Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor DBE was a British-American actress, businesswoman, and humanitarian. She was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. Profoundly inspirational Elizabeth Taylor quotes will challenge the way you think, and help guide you through any life experience.
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Famous Elizabeth Taylor Quotes
The most sensible thing to do to people you hate is to drink their brandy. – Elizabeth Taylor
I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can’t possess radiance, you can only admire it. – Elizabeth Taylor
When I’m not with the one I love, I love the one I’m with. – Elizabeth Taylor
I don’t pretend to be an ordinary housewife. – Elizabeth Taylor
It’s all about hope, kindness and a connection with one another. – Elizabeth Taylor
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. – Elizabeth Taylor

I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being – to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame. – Elizabeth Taylor
Why shouldn’t gay people be able to live as open and freely as everybody else? What it comes down to, ultimately, is love. How can anything bad come out of love? The bad stuff comes out of mistrust, misunderstanding and, God knows, from hate and from ignorance. – Elizabeth Taylor
You just do it. You force yourself to get up. You force yourself to put one foot before the other, and God damn it, you refuse to let it get to you. You fight. You cry. You curse. Then you go about the business of living. That’s how I’ve done it. There’s no other way. – Elizabeth Taylor
Acting is fun. It’s not my whole life. It’s not my entire being. It’s secondary to my life. My life is primary. I’m running in the primary, as you know. – Elizabeth Taylor
Marilyn Monroe seemed to have a kind of unconscious glow about her physical self that was innocent, like a child. When she posed nude, it was ‘Gee, I am kind of, you know, sort of dishy,’ like she enjoyed it without being egotistical. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’m not like anyone. I’m me. – Elizabeth Taylor
I love to be casual and comfortable, but I also love the easy glamour of wearing jewelry all the time. – Elizabeth Taylor
Michael Jackson is one of the most normal people I know. – Elizabeth Taylor
Put on some lipstick and pull yourself together. – Elizabeth Taylor
I think I ended up being the scarlet woman partly because of my rather puritanical upbringing and beliefs. I always chose to think I was in love and that love was synonymous with marriage. – Elizabeth Taylor
I prefer rugby to soccer. I enjoy the violence in rugby, except when they start biting each other’s ears off. – Elizabeth Taylor
I have the emotions of a child in the body of a woman. I was rushed into womanhood for the movies. It caused me long moments of unhappiness and doubt. – Elizabeth Taylor
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. – Elizabeth Taylor
What do you expect me to do? Sleep alone? – Elizabeth Taylor
It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance. – Elizabeth Taylor
I never tried to act until A Place in the Sun. – Elizabeth Taylor
The public library is more than a repository of books. It’s a mysterious, wondrous place with the power to change lives. – Elizabeth Taylor
Follow your passions, follow your heart, and the things you need will come. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’ve always preferred animals to little girls or boys. I had my first horse – actually it was a Newfoundland pony – when I was three, and I loved riding, without anyone shackling me – riding bareback as fast as I could. – Elizabeth Taylor
My favorite name for a color is puce. It’s kind of a dried blood color. It’s a hideous color. But I love the word. It’s so euphonic. But my favorite colors are lavender, purple, periwinkle blue, and white. – Elizabeth Taylor
The things that are important to me – being a mother, a businesswoman, an activist – are all things that were borne out of great passion. – Elizabeth Taylor
Thanks Darling for the beautiful flowers and all the prayers. Now can you just get my puppy past security? – Elizabeth Taylor
A belly laugh increases the ability of your immune system to fight infections. – Elizabeth Taylor
I know I’m vulgar, but would you have me any other way? – Elizabeth Taylor
I believe in mind over matter and doing anything you set your mind on. – Elizabeth Taylor
I want it all quickly ’cause I don’t want God to stop and think and wonder if I’m getting more than my share. – Elizabeth Taylor
There’s still so much more to do. I can’t sit back and be complacent, and none of us should be. I get around now in a wheelchair, but I get around. – Elizabeth Taylor
This is a book that respects kids and their ideas. And in that regard, it places Chasing Vermeer in the tradition of classic favorites fondly recalled from our own childhoods. – Elizabeth Taylor
To me, acting is a matter of absolute concentration. You can laugh and giggle with your friends up to the minute the director says, Action! Then you snap your mind into shape and into the character that you’re playing and relate to the people that you’re acting with and forget everybody else that you’ve been joking with. – Elizabeth Taylor
Being able to go on location and see the world was the greatest perk of all. – Elizabeth Taylor
I think I’m finally growing up – and about time. – Elizabeth Taylor
I left home as soon as I could, when I was 18. I thought I was in love and got married – the press called it Prince Charming and Cinderella. He was a Hilton so I was the poor little Cinderella. And when I got a divorce nine months later I never told the court why, but he was cruel. – Elizabeth Taylor
The ups and downs, the problems and stress, along with all the happiness, have given me optimism and hope because I am living proof of survival. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’ve only slept with men I’ve been married to. How many women can make that claim? – Elizabeth Taylor
If you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re cooked! – Elizabeth Taylor
I don’t love acting; I love chocolate. – Elizabeth Taylor
Sometimes I think we know too much about our idols and that spoils the dream. – Elizabeth Taylor
I don’t like my voice. I don’t like the way I look. I don’t like the way I move. I don’t like the way I act. I mean, period. So, you know, I don’t like myself. – Elizabeth Taylor
I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed too – for being married so many times. – Elizabeth Taylor
Seems like we always spend the best part of our time just saying goodbye. – Elizabeth Taylor
I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’ve been married too many times. How terrible to change children’s affiliations, their affections – to give them the insecurity of placing their trust in someone when maybe that someone won’t be there next year. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’m loud and I’m vulgar, and I wear the pants in the house because somebody’s got to, but I am not a monster. I’m not. – Elizabeth Taylor
I have never felt more alive than when I watched my children delight in something, never more alive than when I have watched a great artist perform, and never richer than when I have scored a big check to fight AIDS. – Elizabeth Taylor
All of my life I’ve spent a lot of time with gay men – Montgomery Clift, Jimmy Dean, Rock Hudson – who are my colleagues, coworkers, confidantes, my closest friends, but I never thought of who they slept with! They were just the people I loved. I could never understand why they couldn’t be afforded the same rights and protections as all of the rest of us. There is no gay agenda, it’s a human agenda – Elizabeth Taylor
When women stops blushing, she has lost the most powerful weapon of charm. – Elizabeth Taylor
It is strange that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting. – Elizabeth Taylor
I do enjoy life, I really do. Especially if I wake up the next day. – Elizabeth Taylor
I hate being called Liz, because it can sound like such a hiss. – Elizabeth Taylor
Without homosexuals there’d be no Hollywood. – Elizabeth Taylor
Judaism had absolutely nothing to do with my past marriage to Mike [Todd] or my upcoming marriage to Eddie Fisher, both of whom were Jewish. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time. – Elizabeth Taylor
I don’t entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I’m me. God knows, I’m me. – Elizabeth Taylor
Money is the best deodorant. – Elizabeth Taylor
I have a woman’s body and a child’s emotions. – Elizabeth Taylor
You can’t choose between right and wrong by taking a census. – Elizabeth Taylor
If it is not to make the world better what is money for? – Elizabeth Taylor
What is a genius? What is a living legend? What is a megastar? Michael Jackson — that’s all. And when you think you know him; he gives you more. I think he is one of the finest people to hit this planet, and, in my estimation, he is the true King of Pop, Rock and Soul. – Elizabeth Taylor
When I hear the name Michael Jackson, I think of brilliance, of dazzling stars, lasers and deep emotions. I think he is one of the world’s biggest and greatest stars, and it just so happens that he is one of the most gifted music makers the world has ever known. I think he is one of the finest people to hit this planet, and, in my estimation, he is the true King of Pop, Rock, and Soul. I love you Michael. – Elizabeth Taylor
Humility, never me; it is a characteristic I expect to find in other people. – Elizabeth Taylor
I, along with the critics, have never taken myself very seriously. – Elizabeth Taylor
No matter what happens, I’m loud, noisy, earthy and ready for much more living. – Elizabeth Taylor
I fell off my pink cloud with a thud. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’ve never had an acting lesson. I’ve never been given techniques. Everything I’ve done is invented. I just sort of found out [how to do it]. – Elizabeth Taylor
I will love Michael Jackson forever. – Elizabeth Taylor
There’s no deodorant like success. – Elizabeth Taylor
My forties are the best time I have ever gone through. – Elizabeth Taylor
Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together. – Elizabeth Taylor
Big girls need big diamonds. – Elizabeth Taylor
I just loved the feeling of flying. I could jump six feet bareback and it was the closest thing to being Pegasus and flying next to God. It’s the most liberating freedom-making feeling in the world. – Elizabeth Taylor
I believe in the difference between men and women. In fact, I embrace the difference. – Elizabeth Taylor
Michael Jackson is part of my heart. We would do anything for each other. – Elizabeth Taylor
I don’t have a set pattern. I take things as they come. Usually with a great amount of relish. I just lay back and wait for it to happen. And it usually does. – Elizabeth Taylor
Fragrance is an incredibly intimate thing. It can evoke very specific thoughts or memories and is a little different for each person who wears it. I also think it’s the most accessible luxury. – Elizabeth Taylor
How can money be the root of all evil when shopping is the cure for all sadness? – Elizabeth Taylor
I’ve never thought of my jewelry as trophies. I’m here to take care of it and to love it, for we are only temporary custodians of beauty. – Elizabeth Taylor
I would totally lose myself in the music and be a gypsy. I would go wherever I wanted to in my head – wherever the music took me. My body followed. – Elizabeth Taylor
The beauty of fragrance is that it speaks to your heart and hopefully someone else’s. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’m a survivor – a living example of what people can go through and survive. – Elizabeth Taylor
You find out who your real friends are when you’re involved in a scandal. – Elizabeth Taylor
I find it rather tedious working with some actors who have to go into a corner and bounce up and down, shake their hands and arms, saying to the director, Just a second – I’ll be ready in a few minutes, while all the other actors are waiting around to get in. Then they say, OK! I’m ready now. And then they come on and do it exactly the same way they’ve done it in rehearsal. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’ve come through things that would have felled an ox. That fills me with optimism, not just for myself but for our particular species. – Elizabeth Taylor
People who know me well, call me Elizabeth. I dislike Liz. – Elizabeth Taylor
Originally, we were going to set up a cappuccino bar in the showroom, but we’ve been so busy, … We decided when we’re old and grey, we’re going to set up a coffee shop, and we formed the company about 18 months ago when we thought of the name. It’s going to be TLC – Tastes Like Chocolate. – Elizabeth Taylor
Give. Remember always to give. That is the one thing that will make you grow. – Elizabeth Taylor
So much is said with the electricity of the eyes, the intensity of a whisper. Less is more. – Elizabeth Taylor
John Wayne is as tough as an old nut and as soft as a yellow ribbon. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’m not worried about dying. I consult with God, my maker. And I don’t have a lot of problems to work out. I’m pretty squared anyway. – Elizabeth Taylor
I have been supremely lucky in my life in that I have known great love, and of course I am the temporary custodian of some incredible and beautiful things. – Elizabeth Taylor
When people say, ‘She’s got everything’, I’ve got one answer – I haven’t had tomorrow. – Elizabeth Taylor
I hate the idea of always having to interpret other people’s ideas and thoughts and words, because I’m very independent and, I guess, a free thinker. – Elizabeth Taylor
I never face the day without perfume. – Elizabeth Taylor
It’s not the having, it’s the getting. – Elizabeth Taylor
You are who you are. All you can do in this world is help others to be who they are and better themselves. – Elizabeth Taylor
Success is a great deodorant. It takes away all your past smells. – Elizabeth Taylor
I haven’t read any of the autobiographies about me. – Elizabeth Taylor
I was born with scoliosis. I have a double curvature of the spine, and it’s forced me to use a wheelchair because the disease has really taken hold. It really saddens me that I can’t ride. – Elizabeth Taylor
I don’t think President Bush is doing anything at all about Aids. In fact, I’m not sure he even knows how to spell Aids. – Elizabeth Taylor
Look, sweetheart, I can drink you under any goddamn table you want, so don’t worry about me. – Elizabeth Taylor
On Michael Jackson and child stardom: He had one of the worst childhoods ever. I think I had the second. – Elizabeth Taylor
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. – Elizabeth Taylor
You can always avert throwing yourself in front of an oncoming train. There is something that just pulls you away – and it has pulled me away, because I’m not dead yet – just at the brink of impact. Sometimes I have been really grazed by that train. – Elizabeth Taylor
When you’re fat, the world is divided into two groups – people who bug you and people who leave you alone. The funny thing is, supporters and saboteurs exist in either camp. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’ve always admitted that I’m ruled by my passions. – Elizabeth Taylor
Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses. – Elizabeth Taylor
I mean, how many young women get a set of rubies just for doing something wholesome like swimming laps? Or win a diamond ring at Ping-Pong with their husband… ? Well, I did, and for all of these memories and the people in my life I feel blessed. – Elizabeth Taylor
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. – Elizabeth Taylor
I love going to rock concerts, I love to lose myself in that vast wave of rhythm and body heat and get on the same vibe. – Elizabeth Taylor
I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands. For me, life happened, just as it does for anyone else. – Elizabeth Taylor
I used to think that drinking would help my shyness, but all it did was exaggerate all the negative qualities. – Elizabeth Taylor
I was so strictly brought up that the only time I could get away would be on my own pony. I could ride wherever I wanted on my godfather’s estate in Kent.I wasn’t brought up to be afraid of anything. – Elizabeth Taylor
Now is the time for guts and guile. – Elizabeth Taylor
On Mother’s Day: It’s just a rip-off, to tell the truth, a chance to sell my perfume and other things that ladies like. – Elizabeth Taylor
Everything makes me nervous – except making films. – Elizabeth Taylor
You can’t cry on a diamond’s shoulder, and diamonds won’t keep you warm at night, but they’re sure fun when the sun shines. – Elizabeth Taylor
I gave a very dear friend of mine my humanitarian award. Because you don’t need an award to be, or not be, a humanitarian. – Elizabeth Taylor
I use my fame now when I want to help a cause or other people. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’m not afraid. Life is just such an adventure to me. – Elizabeth Taylor
Everything was handed to me – looks, fame, wealth, honour, love. I rarely had to fight for anything – Elizabeth Taylor
It’s amazing the gymnastics you can do when you don’t want to do something. How you can force yourself against all the forces of nature. I threw myself backward. – Elizabeth Taylor
I’ve been through it all, baby, I’m mother courage. – Elizabeth Taylor
Acting is, to me now, artificial. Seeing people suffer is real. It couldn’t be more real. Some people don’t like to look at it in the face because it’s painful. But if nobody does, then nothing gets done. – Elizabeth Taylor
I wear perfume even when I’m alone – Elizabeth Taylor
Oh, I love red. I’m very loyal to my colors. I love violet. – Elizabeth Taylor
The public me, the one named Elizabeth Taylor, has become a lot of hokum and fabrication – a bunch of drivel – and I find her slightly revolting. – Elizabeth Taylor
I hate myself on the screen. I want to die … my voice is either too high or too gravelly. I want to dive under the carpet…. I’d love to be tall and willowy … I’m short. – Elizabeth Taylor
I have never wanted to be a queen! Cleopatra was a role, and I am an actor, so it was fun to play one, but it’s not real. – Elizabeth Taylor
Any home where there is love constitutes a family and all families should have the same legal rights, including the right to marry and have or adopt children. Why shouldn’t gay people be able to live as open and freely as everybody else? – Elizabeth Taylor