LIFE.com

20 Classic Beauties: PEOPLE's Picks

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor

Her personal life has played like a movie, filled with passion, intrigue, and, of course, diamonds. Amid all that juiciness, it’s easy to forget that Taylor was just as exciting in her professional role as an actress, swinging from light comedy ("Father of the Bride") to lavish epics ("Cleopatra") to nasty drama ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?").

In this photo: Elizabeth Taylor

Photo: Gjon Mili/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Oct 16, 1963