Taylor Swift loves a good reference. She's written songs based on famous Shakespeare plays, snuck in literary allusions of all sorts, and dropped all kinds of famous names — need we forget that one of her first songs was literally called “Tim McGraw?”
Swift's last album, The Tortured Poets Department, was equally packed with references, including a nod to poets Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith on the titular track and a song called “Clara Bow” near the end of the tracklist, which paid homage to the original '20s “It girl," as well as a few lyrics about Stevie Nicks. For her latest album, the much-anticipated The Life of a Showgirl, Swift is again looking to Hollywood for inspiration with the song “Elizabeth Taylor.”
Elizabeth Taylor is one of the most legendary, enduring celebrities of all time, but if you're not super familiar with the violet-eyed star, here's everything you need to know.
Who was Elizabeth Taylor?
Elizabeth Taylor was born in England in 1932, but she moved to the United States a few years later. (Her parents were American.) She was known for her beauty and started working as a child actor, most notably in 1944's National Velvet.
Taylor soon became one of the biggest stars of the studio system era. In the early years of her career, she was signed to MGM and made movies like the original Father of the Bride and an adaptation of Little Women, where she played Amy.
Taylor worked with MGM until the early 1950s and starred in critically acclaimed movies like A Place in the Sun and Giant, which co-starred Rock Hudson and James Dean. One of her most famous roles during that era was Maggie the Cat in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, where she starred opposite Paul Newman. Taylor won an Oscar for her role in BUtterfield 8.
Of course, we can't talk about Elizabeth Taylor without talking about Cleopatra, the 1961 epic about the Egyptian queen and her romances with Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. Taylor was paid $1 million for the film, which was a groundbreaking salary at the time. It was here that she met the Welsh actor Richard Burton, who would become her fourth husband and the great love of her life. The two married, traveled the world, and worked on a plethora of projects together, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, for which Taylor won another Oscar.
Taylor continued acting through the ‘70s, ’80s, and '90s, though she devoted much of her time to HIV/AIDS fundraising, research, and activism. Taylor was also one of the first major celebrities to release her own fragrance line, including the massively popular White Diamonds. She is also known for her incredible jewelry collection, which included everything from a ruby tiara to a priceless pearl.
Taylor died on March 23, 2011.
How many times was Elizabeth Taylor married?
If you know anything about Elizabeth Taylor, it's probably that she was married eight times. Yes, eight! Her first marriage, at age 18, was to Hilton heir Conrad “Nicky” Hilton, grand-uncle of Paris and Nicky Hilton. They divorced after eight months due to his abuse and alcoholism, and Taylor went on to wed actor Michael Wilding, with whom she had two sons. After their divorce, she married the producer Mike Todd, who tragically died in a plane crash. Todd and Taylor had a daughter, Liza.
After Todd's death, a grieving Taylor caused a scandal when she became romantically involved with his close friend, singer Eddie Fisher, who was married to actor Debbie Reynolds. The two were married in 1959.
On the set of Cleopatra, she met Burton, and the two embarked on an affair that came to be known as “le scandale.” They were married from 1964 to 1974, then remarried from 1975 to 1976, and also adopted a daughter together. By all accounts, Todd and Burton were the greatest loves of her life.
Taylor was married to politician John Warner from 1976 to 1981, then tied the knot with a construction worker named Larry Fortensky in 1988; they were married until 1991. (Taylor was a close friend of Michael Jackson's, and she and Fortensky got married at Neverland Ranch.)
What is Taylor Swift's connection to Elizabeth Taylor?
Swift has referenced Taylor before on the Reputation track “…Ready for It,” when she sings “He can be my jailer/Burton to this Taylor/everyone I've known in comparison is a failure.”
At the Life of a Showgirl Spotify pop-up event, visitors saw messages scrawled in lipstick across the mirrors, including what are likely song lyrics: “Oftentimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me.” In one scene of BUtterfield 8, Taylor's character writes a message in lipstick on a mirror.
What is the song “Elizabeth Taylor” about?
In a track-by-track for Amazon Music, Swift explained that Taylor is “one of the ultimate, quintessential showgirls," even if not by the exact definition. “She was under a microscope so, so intense and she handled it with humor… she continued to make incredible art,” Swift explained. She says that the song is “a love song through the lens of the motif of what she had to go through in her life, and the parallels that I feel in my own life.” She sings about wanting to trade in the glamour for a true love and laments that the men her life can't handle the spotlight… until now.
According to Swift, Taylor is one of the people she looks up to. "Role models are pretty hard to come by, but I would absolutely say she's one of mine."
In the song, Swift drops a few tidbits of Taylor lore, including a reference to the Plaza Athénée in Paris, where the Hollywood star lived with Burton, and one to the legendary Los Angeles steakhouse Musso & Franks. She even drops a sly nod to White Diamonds!
What are the full lyrics to “Elizabeth Taylor”?
Via Genius:
[Intro]
Elizabeth Taylor
Do you think it's forever?
[Verse 1]
That view of Portofino was on my mind when you called me at the Plaza Athénée
Ooh-ooh, oftentimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me
All the right guys promised they'd stay
Under bright lights, they withered away, but you bloom
Portofino was on my mind (And I think you know why)
[Pre-Chorus]
And if your letters ever said, "Goodbye"
[Chorus]
I'd cry my eyes violet, Elizabeth Taylor
Tell me for real, do you think it's forever?
Been number one, but I never had two
And I can't have fun if I can't have— (Uh)
Be my NY whеn Hollywood hates me
You're only as hot as your last hit, baby
Been numbеr one, but I never had two
And I can't have fun if I can't have you
[Verse 2]
Hey-ey, what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once?
Babe, I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust (Just kidding)
We hit the best booth at Musso and Frank's
They say I'm bad news, I just say, "Thanks"
And you look at me like you're hypnotized
And I think you know why
[Pre-Chorus]
And if you ever leave me high and dry
[Chorus]
I'd cry my eyes violet, Elizabeth Taylor
Tell me for real, do you think it's forever?
Been number one, but I never had two
And I can't have fun if I can't have— (Uh)
Be my NY when Hollywood hates me
You're only as hot as your last hit, baby
Been number one, but I never had two
And I can't have fun if I can't have (Uh) you
[Post-Chorus]
Elizabeth Taylor (Oh)
Do you think it's forever? (Oh)
If I can't have you
[Bridge]
All my white diamonds and lovers are forever
In the papers, on the screen, and in their minds
All my white diamonds and lovers are forever
Don't you ever end up anything but mine
[Chorus]
I'd cry my eyes violet, Elizabeth Taylor
Tell me for real, do you think it's forever?
Been number one, but I never had two
And I can't have fun if I can't have— (If I can't have you)
Be my NY when Hollywood hates me
You're only as hot as your last hit, baby
Been number one, but l never had two
And I can't have fun if I can't have (If I can't have you)
[Outro]
All my white diamonds and lovers are forever
(Elizabeth Taylor, do you think it's forever?)
In the papers, on the screen, and in their minds
All my white diamonds and lovers are forever
Don't you ever end up anything but mine
Oh, woah
