Elizabeth Taylor: Hollywood's First 'It Girl'

By Jo Piazza Posted Oct 9th 2009 09:00AM

Before Madonna, before Britney, before Lindsay, before Paris, there was Liz. Elizabeth Taylor that is; Hollywood's very first "It" girl. Kicking off her career with a star turn in 'National Velvet' at the age of 12 and keeping star-watchers on the edge of their seat for nearly seven decades, Taylor created the mold that today's starlets will never break.

We may think the wild children of 2009 are trouble, but when it comes to scandal, no one did it better than Liz. If you thought the paparazzi at Khloe Kardashian's recent wedding was bad, it was nothing compared to the frantic press coverage of Taylor's first wedding to Nicky Hilton (yup Paris' granduncle). And that was only the first of her eight marriages (to seven men).

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The Allure of Liz

"She was 'hot,' but not a vixen." That's one way to sum up the appeal of Elizabeth Taylor, acting and style icon and no doubt Hollywood's finest "It" girl. Check out more classic images of the star >>

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Katie Holmes Snapshots

© BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, theiir daughter Suri (b. April 18, 2006) and Tom's son Conor (b. January 17, 1995) take a walk to lunch together at CharlieÕs Saloon on Newbury Street. NON-EXCLUSIVE October 4, 2009 Job: 91004M3 Boston, Massachussetts www.bauergriffin.com www.bauergriffinonline.com

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"The Parises and Lindsays of the world owe more to Liz Taylor than they can possibly imagine. Talk about a fascinating life, stunning good looks, a string of handsome husbands, childhood stardom parlayed into an incredible Hollywood career, fabulous family connections and piles of expensive jewelry. She was just so alluring in so many ways," says Glamour.com's Slaves to Fashion blogger Tracey Lomrantz.

"Glamour is a major part of being an 'It' girl, having that thing that makes people think 'her life is so different from mine!' and nobody had more of that than Liz."

LeeAnn Rimes snatching Eddie Cibrian from his wife is absolutely nothing compared to how Taylor snatched Debbie Reynolds' hubby. After Taylor's third husband, Mike Todd, died, she set her aims on Todd's best friend, Eddie Fisher, who was married at the time to Reynolds. Fisher divorced Reynolds and married Taylor on the same day.

And no one has been able to do glamour like Liz.

The woman owned some of the most famous diamonds in the world, including the 33.19 carat Krupp diamond. Even her charity trumps the Jolie-Pitts of today. In 1978, Taylor sold the Krupp diamond, using the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana, Africa.

"J'adore nothing more than a woman who loves (and can afford) true statement jewelry," says Samantha Marcus Yanks, Fashion & Accessories editor of Niche Media's Gotham, Hamptons and Los Angeles Confidential magazines. "The focus was always on her décolletage and one spectacular piece of jewelry after another sat atop it. In her heyday Taylor wore shirts unbuttoned just to there, skirts which accentuated the uber petite waist of her curvaceous form, had magical innocent eyes and a not-so-demure sex appeal. She was 'hot' but not a vixen."

Speaking of Sex Appeal ... Watch a Steamy Clip From 'Cleopatra':

As she got older Liz even made sure that she did Cougar better than anyone else. In 1991 Taylor wed construction worker Larry Fortensky, who was 20 years her junior. The two wed on Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch in and Jackson gave the bride, who wore a pale yellow gown by Valentino, away. The stormy marriage lasted only five years, but the nuptials are still considered one the most expensive ever by Forbes.

"What the starlets of today are lacking is Elizabeth's authenticity. She was fantastic at getting people to pay attention to her but everything she did was real. She was really living her life and so much of what passes for stardom today is manufactured. It was all about Elizabeth having a good time," explains Taylor biographer William J. Mann, author of 'How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood.'

Today's 'It' girls have a long way to go to reach the level of Liz and while a lot of them probably won't make it, it sure is fun to watch them try.

"There is no question that Elizabeth Taylor occupies a rank in Hollywood in which there is only room for one: in Tinseltown, she is the star atop the tree," says AOL StyleList editor and longtime gossip columnist Ben Widdicombe.

Tags: Elizabeth Taylor, ElizabethTaylor, Liz Taylor, LizTaylor

Comments

(20)

Friday 09 October

By Gary Flannery

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You could have at least MENTIONED that the phrase the "IT GIRL" was originally coined for CLARA BOW!!! Get it straight HOLLYWOOD--Liz was way later!!! Professor Flannery

By hairhfla

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Thanks Gary For Making That Very Point Before I Did....The label"It Grl" Was FIRST Bestowed On Clara Bow...Reputedly, The Personification Of The Cartoon Character Betty Boop And Leading Actress In The First Best Movie Academy Award (19278) "Wings"...In Fact.....Elizabeth Taylor Was Not Yet Born By 5 Years When The "It Girl" Title Was First Used

By Helen

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Indeed Clara Bow was the original "IT" girl, lets not forget Jean Harlow and Hedy Lamaar who i believe were a tad before Liz...i'm sure there are other IT girls before Taylors time!

By Alexis

There was NEVER an actress who could compare to Liz..her beauty is so natural and the most gorgeous eyes..a true beauty...2. would be, for me, Marilyn...many imitators but none to surpass her. 3. Ava Gardner....beautiful....but LIZ...the most beautiful of them all...

By carolyn

You are so right.. I have always loved Liz and watched every thing she did for many years. As a teenager I had her pictures plastered all over my bedroom.
Her beauty is breath taking.

By Liz

She is a true beauty!

By B. Taylor

Glad to see others know Clara Bow (who, incidently was the inspiration for Betty Boop) was the first "it" girl. While Liz Taylor was very beautiful, she had as many mocking her as lauding her. Who can forget the purple muumuu dress at the height of her weight gain? Or her never-ending illnesses? Although she was charitable, she was very needy, and had the rep for being quite rude. Lots of details left out this story!

ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT THE BEAUTIFUL LIZ TAYLOR WAS NOT THE FIRST OR ORIGINAL "IT GIRL"--IT WAS CLARA BOW IN 1927!

By Peter Willis

Back in the 60's my family was buying a house and the real estate broker said Liz took a bath in this bathtub. My father said I'll buy the house and this is my bathroom

By Dr. Leonard Pal

Ms. Taylor did so much to raise awareness of the AIDS crisis long before our government ever took action. What a great lady. True humanitarian.
Also, I remember having been told of her behavior on an airplane. One of her kids got sick and vomited. Ms. Taylor got down on her knees to clean-up after her kid--didn't wait for the stewardess to address this. Very high class.

Tuesday 09 March

By kc

She is the greatest!!

By Jim

Clara Bow was the first It Girl. She was in a movie called "It".

By bill

Liz Taylor was the "it" girl a long long time ago. Cleopatra was her peak although a nod to Virginia Wolfe. Throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's when she was completely irrelevant she managed to constantly keep herself in the news with a never ending series of marriages, scandals dramatic maladies and illnesses. It seemed like every week there she was making headlines for collapsing on a stage somewhere. The hip replacement; the throat surgery; collapsing on stages (25 times?) the re-habs, just endless. Just seemed like she couldn't stop craving the attention that she had when she was popular. Towards the end some of the stuff was just sordid. Her support for Michael Jackson painted her into a corner as a kook. Then the Larry Frotensky marriage. Yikes
Now she at it again. Making a public plea for prayers yet again. This Virginia has cried Wolfe one too many times.

By debra

awww bless her heart.. her eyes still have pretty color..

By ellieswenson

I agree with the commenters who correctly state that Liz Taylor was NOT the first "It Girl". That indeed was Clara Bow in the 1920s. Clara Bow was beautiful and she, too, was known for some scandalous behavior. Also, Liz Taylor did not seduce Eddie Fisher away from Debbie Reynolds. Eddie was very close to Liz's husband at that time, Mike Todd, and Eddie, although married to Debbie, had his eyes on Liz for a long time. When Mike Todd died suddenly in a plane crash, Liz was inconsolable--so in stepped Eddie to share in her pain and comfort her. Then it was good-bye to Debbie. Many years later Debbie's daughter, Carrie Fisher, thanked Liz for "finally getting Eddie Fisher out of the house." Debbie and Carrie agreed in the end that they were well rid of him.

By Mike

Actually, the term "It Girl" was first applied to silent film star Clara Bow (1905-1965).

By themeeker

No No No NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!! The first It Girl? Are you kidding me? "It" was a novel written in the 1920's by Madame Elinor Glyn and "It" became the in word for sex appeal during the silent film era. As mentioned, Clara Bow was the first "It Girl". DOESN'T ANYONE AT POPEATER READ? ARE YOU ALL UNDER 30? There WAS such a thing as pop culture before you were born you know. Stop writing uninformed articles like this and DO THE F'N RESEARCH.

Calm down there chief. This stuff is all piffle. Don't have a stroke because people don't really care if Taylor or Bow or Taylor Bow was the first "it" girl. Here, I'm presenting you with a medal that acknowledges your national fame in knowing who the first "it" girl was. All hail the Meeker!!!!
There, do you feel better now?

By rudewaitress

Original IT girl? See what happens when you let teenagers write your online articles.

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