Kim Kardashian: Elizabeth Taylor inspired me – let her legacy continue

Taylor, born in 1932, was in the public eye for most of her life. She moved from England to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, when she was seven – and had her first hit film with National Velvet at the age of 12.

She went on to be the first actress to sign a million dollar contract for a single film, for Cleopatra, and her romantic relationship with co-star Richard Burton sparked a paparazzi frenzy.

“She was very honest about her love life and she would obviously fall in and out of love,” Kardashian says, adding “she loved love”.

Taylor’s eight marriages – she married Welsh actor Burton twice – were heavily publicised.

And in the 1980s, the star would go on to use her spotlight to campaign for Aids patients.

“What really moved me [is] how she would fight for people that were voiceless, and how she was so passionate about it,” Kardashian says.

In 1985, Taylor helped found the American Foundation for Aids Research (amfAR), a month before her close friend Rock Hudson died from an Aids-related illness.

She was instrumental in getting US president Ronald Reagan to speak at a dinner for the organisation after years of mostly avoiding the topic – and she sold the exclusive photos from her eighth wedding to start the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation in 1991.