Elizabeth Taylor, 79, one of the most important early supporters in the fight against AIDS, died March 23 of congestive heart failure.
Taylor won numerous awards over the years, and is seventh on the American Film Institute's Female Legends List. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress ( for BUtterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ) , and the Jean Herscholt Humanitarian Award in 1992 for her AIDS work.
Among her dozens of credits are the following films: National Velvet, Little Women, Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Taming of the Shrew, These Old Broads, The Flintstones, and Suddenly, Last Summer.
Taylor was a critical voice of reason in the 1980s, when AIDS first became prominent in the U.S. She raised millions of dollars for the American Foundation for AIDS Research ( amfAR ) , which she helped start after the 1985 death of her friend Rock Hudson from AIDS complications. She attended at least one Chicago benefit for AIDS support.
Her own Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which she founded in 1991, raised an estimated $50 million to fight the disease. Chicago House and Howard Brown Health Center are among those agencies receiving funding from the Foundation.
Reportedly a large portion of Taylor's $600 million estate will go to AIDS charities. Her famous jewelry collection, worth an estimated value of more than $150 million in 2002, will be auctioned to benefit the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and amfAR.
Taylor testified before Congress to ensure Senate support for the Ryan White CARE Act, spoke before the National Press Club, and addressed the General Assembly at the United Nations on World AIDS Day, according to her Foundation.
Several years ago, to honor its founding international chairman on her birthday, amfAR's staff placed an open letter in one of the Foundation's event journals. The organization posted it online on the day Taylor died, a message that was a fitting tribute then and is a fitting tribute now: "All your life you were known for your beauty. During the past two decades or so, we gradually came to take that beauty for granted, but we were also constantly arrested by your other qualities We were staggered by your grace under fire. We were inspired by your outspoken honesty in the face of the disbelievers. And we were comforted by your deep compassion for all those living with HIV/AIDS." The group added: "amfAR will remember and honor Elizabeth Taylor for keeping the faith and for inspiring us year after year to keep going until this devastating epidemic is conquered."
"We are deeply saddened by the death Elizabeth Taylor," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "Taylor was a true ally to the LGBT community. She was one of the first public voices to speak up about the AIDS crisis while many others stayed silent in the 1980s and she helped raise millions of dollars to fight the disease."
"Elizabeth Taylor was the first major Hollywood star to take up the banner of HIV/AIDS activism," said D.C.-based Whitman-Walker Clinic Executive Director Don Blanchon. "At a time when most Americans thought of HIV/AIDS as something that didn't affect them, her commitment to the issue and considerable star power helped to take the fight against HIV/AIDS right into the mainstream of American society. Her dedication to raising money along with awareness has helped to save countless lives both by helping to treat people living with the virus and by preventing new infections."
"Because of her dedication and commitment, Whitman-Walker named our main facility in northwest Washington after her in 1993," said Blanchon. "Her dedication to the cause led her to be her personally for the dedication. That kind of commitment exemplifies why she was so important in the early days of the fight against HIV/AIDS. We will ensure that she is remembered not just for her career but for her unwavering support for a community and a cause that, in the early days, many would not touch."
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) honored Taylor with the Vanguard Award at the 11th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2000 for her work to increase the visibility and understanding of the LGBT community. For the past several years, she has also served as an underwriter for the GLAAD Media Awards Young Adult Program, where hundreds of young LGBT adults and allies attend the event.
In her GLAAD acceptance speech, she said: "It's the first award I've received from a gay organization and I'm honored and just tickled."
Reporter Rex Wockner detailed more of her comments at the GLAAD event: "I started my activism in the '80s when a new disease emerged that was quickly and inexplicably killing people. Worse than the virus there was the terrible discrimination and prejudice it left in its wake. Suddenly it made gay people stop being human beings and start becoming the enemy. I knew somebody had to do something. For God's sake, our president didn't even utter the word for years into the epidemic. So I got involved.
"All of my life I've spent a lot of time with gay menMontgomery Clift, Jimmy Dean, Rock Hudsonwho 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.
"All of us should be treated the same, and GLAAD knows that. Why shouldn't gay people be allowed to marry? Those against gay marriages say marriage should only be between a man and a woman. God, I, of all people know that [ the remainder of the sentence was inaudible due to an audience outburst ] . I feel that 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? 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. Thank God GLAAD works to fight this. During my life I've seen many things, good and bad, but the bad things never came out of loving acts, loving gestures or loving relationships. That's why I'm here tonight -- to celebrate you and your families. And to tell you to hang in there and to say, once and for all of us, long live love."
National Minority AIDS Council Deputy Executive Director Daniel C. Montoya also issued a statement: "From the onset of the epidemic, Ms. Taylor was an early and fierce advocate for action to combat HIV/AIDS. Moved by news that her dear friend and fellow actor, Rock Hudson, was dying from the disease, Ms. Taylor co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and in 1986, testified before Congress about the need for increased federal funding to combat the epidemic. Despite her own deteriorating health in recent years, Ms. Taylor remained committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS, serving as an inspiration to all of us living with and struggling against this disease. She was a beacon of compassion and fairness and her light will truly be missed by our community."
Taylor launched a second career as an AIDS activist in 1985 when she organized the first AIDS Project Los Angeles ( APLA ) 'Commitment to Life' event, which would go on to become the biggest AIDS fundraiser in history
"It's impossible to underestimate Elizabeth Taylor's impact on the fight against AIDS from the very beginning," said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. "We're simply devastated by her loss."
For Taylor, the fight against AIDS became personal from the start. While she and her publicist worked in the first months of 1985 to organize the inaugural "Commitment to Life" event, she would learn that her friend and co-star Rock Hudson was dying of the disease.
APLA said Taylor worked to pack the Bonaventure Hotel for the gala, which raised $1.3 million. More than 2,500 attended, and Taylor took the stage to present the first Commitment to Life award to First Lady Betty Ford. Among the attendees were Abigail Van Buren, Cher, Sammy Davis, Jr., Burt Lancaster, Cyndi Lauper, Shirley MacLaine, Rod Stewart, and Stevie Wonder. Taylor was honored at the following year's Commitment to Life gala, and the event continued annually for more than a decade.
Taylor appeared as recently as 2009 on the stage of Macy's and American Express Passport in Los Angelesanother annual event that she helped found, which has raised more than $28 million for AIDS organizations, APLA said.
Long-time AIDS activist Sean Strub, founder of POZ magazine, wrote in his blog about the years the magazine had been trying for a Taylor interview. They eventually were able to interview the star, right after she had brain surgery. Kevin Sessums conducted the interview in Los Angeles, and it was the cover story in November 1997. She spoke frankly about the need for education and prevention, including through needle exchanges. Other people also spoke about Taylor's impact, especially during the early years of AIDS. The interview is available on www.poz.com and will run in an upcoming edition of Windy City Times.
Those who would like to make a donation in Taylor's name can send a check ( including name and address for acknowledgement ) to: The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, c/o Derrick Lee, Reback Lee & Co., Inc., 12400 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1275, Los Angeles CA 90025.
AIDS Project Los Angeles Mourns Death of Elizabeth Taylor
Taylor Galvanized Entertainment Industry, Public, and Political Support for HIV Fight; Began Public Activism with APLA at Agency's 1985 Commitment to Life Event
Los Angeles, Calif., March 23, 2011 AIDS Project Los Angeles ( APLA ) deeply mourns the death of actress and HIV/AIDS advocate Elizabeth Taylor today. Taylor launched a second career as an AIDS activist in 1985 when she organized APLA's first "Commitment to Life" event, which would go on to become the biggest AIDS fundraiser in history.
"It's impossible to underestimate Elizabeth Taylor's impact on the fight against AIDS from the very beginning," said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. "We're simply devastated by her loss."
For Taylor, the fight against AIDS became personal from the start. While she and her publicist worked in the first months of 1985 to organize the inaugural "Commitment to Life" event, she would learn that her friend and co-star Rock Hudson was dying of the disease.
Despite and because of -- widespread silence within the entertainment community, Taylor worked to pack the Bonaventure Hotel for the gala, which raised $1.3 million. More than 2,500 attended, and Taylor took the stage to present the first Commitment to Life award to First Lady Betty Ford. Among the attendees were Abigail Van Buren, Cher, Sammy Davis, Jr., Burt Lancaster, Cyndi Lauper, Shirley MacLaine, Rod Stewart, and Stevie Wonder.
Taylor was honored at the following year's Commitment to Life gala, and the event continued annually for more than a decade, raising millions for APLA's work in Los Angeles.
Her AIDS activism reached far beyond entertainment circles and into the political arena, as well. In 1986, she co-founded The American Foundation for AIDS Research ( amfAR ) and testified before a U.S. Senate Committee in support of federal funding for HIV care and treatment.
In 1991, she launched The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which continues to provide funding for HIV and AIDS programs globally, including those at APLA.
Taylor herself remained a fierce advocate for HIV-related work. She appeared as recently as 2009 on the stage of Macy's and American Express Passport in Los Angeles another annual event that she helped found, which has raised more than $28 million for AIDS organizations, including APLA, over its three decades.
"Today, we've lost one of the boldest advocates our community has seen," Thompson said, "but her tremendous impact lives with us."
AIDS Project Los Angeles ( APLA ) , one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. With more than 25 years of service, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit apla.org .
Statement from Human Rights Campaign President on the Death of Elizabeth Taylor
WASHINGTON Today, Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, issued the following statement on the news of the death of actress Elizabeth Taylor:
"We are deeply saddened by the death Elizabeth Taylor. Ms. Taylor was a true ally to the LGBT community. She was one of the first public voices to speak up about the AIDS crisis while many others stayed silent in the 1980s and she helped raise millions of dollars to fight the disease. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, and to all those whose lives have been positively impacted by the life and work of Elizabeth Taylor."
The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
WHITMAN-WALKER CLINIC MOURNS THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Legendary Actress and HIV/AIDS Activist Was Namesake for Clinic Facility in NW DC
Washington, DC Whitman-Walker Clinic mourns the death of legendary actress and longtime HIV/AIDS activist Elizabeth Taylor.
"Elizabeth Taylor was the first major Hollywood star to take up the banner of HIV/AIDS activism," said Clinic Executive Director Don Blanchon. "At a time when most Americans thought of HIV/AIDS as something that didn't affect them, her commitment to the issue and considerable star power helped to take the fight against HIV/AIDS right into the mainstream of American society. Her dedication to raising money along with awareness has helped to save countless lives both by helping to treat people living with the virus and by preventing new infections."
"Because of her dedication and commitment, Whitman-Walker named our main facility in northwest Washington after her in 1993," said Blanchon. "Her dedication to the cause led her to be her personally for the dedication. That kind of commitment exemplifies why she was so important in the early days of the fight against HIV/AIDS. We will ensure that she is remembered not just for her career but for her unwavering support for a community and a cause that, in the early days, many would not touch."
Established in 1978, Whitman-Walker Clinic is a non-profit, community-based provider of health care in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Through two sites in the District of Columbia, the Clinic offers primary medical and dental care; mental health and addictions counseling and treatment; HIV education, prevention, and testing; legal services; and medical adherence case management. Whitman-Walker Clinic is committed to meeting the health needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and people living with HIV/AIDS.
GLAAD MOURNS THE LOSS OF LGBT ADVOCATE AND ALLY DAME ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Los Angeles, CA, March 23, 2011 The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) , the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, joins the LGBT community and its allies in mourning the loss of actress and advocate Dame Elizabeth Taylor.
"Today, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community lost an extraordinary ally in the movement for full equality," said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. "At a time when so many living with HIV/AIDS were invisible, Dame Taylor fearlessly raised her voice to speak out against injustice. Dame Taylor was an icon not only in Hollywood, but in the LGBT community where she worked to ensure that everyone was treated with the respect and dignity we all deserve."
GLAAD honored Dame Taylor with the Vanguard Award at the 11th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2000 for her work to increase the visibility and understanding of the LGBT community. For the past several years, she has also served as an underwriter for the GLAAD Media Awards Young Adult Program, where hundreds of young LGBT adults and allies attend the event.
"Why shouldn't gay people be able to live as open and freely as everybody else?" Dame Taylor said in her acceptance speech at the 11th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. "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."
National Minority AIDS Council Statement on the Death of Elizabeth Taylor
The following is a statement from National Minority AIDS Council Deputy Executive Director Daniel C. Montoya:
Washington, DC "The National Minority AIDS Council was deeply saddened to learn that Elizabeth Taylor, long time AIDS advocate and community leader, died this morning at the age of 79. From the onset of the epidemic, Ms. Taylor was an early and fierce advocate for action to combat HIV/AIDS. As early as 1984, she organized and hosted the very first fundraiser for AIDS Project Los Angeles.
"Moved by news that her dear friend and fellow actor, Rock Hudson, was dying from the disease, Ms. Taylor co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and in 1986, testified before Congress about the need for increased federal funding to combat the epidemic. By 1991, Ms. Taylor had established her own charity, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which has raised millions to provide critically needed support services and prevention education across the globe.
"Despite her own deteriorating health in recent years, Ms. Taylor remained committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS, serving as an inspiration to all of us living with and struggling against this disease. She was a beacon of compassion and fairness and her light will truly be missed by our community."