WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.299 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are wading 00:00:02.299 --> 00:00:05.299 deep into a life that was just, I mean, defined 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:08.740 by this incredible glamour, but also relentless 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:12.019 public scrutiny and this spectacular ability 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:15.660 to reinvent herself. We are talking about Elizabeth 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:18.120 Taylor. Yeah, and when most people think of her, 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:19.960 you know, they conjure these images of incredible 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:24.399 jewels, the eight marriages, the... Total chaos 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:27.160 of the Burton years. Right. The headlines. Exactly. 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:30.100 She is, on the surface, just synonymous with 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:32.380 classical Hollywood excess. But if we only look 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:34.340 at those headlines, we miss the real story, which 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:37.659 is how she strategically navigated and ultimately 00:00:37.659 --> 00:00:40.780 weaponized that very chaos. Absolutely. The biography 00:00:40.780 --> 00:00:43.079 you sent us, it covers her entire life, from 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:45.119 being this child star, you know, meticulously 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:47.880 molded by the old MGM studio system, all the 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:49.380 way to becoming the world's highest paid movie 00:00:49.380 --> 00:00:52.469 star. And then the final act. transition into 00:00:52.469 --> 00:00:55.689 this force of profound humanitarian work who 00:00:55.689 --> 00:00:57.810 really understood that her fame itself was her 00:00:57.810 --> 00:01:00.250 most powerful tool. So our mission today is to 00:01:00.250 --> 00:01:03.689 really trace that duality. How does someone who 00:01:03.689 --> 00:01:07.409 starts out as this carefully manufactured product 00:01:07.409 --> 00:01:11.969 under intense studio control? How does she liberate 00:01:11.969 --> 00:01:14.069 herself? How does she seize that financial independence 00:01:14.069 --> 00:01:17.390 and then completely transform into a serious 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:20.599 political and social activist? That shift. From 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:22.480 the controlled actress to the independent icon, 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:24.599 that's the story. It really is. We're not just 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:27.180 analyzing a star. We're looking at the prototype, 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:30.599 really, for the modern celebrity. Okay, so let's 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:32.659 unpack her origins. Because they immediately 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:36.930 show this level of... social sophistication and 00:01:36.930 --> 00:01:39.170 kind of an international grounding that you just 00:01:39.170 --> 00:01:41.730 don't typically associate with a purebred Hollywood 00:01:41.730 --> 00:01:44.090 starlet. That's such a crucial distinction. I 00:01:44.090 --> 00:01:46.609 mean, she was born in London in February 1932, 00:01:46.790 --> 00:01:48.790 a fact that people just forget. Right, to American 00:01:48.790 --> 00:01:51.530 parents. To American parents. Her father, Francis, 00:01:51.709 --> 00:01:54.069 was a successful art dealer, and her mother, 00:01:54.250 --> 00:01:56.950 Sarah, was a retired stage actress. So because 00:01:56.950 --> 00:01:59.250 of that, she was a dual British -American citizen 00:01:59.250 --> 00:02:01.230 right from birth. And it was her father's job 00:02:01.230 --> 00:02:03.430 that put her in this fascinating pre -Hollywood 00:02:03.430 --> 00:02:06.040 world, wasn't it? Precisely. His art gallery 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:08.560 clientele, it wasn't just artists. I mean, it 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:11.840 included powerful political figures. Her unofficial 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:14.949 godfather was Colonel Victor Casselit. a really 00:02:14.949 --> 00:02:18.289 high -ranking British politician. So he was a 00:02:18.289 --> 00:02:21.069 huge early influence on her, you know, her political 00:02:21.069 --> 00:02:23.509 awareness, her social manners. This was not a 00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:25.710 humble, aspiring background. This was a well 00:02:25.710 --> 00:02:28.330 -connected international family. And it was world 00:02:28.330 --> 00:02:32.050 politics, not a desire for fame, that actually 00:02:32.050 --> 00:02:34.889 pushed her towards Hollywood. Yes. It was the 00:02:34.889 --> 00:02:37.560 looming threat of World War II in Europe. That 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:41.020 was the deciding factor. In early 1939, the U 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:43.500 .S. ambassador, Joseph P. Kennedy. The patriarch 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.360 of the Kennedy family. The very same. He strongly 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.180 advised American families to get back home. So 00:02:49.180 --> 00:02:51.680 Sarah and the children left that April and settled 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:53.939 in Los Angeles. So she lands in Beverly Hills 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:56.219 not for a film career, but basically for safety. 00:02:56.960 --> 00:02:59.680 And the industry finds her through her father's 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:01.930 new gallery. That's exactly how it happened. 00:03:01.969 --> 00:03:04.409 Her father opens this new gallery, and it starts 00:03:04.409 --> 00:03:06.449 drawing these powerful clients from the film 00:03:06.449 --> 00:03:08.530 industry, partly thanks to an endorsement from 00:03:08.530 --> 00:03:10.669 the columnist Hedda Hopper, who was a family 00:03:10.669 --> 00:03:13.409 friend. And the attention she got was immediate. 00:03:14.090 --> 00:03:17.250 Instantaneous. And it was all driven by her striking 00:03:17.250 --> 00:03:19.810 physical appearance. Which brings us to her most 00:03:19.810 --> 00:03:22.949 famous feature. Her eyes. They were this vivid 00:03:22.949 --> 00:03:25.379 blue that often looked violet. and they were 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:28.860 framed by those famous, dense, dark, double eyelashes. 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:31.620 Which was a genetic mutation, right? A rare genetic 00:03:31.620 --> 00:03:34.960 mutation, yeah. This feature was instantly her 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.139 brand, but ironically, it's what tripped her 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:39.439 up at the very beginning. Tell us about that 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:42.099 false start at Universal Pictures. Why on earth 00:03:42.099 --> 00:03:44.479 would they drop a girl with such remarkable features? 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:48.620 She signed with them in 1941, made one tiny film, 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:51.379 and they just terminated her contract after a 00:03:51.379 --> 00:03:54.659 year. The casting director in this notoriously 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:56.500 short -sighted move just said the kid has nothing. 00:03:56.620 --> 00:03:58.699 Her eyes are too old. Her eyes are too old. What 00:03:58.699 --> 00:04:00.280 does that even mean? It meant she didn't fit 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:03.000 the mold of the typical, you know, saccharine, 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:05.680 sweet child star of the day, like a Shirley Temple. 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:09.819 Taylor had this... directness, this unnatural 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:12.240 physical maturity that, as she put it later, 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:15.099 used to frighten grownups. It's so fascinating 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:17.500 that the very thing Universal saw as a liability, 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:20.360 this lack of conventional child sweetness, was 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:23.180 exactly what MGM would later exploit to create 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:26.699 a totally different kind of star. MGM saw raw, 00:04:26.899 --> 00:04:30.360 valuable material. They signed her in 1943 after 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:32.899 she auditioned for Lassie Come Home. They saw 00:04:32.899 --> 00:04:36.170 the potential in that duality. The flawless beauty 00:04:36.170 --> 00:04:39.350 mixed with that slightly unnerving directness. 00:04:39.550 --> 00:04:41.810 But the second she signed that contract. Her 00:04:41.810 --> 00:04:44.610 childhood was over. It truly ended right there. 00:04:44.810 --> 00:04:46.730 And that leads us straight to National Velvet 00:04:46.730 --> 00:04:51.060 in 1944. This was the moment the studio showed 00:04:51.060 --> 00:04:54.439 the full, terrifying extent of its control over 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:56.819 the product. Oh, it was ruthless control, even 00:04:56.819 --> 00:04:58.579 down to her physical development. She was 12 00:04:58.579 --> 00:05:00.879 when filming started. To make sure she looked 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:03.060 right for the part, the studio delayed filming 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:05.240 for months so she could grow an inch or two. 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:07.579 They waited for her to grow. They did, and they 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:09.540 made her wear braces for the perfect smile and 00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:11.439 even demanded she have two of her baby teeth 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:13.759 pulled. This wasn't nurturing a talent. This 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:15.920 was engineering a commercial image from the ground 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:23.899 up. She called MGM a big extender. It was. The 00:05:23.899 --> 00:05:26.199 studio system meant her entire life was scheduled 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:29.259 to the minute. School, filming, then rigorous 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:31.779 evening classes, and dancing, singing, movement. 00:05:32.269 --> 00:05:35.269 She had no real private life, no input at all. 00:05:35.389 --> 00:05:37.350 So even though National Velvet was this huge 00:05:37.350 --> 00:05:40.410 success and got her rave reviews... She grew 00:05:40.410 --> 00:05:43.009 to resent it. She intensely disliked many of 00:05:43.009 --> 00:05:45.069 the films she was assigned, feeling they didn't 00:05:45.069 --> 00:05:47.449 respect her intelligence or her actual desire 00:05:47.449 --> 00:05:50.029 to act. So given that deep resentment for the 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:53.269 factory floor, how did MGM keep control as she 00:05:53.269 --> 00:05:55.689 got into her mid -teens? They pivoted. They shifted 00:05:55.689 --> 00:05:58.230 from manufacturing the child actress to manufacturing 00:05:58.230 --> 00:06:01.069 the romantic object. When she turned 15, the 00:06:01.069 --> 00:06:02.879 publicity... machine just went into overdrive, 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:05.639 creating this mature public image. So they're 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:08.399 setting up photo shoots, arranged dates. Oh, 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:11.060 absolutely. Carefully positioning her as the 00:06:11.060 --> 00:06:13.680 heir apparent to screen sirens like Lana Turner 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.379 and Ava Gardner. And that transition seems to 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:19.060 hit its peak with Father of the Bride in 1950, 00:06:19.379 --> 00:06:21.879 which became this cultural moment that perfectly 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:24.399 merged her manufactured screen life with her, 00:06:24.420 --> 00:06:27.120 well, her manufactured private life. It was brilliant, 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:30.410 cynical marketing. MGM released the movie where 00:06:30.410 --> 00:06:32.250 she plays this beautiful young woman getting 00:06:32.250 --> 00:06:34.889 married at the exact same time as her real life, 00:06:35.029 --> 00:06:38.990 highly publicized, lavish wedding to the hotel 00:06:38.990 --> 00:06:42.509 air Conrad Nicky Hilton Jr. And the studio treated 00:06:42.509 --> 00:06:44.870 the wedding like a movie premiere. Completely. 00:06:44.889 --> 00:06:47.730 It was an all expenses paid publicity event designed 00:06:47.730 --> 00:06:50.149 to cash in on the public's fascination. And it 00:06:50.149 --> 00:06:52.470 worked. Financially, it was huge. It grossed 00:06:52.470 --> 00:06:55.009 six million dollars. But more importantly, it 00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:57.629 transitioned her seamlessly from teen idol to 00:06:57.629 --> 00:07:00.930 young. adult star in the public eye mgm used 00:07:00.930 --> 00:07:03.610 her real life all packaged and polished as the 00:07:03.610 --> 00:07:05.709 trailer for her movies but the real artistic 00:07:05.709 --> 00:07:07.850 breakthrough came a year later it did a place 00:07:07.850 --> 00:07:10.730 in the sun 1951 right taylor herself said this 00:07:10.730 --> 00:07:13.129 was the first film where she felt she was genuinely 00:07:13.129 --> 00:07:16.329 asked to act not just you know display her beauty 00:07:16.329 --> 00:07:19.310 or her public persona she took on a really complex 00:07:19.310 --> 00:07:22.879 adult role She did, and the director George Stevens 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:26.000 explained her casting perfectly. He said he cast 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.160 her because she embodied the illusion of the 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:30.379 beautiful girl in the yellow Cadillac convertible 00:07:30.379 --> 00:07:32.939 that every American boy thinks he can marry. 00:07:33.610 --> 00:07:35.829 She wasn't playing a woman. She was playing the 00:07:35.829 --> 00:07:38.569 American dream of unattainable perfection. And 00:07:38.569 --> 00:07:40.689 the critical acclaim cemented her as a serious 00:07:40.689 --> 00:07:42.949 actress. It did, but the machine had already 00:07:42.949 --> 00:07:45.410 manufactured the instability in her private life 00:07:45.410 --> 00:07:47.889 that was about to completely overshadow her art. 00:07:48.029 --> 00:07:49.649 And just as she gets that critical acceptance, 00:07:50.009 --> 00:07:52.810 her whole classical Hollywood story starts to 00:07:52.810 --> 00:07:55.810 implode because of her personal life. The marriage 00:07:55.810 --> 00:07:58.189 to Nikki Hilton ends after, what, eight months? 00:07:58.410 --> 00:08:00.430 Eight turbulent months. And that divorce was 00:08:00.430 --> 00:08:03.209 brutal. It really highlights the danger of marrying 00:08:03.209 --> 00:08:06.329 the illusion the studio created. Hilton was abusive, 00:08:06.509 --> 00:08:08.930 a heavy drinker, and she filed for divorce on 00:08:08.930 --> 00:08:11.930 grounds of mental cruelty. But because MGM had 00:08:11.930 --> 00:08:14.610 publicized the marriage so heavily. The failure 00:08:14.610 --> 00:08:17.769 was also a huge public failure. The press was 00:08:17.769 --> 00:08:20.209 intensely negative, branding her as emotionally 00:08:20.209 --> 00:08:22.990 unstable and spoiled. So with all this new star 00:08:22.990 --> 00:08:25.670 power from A Place in the Sun, why didn't she 00:08:25.670 --> 00:08:28.290 just break free from MGM right then? What leverage 00:08:28.290 --> 00:08:30.850 did the factory still have? The leverage was, 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:33.269 well, it was money and reputation. After the 00:08:33.269 --> 00:08:36.309 divorce, MGM punished her. They stuck her in 00:08:36.309 --> 00:08:38.330 B pictures just to show they still controlled 00:08:38.330 --> 00:08:41.409 her assignments. And more practically, she was 00:08:41.409 --> 00:08:44.450 soon married again to Michael Wilding, expecting 00:08:44.450 --> 00:08:47.549 her first child. And she needed stability. That 00:08:47.549 --> 00:08:50.970 $4 ,700 weekly salary, which is, I mean, well 00:08:50.970 --> 00:08:53.769 over $55 ,000 today. Hey, just walk away from 00:08:53.769 --> 00:08:55.490 that. You can't. Plus, the studio financed a 00:08:55.490 --> 00:08:57.700 house for them. So signing a new seven -year 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:01.360 contract in 1952 was an economic necessity, even 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:03.200 if she hated the creative chains that came with 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:05.740 it. But signing that contract also led to the 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:08.539 prestige pictures. So the control came with a 00:09:08.539 --> 00:09:11.620 career boost. Absolutely. She moved into the 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:15.500 big epics, the serious dramas. Giant in 56 was 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:18.240 a massive box office success. It was a famously 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.700 difficult shoot, but it proved she could anchor 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:23.440 a huge picture with legends like James Dean and 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:26.080 Rock Hudson. And that led to her first Oscar 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:28.940 nomination for Raintree County. It did. She was 00:09:28.940 --> 00:09:32.059 now an actress with undeniable box office power. 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:35.200 The personal drama, though, was about to become 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.700 just seismic. The Mike Todd tragedy and then 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:41.259 immediately what happened with Eddie Fisher. 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.399 That permanently changed how the public saw her. 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:46.419 Mike Todd, her third husband, a big theatrical 00:09:46.419 --> 00:09:49.759 producer, he died in a plane crash in March 1958. 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:54.240 Taylor was just... And the studio pushed her 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.039 back onto the set of Cat on a hot tin roof only 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:59.059 three weeks later. Three weeks. Three weeks. 00:09:59.100 --> 00:10:01.600 She later said that the intensity of that role, 00:10:01.740 --> 00:10:04.519 playing Maggie the cat, was therapeutic. She 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:07.480 felt she literally became Maggie and that acting 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:09.740 was the only time she could function. And then 00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:11.620 while the world is still watching her grieve, 00:10:11.700 --> 00:10:13.960 she gets involved with Eddie Fisher, shattering 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:16.340 his marriage to Debbie Reynolds, who was, you 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:18.379 know, America's sweetheart. Right. That created 00:10:18.379 --> 00:10:20.279 the whole homewrecker narrative. The scandal 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:22.460 was apocalyptic. I mean, Congress even debated 00:10:22.460 --> 00:10:24.460 banning her from returning to the U .S. because 00:10:24.460 --> 00:10:27.700 of the moral outrage. But MGM now sensing how 00:10:27.700 --> 00:10:31.039 to use this new kind of media frenzy, they capitalized 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:35.080 immediately. They slapped this provocative, highly 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:38.179 sexualized image of her in a slip on the posters 00:10:38.179 --> 00:10:41.139 for Kat. on a hot tin roof. They were selling 00:10:41.139 --> 00:10:43.659 the scandal. And the film grossed $10 million 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:47.320 in the U .S. alone. She was the bad girl, and 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:50.059 the public paid to see her embody it. The irony 00:10:50.059 --> 00:10:53.940 then just peaks with Butterfield 8 in 1960. She 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:56.980 hated that film. Not spiced it. And yet, it won 00:10:56.980 --> 00:11:00.149 her her first Best Actress. Oscar. She fought 00:11:00.149 --> 00:11:02.409 the studio. She knew they chose the film about 00:11:02.409 --> 00:11:04.750 a high class call girl specifically to exploit 00:11:04.750 --> 00:11:06.710 her notorious public image. It was the last film 00:11:06.710 --> 00:11:08.929 on her contract. They basically packaged her 00:11:08.929 --> 00:11:11.629 current scandalous persona and sold it. She won 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:13.590 the Oscar all while nearly dying from a severe 00:11:13.590 --> 00:11:15.470 illness later that year. It was the absolute 00:11:15.470 --> 00:11:18.070 end of the MGM factory era and she walked away 00:11:18.070 --> 00:11:20.149 with the ultimate prize having been forced to 00:11:20.149 --> 00:11:22.210 sell her soul for it. Which leads us to the game 00:11:22.210 --> 00:11:25.129 changer. Cleopatra. This is where the star finally 00:11:25.129 --> 00:11:26.970 breaks the system and takes control of the whole 00:11:26.970 --> 00:11:28.870 financial model. This is the critical moment. 00:11:28.970 --> 00:11:31.029 This is the template for modern celebrity contracts. 00:11:31.370 --> 00:11:33.450 Taylor became the first movie star in history 00:11:33.450 --> 00:11:36.830 to be paid $1 million for a single role. A million 00:11:36.830 --> 00:11:39.590 dollars in 1963. A million dollars, but even 00:11:39.590 --> 00:11:41.990 more revolutionary was the back -end deal, 10 00:11:41.990 --> 00:11:45.490 % of the gross profits. This completely decoupled 00:11:45.490 --> 00:11:48.389 her earnings from the studio's costs, guaranteeing 00:11:48.389 --> 00:11:50.850 she got paid no matter how much the budget ballooned. 00:11:50.870 --> 00:11:53.730 It was a true tower move. And the production, 00:11:53.889 --> 00:11:56.110 I mean, it did balloon. Tell us about the chaos 00:11:56.110 --> 00:11:59.049 around Cleopatra. Chaos is an understatement. 00:11:59.230 --> 00:12:02.450 Filming was halted constantly, bad weather, changing 00:12:02.450 --> 00:12:05.809 directors, and most terrifyingly, Taylor's n***a. 00:12:05.740 --> 00:12:09.220 near fatal illness. In March of 61, she got this 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:12.120 severe pneumonia that needed an emergency tracheotomy. 00:12:12.299 --> 00:12:15.220 She literally almost died. One news agency even 00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:17.580 prematurely reported her death. And that final 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:20.879 budget was just staggering. $62 million, which 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:22.860 today is like, what, over $640 million? It's 00:12:22.860 --> 00:12:24.620 the most expensive film ever made up to that 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:26.799 point. And that budget was constantly fed by 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:29.820 the biggest media frenzy ever seen, the Liz and 00:12:29.820 --> 00:12:32.100 Dick phenomenon. Her affair with Richard Burton. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:35.700 Her highly public on -set extramarital affair 00:12:35.700 --> 00:12:38.460 with Richard Burton was the ultimate publicity 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:41.000 engine. They were being photographed constantly, 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.659 and the public could not get enough of the forbidden 00:12:43.659 --> 00:12:46.799 romance. So why was that one paparazzi photo 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:50.419 of them on a yacht in Ischia such a key turning 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:53.659 point for celebrity media? Well, up until then, 00:12:53.899 --> 00:12:56.899 stars had managed some degree of privacy, even 00:12:56.899 --> 00:12:59.539 during scandals. But that specific photograph 00:12:59.539 --> 00:13:02.820 marked the moment the paparazzi became this relentless 00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:05.580 global industry. It signaled that stars could 00:13:05.580 --> 00:13:07.960 no longer control their image or their environment. 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:10.200 The media was suddenly everywhere. Everywhere. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:12.960 And the Liz and Dick narrative became the prototype 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:16.159 for nonstop, intense celebrity coverage. The 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.980 moral outrage was enormous. The Vatican condemned 00:13:18.980 --> 00:13:22.230 them for erotic vagrancy. Wow. So even though 00:13:22.230 --> 00:13:25.190 Cleopatra nearly bankrupted Fox, the star couple 00:13:25.190 --> 00:13:27.750 used all that scrutiny to build an economic empire. 00:13:28.049 --> 00:13:30.850 They turned themselves into a brand. Over the 00:13:30.850 --> 00:13:33.529 next decade, they generated a combined $88 million 00:13:33.529 --> 00:13:37.009 in revenue. Burton famously claimed their relationship 00:13:37.009 --> 00:13:39.409 generated more business activity than one of 00:13:39.409 --> 00:13:41.429 the smaller African nations. That's incredible. 00:13:41.570 --> 00:13:43.750 Their films together, they were sold almost entirely 00:13:43.750 --> 00:13:45.870 on the basis of their scandalous relationship. 00:13:46.450 --> 00:13:49.169 The art often took a backseat to the gossip column 00:13:49.169 --> 00:13:51.940 they had become. And yet. they still managed 00:13:51.940 --> 00:13:54.879 to achieve their critical peak during all this 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:58.299 excess with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. in 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:01.679 1966. This was her masterful pivot. She had to 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:03.639 prove she was an actress, not just a tabloid 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.480 fixture. So she took the most daring step possible. 00:14:06.759 --> 00:14:09.740 She deliberately destroyed her own glamour. She 00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:13.019 gained weight, wore this terrible wig, used makeup 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:15.659 to convincingly play the 50 -year -old bitter, 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:18.379 abrasive Martha. She was actively trying to look 00:14:18.379 --> 00:14:20.759 unattractive to serve the role. Exactly. And 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:23.200 that film was groundbreaking for its adult themes 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:25.100 and language. It really pushed the boundaries 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:27.500 of what was acceptable in American cinema. And 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:29.440 her performance was just universally praised. 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.539 It was. She deservedly won her second best actress 00:14:32.539 --> 00:14:35.399 Oscar for it. It was proof that beneath the global 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:37.919 persona, the disciplined actress that MGM manufactured 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:40.460 was still there, capable of astonishing work 00:14:40.460 --> 00:14:42.419 when she had control. And they briefly became 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:45.000 producers themselves, right? With The Taming 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:47.639 of the Shrew. They did, co -producing it in 1967. 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:52.179 That move cemented their creative control. Taylor 00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:54.860 had zero Shakespeare experience, but she took 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:57.379 on the difficult role of Kate. The director, 00:14:57.500 --> 00:14:59.559 Franco Zeffirelli, was so impressed he later 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:02.139 said she invented the part from scratch. So that 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:04.779 was the apex of that era. Total creative freedom, 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:07.320 phenomenal earning power. It was, but by the 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:10.059 late 60s, the novelty started to wear off. The 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:12.440 public was tiring of the spectacle and her career 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:15.620 momentum began to fade as a new, less glamorous 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:18.340 new Hollywood started to emerge. So if we look 00:15:18.340 --> 00:15:20.659 at the timeline from that first MGM wedding in 00:15:20.659 --> 00:15:23.320 1950 all the way to her eighth marriage, the 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:25.899 media always framed her need for a husband as... 00:15:25.899 --> 00:15:28.139 some kind of emotional instability. Okay, let's 00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:30.919 unpack this. What did the sources say was the 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:32.960 deeper motivation there? The sources consistently 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:35.759 point back to the trauma of the MGM factory floor. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.059 I mean, she had this extremely sheltered, structured 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:41.399 childhood, followed by immense sudden fame. And 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:45.860 her rather puritanical upbringing meant she equated 00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:49.019 love with legitimate marriage. So each union 00:15:49.019 --> 00:15:51.240 was a quest for the stability and independence 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:55.100 she never had under MGM's control. She was trying... 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.279 to build a traditional domestic life that the 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:59.659 studio had basically stolen from her. She even 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:01.960 called herself emotionally immature during that 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:04.659 period. She did because of that constant professional 00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:07.559 sheltering. So let's focus on the period of maximum 00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:11.580 excess. Yeah. The burden era. Detail the sheer 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:14.899 scope of the jet set lifestyle they led. It was 00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:17.600 just an unimaginable display of wealth for the 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:19.460 time. They were constantly photographed spending 00:16:19.460 --> 00:16:22.220 millions on massive yachts, private jets, furs, 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.299 art, and of course the diamonds. The diamonds. 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:26.059 They were maybe the first couple whose public 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:28.320 image was defined entirely by their spending. 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:31.500 They were a walking, talking spectacle of celebrity 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:33.860 maximalism. And central to that image were the 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:36.519 jewels, which almost acted as proof of her stardom 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:39.460 and power. They absolutely were. She was a serious, 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:41.539 knowledgeable collector, but the most famous 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:44.519 pieces were gifts from Burton which cemented 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:47.990 their opulent legend. We're talking masterpieces 00:16:47.990 --> 00:16:50.610 like the 33 -carat Krupp diamond. The Taylor 00:16:50.610 --> 00:16:53.629 Burton diamond. The 69 -carat Taylor Burton diamond 00:16:53.629 --> 00:16:56.950 and the 50 -carat La Peregrina pearl, which dates 00:16:56.950 --> 00:16:59.490 back to the 16th century. These weren't just 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:01.889 accessories. They were historical artifacts, 00:17:02.330 --> 00:17:05.690 huge financial assets, visually cementing the 00:17:05.690 --> 00:17:08.470 status she'd fought for. After her two divorces 00:17:08.470 --> 00:17:11.230 from Burton, she tried to find stability by marrying 00:17:11.230 --> 00:17:13.980 John Warner. which was a huge shift into the 00:17:13.980 --> 00:17:16.680 political world. What was that period like? The 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:19.099 intention was absolutely stability. She focused 00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:21.339 all her energy on supporting his political career, 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.359 helping him win his seat as a U .S. senator. 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:26.359 She campaigned tirelessly, did everything expected 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:28.839 of a political spouse. But once he was elected... 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:30.900 The life of a politician's wife in Washington, 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:33.700 D .C. proved deadly boring and intensely lonely 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:36.240 for a woman used to global fanfare and creative 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:38.980 chaos. And that boredom led to a deep personal 00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:42.039 crisis. It did. She suffered from depression, 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.559 gained a lot of weight, and developed a serious 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:46.960 dependency on alcohol and prescription drugs. 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:50.220 This low point eventually led to her first stay 00:17:50.220 --> 00:17:53.400 at the Betty Ford Center in 1983. And crucially, 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:56.380 she was the first major celebrity to openly and 00:17:56.380 --> 00:17:58.599 publicly admit herself for treatment. Which broke 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:00.880 a huge stigma. It was a massive deal, and it 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.200 really paved the way for others to follow. You 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:05.359 could argue that was her first major public humanitarian 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:08.289 statement. And it was at Betty Ford that she 00:18:08.289 --> 00:18:11.730 met her final husband, Larry Fortensky. This 00:18:11.730 --> 00:18:14.329 marriage, husband number seven, is maybe the 00:18:14.329 --> 00:18:16.589 ultimate example of her weaponizing her fame 00:18:16.589 --> 00:18:19.549 for good. It is a perfect case study in redirection. 00:18:19.549 --> 00:18:22.089 Larry Fortensky was a construction worker she 00:18:22.089 --> 00:18:24.250 met while they were both in treatment. Their 00:18:24.250 --> 00:18:27.170 wedding in 1991 at Michael Jackson's Neverland 00:18:27.170 --> 00:18:30.250 Ranch was one of the decade's most intense media 00:18:30.250 --> 00:18:32.250 circuses. So instead of trying to hide from it, 00:18:32.309 --> 00:18:35.089 she leaned into it. She sold the exclusive wedding 00:18:35.089 --> 00:18:37.869 photos to People magazine for a million dollars. 00:18:37.890 --> 00:18:39.789 And that million dollars didn't go into her pocket. 00:18:39.950 --> 00:18:43.430 Not a penny. That entire sum became the seed 00:18:43.430 --> 00:18:45.529 money she used to launch the Elizabeth Taylor 00:18:45.529 --> 00:18:48.529 AIDS Foundation. She turned this sensational 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:52.029 personal event into a massive immediate financial 00:18:52.029 --> 00:18:54.609 infusion for a cause she cared deeply about. 00:18:54.789 --> 00:18:57.029 That's incredible. Even their eventual divorce 00:18:57.029 --> 00:18:59.609 was handled with grace. She remained close to 00:18:59.609 --> 00:19:02.710 him and left him a sizable sum in her will. If 00:19:02.710 --> 00:19:05.990 we shift focus to her profound religious dedication, 00:19:06.450 --> 00:19:10.769 she converted to Judaism in 1959, raised as a 00:19:10.769 --> 00:19:13.230 Christian scientist. What was that journey like? 00:19:14.089 --> 00:19:16.390 Well, the contrast is huge. Christian science 00:19:16.390 --> 00:19:19.970 focuses heavily on spiritual healing, often minimizing 00:19:19.970 --> 00:19:22.509 traditional medicine, which was a constant source 00:19:22.509 --> 00:19:24.589 of frustration for Taylor, given her numerous 00:19:24.589 --> 00:19:27.089 health problems. When she converted to Judaism, 00:19:27.329 --> 00:19:29.390 she was adamant it wasn't just for her Jewish 00:19:29.390 --> 00:19:31.910 husbands, Mike Todd or Eddie Fisher. She said 00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:33.849 she felt she had been Jewish all her life and 00:19:33.849 --> 00:19:35.890 found a depth and historical continuity in the 00:19:35.890 --> 00:19:38.089 faith that offered her comfort and dignity and 00:19:38.089 --> 00:19:40.700 hope. And this wasn't a passive conversion at 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:43.039 all. Her active support for Zionism had immediate 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.480 high stakes consequences for her career. It was 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:49.539 a conscious political choice. In 1959, she publicly 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:53.700 bought $100 ,000 worth of Israeli bonds. This 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:56.200 act led to her films being immediately banned 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:59.980 across 18 Arab countries. Wow. For years, right? 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:02.619 For years. That was a tangible financial penalty 00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:05.019 for her political stance. It shows that even 00:20:05.019 --> 00:20:07.599 before her AIDS activism, she was willing to 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:10.400 sacrifice huge market share for a deeply held 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:13.059 belief. And that dedication peaked during the 00:20:13.059 --> 00:20:16.509 1976 and skyjacking incident. It's one of the 00:20:16.509 --> 00:20:18.930 most stunning examples of celebrity intervention. 00:20:19.369 --> 00:20:21.970 When Israeli citizens were taken hostage in Uganda, 00:20:22.349 --> 00:20:24.609 Taylor offered herself to the terrorists as a 00:20:24.609 --> 00:20:26.869 replacement hostage. She offered herself as a 00:20:26.869 --> 00:20:29.410 hostage. She did. The offer was politely declined 00:20:29.410 --> 00:20:31.630 by Israeli officials, but it just demonstrated 00:20:31.630 --> 00:20:33.789 the seriousness of her commitment. She was willing 00:20:33.789 --> 00:20:35.930 to risk her life for the cause. If we connect 00:20:35.930 --> 00:20:38.710 this to the bigger picture, this proactive use 00:20:38.710 --> 00:20:41.349 of fame is the constant thread, which leads us 00:20:41.349 --> 00:20:43.349 to her most surprising financial achievement. 00:20:43.950 --> 00:20:47.410 The fragrance empire. Indeed. The jewels were 00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:50.309 the visual shorthand for her glamour, but the 00:20:50.309 --> 00:20:52.809 financial structure that gave her lasting independence 00:20:52.809 --> 00:20:56.130 was built on selling that fantasy. She was the 00:20:56.130 --> 00:20:59.049 second major celebrity, after Sophia Loren, to 00:20:59.049 --> 00:21:02.250 launch a signature perfume brand. And White Diamonds 00:21:02.250 --> 00:21:04.349 became an absolute behemoth. One of the best 00:21:04.349 --> 00:21:07.329 -selling celebrity perfumes of all time. But 00:21:07.329 --> 00:21:09.390 what's crucial is the financial nugget here. 00:21:10.120 --> 00:21:12.400 Sources estimate she earned more money from her 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:14.619 fragrance collection than from her entire acting 00:21:14.619 --> 00:21:16.640 career. More than acting. More than the Burton 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:19.680 era. Yes. The majority of her immense $600 million 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:22.680 to $1 billion estate came from fragrance revenue. 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:25.460 She sold the dream of being Elizabeth Taylor, 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:28.119 one small bottle at a time, and that business 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:31.119 acumen ensured her wealth and, crucially, her 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.539 ability to self -fund her charitable work. The 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:35.839 success of that business empire gave her the 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:38.380 financial base to really focus on what became 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:41.460 her most enduring legacy, her humanitarian work. 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:44.119 Her acting career had slowed, but she realized 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:46.460 the fame she had fought for decades was a tool. 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:49.740 She had this incredible clarity. She recognized 00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:52.519 that the fame she'd often resented, the scrutiny, 00:21:52.740 --> 00:21:55.220 the invasive media was actually a powerful commodity. 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:58.720 She said she decided that with my name, I could 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:02.599 open certain doors. I could take the fame. and 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:05.000 use it to do some good. She realized she didn't 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:07.059 need to fight the paparazzi. She needed to use 00:22:07.059 --> 00:22:09.559 them. To amplify her cause, exactly. Yeah, and 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:13.579 her cause, starting in the mid-'80s, was pioneering 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:16.599 the fight against AIDS at a time when political 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:19.660 leaders and other celebrities were just silent. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.640 She was truly one of the very first major voices. 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:26.519 Her activism began in 84 by hosting an AIDS fundraiser. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:28.759 But the catalyst that forced her into the public 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:31.039 spotlight was the diagnosis and death of her 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:33.519 close friend and giant co -star, Rock Hudson. 00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:36.880 His diagnosis in 1985 forced the public to acknowledge 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:38.859 the disease wasn't restricted to marginalized 00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:41.039 communities. Right. It was a shock to the system. 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:43.160 And she acted immediately in response to that 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:46.470 tragedy. What did she do? In 1985, she co -founded 00:22:46.470 --> 00:22:48.910 the National AIDS Research Foundation, which 00:22:48.910 --> 00:22:51.190 quickly merged with another group to become the 00:22:51.190 --> 00:22:54.250 American Foundation for AIDS Research, or AMFAR. 00:22:54.410 --> 00:22:57.789 She leveraged her entire network to bring attention 00:22:57.789 --> 00:23:00.730 and funding to the cause. And later, she founded 00:23:00.730 --> 00:23:02.890 her own organization, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS 00:23:02.890 --> 00:23:06.809 Foundation, ETA. Why did she need a second organization 00:23:06.809 --> 00:23:09.869 when AMFAR was already active? She saw a gap. 00:23:10.329 --> 00:23:12.509 Amphar was focused heavily on research, which 00:23:12.509 --> 00:23:14.769 was essential. But Taylor realized the immediate 00:23:14.769 --> 00:23:17.650 needs of those suffering awareness, education, 00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:20.329 direct support services weren't getting enough 00:23:20.329 --> 00:23:23.400 attention. So ETAF was for direct action. Exactly. 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:25.339 And this is key to her financial independence. 00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:28.680 She famously covered all the overhead costs of 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:31.480 ETAF herself. Wow. That ensured that a much higher 00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:33.720 percentage of public donations went directly 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:36.460 to the people who needed help. Her estate continues 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:38.400 to fund the foundation today. She didn't just 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:40.599 donate money, though. She used her star power 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:43.559 to push for policy changes, showing this surprising 00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:46.559 political clout in Washington. Her strategy was 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:49.529 direct political confrontation. She testified 00:23:49.529 --> 00:23:52.970 before Congress multiple times, advocating tirelessly 00:23:52.970 --> 00:23:55.829 for the Ryan White Care Act, the first comprehensive 00:23:55.829 --> 00:23:59.309 federal legislation to address HIV AIDS. And 00:23:59.309 --> 00:24:02.170 she didn't mince words. She publicly excoriated 00:24:02.170 --> 00:24:04.289 the Republican administration for its inaction. 00:24:04.309 --> 00:24:06.589 And she used her status to reach the very top, 00:24:06.789 --> 00:24:09.630 even persuading President Ronald Reagan to finally 00:24:09.630 --> 00:24:12.049 break his silence on the disease. That was a 00:24:12.049 --> 00:24:14.059 pivotal moment. The Reagan administration had 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:16.000 been notoriously slow to address the crisis. 00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:19.720 But Taylor, using her stature, her personal connection 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:21.720 to Hollywood, and the emotional force of Rock 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:24.259 Hudson's death, persuaded Reagan to publicly 00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:27.460 acknowledge the disease in a 1987 speech. It 00:24:27.460 --> 00:24:29.180 was the first time a sitting U .S. president 00:24:29.180 --> 00:24:31.380 had done so in a major public address. Which 00:24:31.380 --> 00:24:33.119 marked a turning point in federal engagement 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:35.900 and resource allocation. This shift from actress 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:38.880 to activist completely redefined her public image 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:41.039 in the final decades of her life. The change 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:44.059 was profound. She was honored with the Presidential 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:47.019 Citizens Medal, the Jean Herschelt Humanitarian 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:50.079 Award. Perhaps most significantly, she received 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:53.839 the Glaude Vanguard Award in 2000. Glaude specifically 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:56.359 noted that she was an icon whose position is 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:58.720 based not on tragedy, but on her work for the 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:02.440 LGBTQ community. Her legacy then rests on this 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:04.980 constant tension between the manufactured persona 00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:08.319 and the serious actor. Critics often accused 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:10.599 her of just playing herself because her life 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:12.859 was so enormous it dwarfed her roles. That's 00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:15.819 the central paradox. Film historian Janine Basinger 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:19.619 said her persona ate her alive. Yet the work 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:22.240 itself holds up. Five of her films are preserved 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:24.240 in the National Film Registry for their cultural 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:27.000 and historical significance. The artistic quality 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:29.519 is undeniable, even if the media circus made 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.539 it impossible for critics to see her simply as 00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:33.700 an actress. Culturally, she also earned the title 00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:38.369 of accidental feminist. How did her roles challenge 00:25:38.369 --> 00:25:40.609 the gender norms of her time? Well, she was this 00:25:40.609 --> 00:25:43.529 pre -feminist figure who wielded immense sexual 00:25:43.529 --> 00:25:45.730 and financial power. I mean, in National Velvet, 00:25:45.869 --> 00:25:47.849 her character literally cross -dresses and wins 00:25:47.849 --> 00:25:49.670 a man's race. Right, from the very beginning. 00:25:49.930 --> 00:25:52.730 From the start. In films like Butterfield 8, 00:25:52.910 --> 00:25:55.109 her character is often in control of her own 00:25:55.109 --> 00:25:58.109 finances and her own sexuality, a radical concept 00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:01.349 for 1960. She demanded financial leverage and 00:26:01.349 --> 00:26:03.890 creative control in a male -dominated industry, 00:26:04.250 --> 00:26:06.710 setting a powerful example even if she never 00:26:06.710 --> 00:26:09.869 adopted the feminist label herself. She embodied 00:26:09.869 --> 00:26:13.190 independence by just taking it. And finally, 00:26:13.289 --> 00:26:16.009 her long history of health issues, the chronic 00:26:16.009 --> 00:26:18.329 back problems from that national velvet injury, 00:26:18.569 --> 00:26:21.509 multiple pneumonias, brain tumors, heart failure, 00:26:21.650 --> 00:26:24.109 sounds like a body that endured as much drama 00:26:24.109 --> 00:26:27.099 as her life. It does. that back injury from her 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:28.900 childhood troubled her for the rest of her life 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:31.059 she survived so many close calls with pneumonia 00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:33.720 she was a fighter right until the very end dying 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:36.700 in 2011 at age 79 from congestive heart failure 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:40.039 and fittingly Her private funeral, a Jewish ceremony, 00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:43.599 included one final perfect act of showmanship. 00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:46.359 It was an incredible, final, irreverent performance. 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:49.000 The ceremony was scheduled to begin promptly, 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:51.599 but at her explicit request, it was delayed 15 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:54.079 minutes. Her representative said the reason was 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:55.980 simple. She even wanted to be late for her own 00:26:55.980 --> 00:26:58.240 funeral. That's just perfect. It was the ultimate 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:00.680 wink to her audience, proving that even in death, 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:03.099 she maintained the integrity of the persona she 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:05.079 had so expertly manufactured and controlled. 00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:09.200 What an extraordinary and... and just exhausting 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:11.920 journey we've traced. We watched this disciplined, 00:27:12.140 --> 00:27:15.519 tightly controlled child star from the MGM factory 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:19.079 strategically use her dramatic, often chaotic 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:22.019 personal life, not as a source of destruction, 00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:25.299 but as a path to seize both financial and creative 00:27:25.299 --> 00:27:28.579 control. She leveraged the fame that once nearly 00:27:28.579 --> 00:27:31.900 consumed her and funneled it into a humanitarian 00:27:31.900 --> 00:27:34.619 engine that continues to save lives today. Her 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:37.480 legacy is one of continuous transformation, defiance, 00:27:37.480 --> 00:27:39.119 and redemption. I mean, you have to remember 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:41.859 this arc. She went from being publicly condemned 00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:43.940 by the Vatican and scrutinized by Congress for 00:27:43.940 --> 00:27:46.660 her affairs to eventually becoming a dame commander 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:49.180 in the British Empire and receiving the Presidential 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:51.859 Citizens Medal for her philanthropy. That level 00:27:51.859 --> 00:27:55.559 of societal and political vindication, it just 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:58.059 shows the sheer power of conscious reinvention. 00:27:58.220 --> 00:28:00.180 It really does. So what does this all mean for 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:02.619 us today, the learners, looking at modern celebrity 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:05.119 culture? I think you have to consider the sheer 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:07.960 transformative power of redirected celebrity 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:11.299 influence. Elizabeth Taylor became the gold standard 00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:13.480 for recognizing that the fame itself is the most 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:17.740 valuable asset. She made more money selling the 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:20.160 dream of glamour through her perfume than she 00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:23.400 did during her entire acting career. And critically, 00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:26.599 she channeled the massive media spectacle around 00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:29.420 her final wedding directly into launching her 00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:32.480 AIDS foundation. Exactly. So does her career 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:35.200 prove that in the modern era, the financial and 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:37.799 philanthropic impact of a meticulously managed, 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:40.759 often scandalous celebrity persona, the brand, 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:43.299 is ultimately more impactful and enduring than 00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:45.440 the art they originally produce, especially when 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:47.299 it's channeled toward a higher cause? That is 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:49.359 the lesson she left for every celebrity who followed. 00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:51.880 It is. And that is a fascinating deep dive. Thank 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:53.480 you for joining us. We'll see you next time.