 1980s and she helped raise millions of dollars to fight the disease. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, and to all those whose lives have been positively impacted by the life and work of Elizabeth Taylor."