Elizabeth Taylor: American Beauty

Oh, La Liz, we will surely miss you and are sure that we will never , ever see another like you! You lived large, loved large, laughed large and suffered large. We loved you for it and will miss you endlessly. You were a diamond-studded diva with a heart of pure gold, precious in every way.

Besides being beautiful, she knew how to turn a phrase. Here is Elizabeth in her own words:

Big girls need big diamonds.
 
Marriage is a great institution.
 
When people say, 'She's got everything', I've got one answer - I haven't had tomorrow.
 
I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can't possess radiance, you can only admire it.

I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed too - for being married so many times.

I don't pretend to be an ordinary housewife.

I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them.

I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.

I have a woman's body and a child's emotions.

I haven't read any of the autobiographies about me.

I really don't remember much about Cleopatra. There were a lot of other things going on.

I suppose when they reach a certain age some men are afraid to grow up. It seems the older the men get, the younger their new wives get.

I sweat real sweat and I shake real shakes.

I think I'm finally growing up - and about time.

I'm a survivor - a living example of what people can go through and survive.

I've always admitted that I'm ruled by my passions.

I've been through it all, baby, I'm mother courage.

I've only slept with men I've been married to. How many women can make that claim?

If someone's dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I'm certainly not dumb enough to turn it down.

It is strange that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.

My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.

People who know me well, call me Elizabeth. I dislike Liz.

Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.

Success is a great deodorant.

The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues.

You find out who your real friends are when you're involved in a scandal.

Rest in Peace, my beauty. Now if I could only know whose arms you run to first: Mike Todd’s or Richard Burton’s? Sigh….. I’ll bet there is a battle in Heaven raging right now for your charms!

Elizabeth through the ages:

I was very fortunate to see Elizabeth Taylor on Broadway in 1981 in "The Little Foxes." I can tell you that, not only was she beautiful beyond belief, she sparkled on that stage brighter than that 69-carat diamond from Richard Burton! She was by far the the brightest gem in her collection.