She has been written about many times, but never like this... For more than six decades she has been part of our lives. An American icon, Elizabeth Taylor has been surrounded by fame and notoriety since childhood. Now acclaimed biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli looks past the tabloid version of Elizabeth's life to the person she really is—and how she evolved from a child star to a woman in her own right.

As Taraborrelli brings to life the people around Elizabeth and her rise in 1940s Hollywood, he reveals the qualities that made her a star, the associations that put her at the right place at the right time, and the ways in which she was singularly unprepared for life out on her own. While Elizabeth's eight marriages to seven men have been widely publicized, this author examines the psychological and emotional roots of each relationship, including her abusive marriage to Nicky Hilton , her attraction to swashbuckling Mike Todd , and the complex, incendiary Taylor-Burton love affair that continued for decades and never truly died.

Finally, Taraborrelli chronicles Elizabeth's most bravura performance of all Despite the highly public battles with substance abuse and chronic illness, she achieved new success and sustenance in family, friendships, and philanthropy.

Featuring an introduction and special conversation with the author.

J. Randy Taraborrelli is the bestselling author of the New York Times bestsellers Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot; Sinatra: A Complete Life; Call Her Miss Ross; and Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness , among other titles. He is also a regular guest on Today, Good Morning America, and The Early Show , as well as a frequent contributor to many publications.

Originally from New York, Lynne Maclean is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and has appeared on TV in Scrubs, Close to Home , and Providence . New York and regional threatre credits include the Trojan Woman, Uncle Vanya, and Baggage Claim .