Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor was one of the major film
stars of the twentieth century, embodying all
the glamour and allure of Hollywood stardom.
Yet her achievements as an actress have
often been overshadowed by her beauty
and tumultuous life off-screen.

To redress this imbalance, Susan Smith
offers an illuminating study of Elizabeth
Taylor's work in film, exploring her fascinating
trajectory from child to adult star. Smith
reveals the influence that Taylor's early work
exerted over her later career and the ways in
which her on-screen identity is profoundly
rooted in her association with animals and
nature.

Smith carefully unpicks what made Taylor
such a distinctive and dynamic on-screen
performer – from the expressive use she
made of her eyes to the dramatic significance
of her voice – and considers the importance
of certain professional collaborations that
Taylor forged during her career, most notably
her acting partnership with Montgomery Clift.