She wasn't just a movie star. Honestly, she was the first person to truly understand how a single image could weaponize fame. When you scroll through vintage photos of elizabeth taylor, you aren't just looking at a pretty face from the fifties. You're looking at a carefully constructed, often chaotic, and deeply human narrative captured in silver halide.
Most people think they know her eyes. They call them violet. You've heard it a thousand times, right? But here’s the thing: biologically, violet eyes don't really exist in humans. What you’re seeing in those high-saturation Technicolor stills is a perfect storm of specific lighting, heavy eyeliner, and a very rare, deep blue pigment that leaned toward purple under the hot studio lamps of Old Hollywood.
The Mystery Behind the Violet Eyes
It’s the question that follows every gallery of her work. Were they real? Basically, yeah, but with a catch. Taylor was born with a genetic mutation called distichiasis. It gave her a double row of eyelashes. Imagine that—naturally thick, dark fringe that made her eyes pop before she even touched a mascara wand.
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When photographers like Philippe Halsman or Peter Stackpole got her in front of a lens, they realized those eyes were chameleons. In certain light, they were navy. In others, they looked like lavender. In a 1948 portrait by Halsman, she’s only sixteen, but she looks thirty. She later said that session was the first time she realized she could control her image. She looked at the proofs and decided to cut her hair, to look older, to stop being the "National Velvet" kid and start being the woman the world wanted to see.
Why the Cleopatra Set Photos Still Matter
The 1963 production of Cleopatra was a total disaster behind the scenes. It almost bankrupt 20th Century Fox. But the photos of elizabeth taylor from that set in Rome are some of the most expensive-looking images ever captured.
- The gold 24-carat "Phoenix" cape.
- The dramatic blue eyeshadow that defined the sixties.
- The sheer, palpable tension between her and Richard Burton.
There’s a famous candid shot of her sitting in Eddie Fisher’s lap while Burton watches from the side. You can feel the awkwardness through the screen. That’s the "Le Scandale" era. It was the first time the paparazzi really went feral. They were hiding in bushes, using long-range lenses for the first time to catch her and Burton on a yacht in Ischia. Those grainy, black-and-white snaps changed how we consume celebrity. Before then, studio portraits were controlled. After Cleopatra, the "stolen" photo became the gold standard for truth.
The Jewelry: More Than Just Bling
You can't talk about her photos without talking about the rocks. Elizabeth Taylor didn't just wear jewelry; she wore history. There’s a specific shot of her with the 33-carat Krupp Diamond (later renamed the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond). She’s wearing it while eating a burger. Or maybe she’s just casually touching her hair.
She once told a story about a man who said her ring belonged in a museum. Her response? "I disagree. When I wear it, anyone can look at it." She saw her collection as a shared beauty. The La Peregrina pearl, which Richard Burton bought for her, actually got chewed on by her dog. Seriously. There’s no photo of the dog with the pearl in its mouth, but the story makes the photos of her wearing that necklace feel a lot more grounded.
The Aging Process and the Lens
Unlike many of her contemporaries, Taylor didn't hide from the camera as she got older. She used it. The photos of her in the eighties and nineties, often with purple-tinted glasses and big hair, were about her activism. She was the first major star to put a face to the AIDS crisis.
The glamour shifted from "look at me" to "look at this cause."
If you're looking for authentic prints or high-res versions of her life, don't just stick to the staged MGM headshots. Look for the work of Herb Ritts or Annie Leibovitz from her later years. They captured the "Survivor" version of Taylor—the woman who had survived multiple near-death experiences, eight weddings, and the crushing weight of being the most beautiful woman in the world.
How to Identify Authentic Elizabeth Taylor Photography
If you're a collector or just a fan, knowing what to look for is key. Authentic studio stills from the 1950s usually have a matte finish and often feature a "snipe" (a typed description) glued to the back.
- Check the Photographer's Stamp: Look for names like George Hurrell or Bert Stern on the reverse.
- Verify the Film Stock: 1950s color photography has a specific "Technicolor" glow that modern digital filters can't quite replicate.
- Look for the Scar: Taylor had an emergency tracheotomy during a bout of pneumonia in 1961. In many photos after that, you can see a small scar on her neck. It’s a badge of honor she rarely asked photographers to airbrush out.
Next time you see a gallery of her, don't just look at the jewelry or the husbands. Look at the eyes. Not just for the color, but for the way she's looking back at the lens. She knew exactly what she was doing.
To truly appreciate her visual legacy, start by looking for the 1962 LIFE Magazine covers. They document the exact moment she transitioned from a studio-owned actress to a global brand. You can find many of these archives through the LIFE Picture Collection or Getty’s editorial archives.