Goodbye, Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

As I was making breakfast this morning for the man and I, I turned on the news and saw that Dame Elizabeth Taylor had died. She was 79.

When I was a little girl, I saw the 1944 classic, "National Velvet" and instantly felt mesmerized by Elizabeth's passion, beauty, and feisty spirit.

I recall a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon in my freshman year of college I spent watching "Cleopatra" (1963). The movie was a sweeping epic that involved elaborate costumes, thousands of extras, and lavish sets. The sexual tension between Elizabeth and Richard Burton was so amazing it was practically palatable!

Throughout the years as Elizabeth got older, she took on meaty/ tough roles like Martha "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and became a favorite subject of the paparazzi.

Along with Elizabeth's personal life and cinematic work, she was also an avid spokeswoman for the fight against AIDS. Elizabeth was one of the forerunners of the movement who highlighted the need for support, understanding, and funding for AIDS research.

In the announcement of her death, newscasters stated that Elizabeth was one of the last of the "golden era of Hollywood." Elizabeth Taylor was the epitome of the glamour and glitz that was the real, original Hollywood starlet. May she live on in every woman who blazes her own trail, refuses to back down, and looks damn good doing it!

We will miss you, Dame Elizabeth! Thank you and farewell.