[Archive 2011-03-24] English actress Elizabeth Taylor dies at age 79

Historical archive — originally published 2011-03-24. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Elizabeth "Liz" Taylor, an English born U.S. actress, died on Wednesday at the age of 79, in the Cedars-Senai Medical Center, in Los Angeles, California, where she was admitted six weeks ago. The cause of death was announced as a heart ailment that she had suffered for years.

Taylor made her film debut in 1941 at Universal Pictures, and won two Academy Awards, for "Butterfield 8" (1960), and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966). Widely known for her personality, described as "sexy, glamorous, untimely, and fragile," the actress was always surrounded by her fans and the media. As a child actress, she was known for having two sets of eyelashes because of a genetic mutation, distinguishing her face from other actresses.

Taylor had to overcome an addiction to alcohol and drugs in the 80s through admissions to the Betty Ford Clinic in California, and had been for a number of days admitted to a Los Angeles hospital for heart failure.

Taylor is survived by four children, who reported that Taylor's last wish for her fans was that "they shouldn't be sending flowers for her, that money should be sent to charitable works, or otherwise to her 'Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation,'" in order to continue with her struggle in favour of patients with the disease.

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