Fiesty, beautiful Elizabeth Rosamond Taylor (1932-2011) was born on this day in London, England and was known for her exciting life of romance, scandal, tragedy, and illness.

"What do you expect me to do? Sleep alone?" she exclaimed to an interviewer in 1979 who questioned her about her many marriages.

Movie goers fell in love with Taylor at age 12 as the lead in National Velvet (1943). A perfect beauty with unique violet eyes, she matured from child roles to romantic leads.

"I'm not like anyone ... I'm me," she once said. Called "the most photographed woman of the world," the melodrama of her life included over 50 films, 2 Oscars and 5 nominations, widowhood, affairs, breakdowns, addictions to alcohol and pills, weight fluctuations, and (give-or-take) 40 surgeries.

Taylor was known as a loyal friend... and a loyal lover. "If I love somebody," she said, "I love them always."

Through it all, her face bloomed for perfume promotions and her voice carried eloquent strength and compassion for AIDS and HIV awareness. A Hollywood icon treasured by millions throughout the world, she fascinated and endured, living life... PASSIONATELY.

In a 1999 interview, Taylor told Barbara Walters that she wanted her tombstone to read, "Here lies Elizabeth. She hated being called Liz. But she lived."

Live life with gusto: the more, the better