Elizabeth Taylor, the Oscar-winning star of such films as “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Cleopatra,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and more, was one of the most famous actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age. As much as she was famous for her talent and screen presence, Taylor was also known for the various chapters of her personal life.
Taylor was married eight times, twice to the same person, and was engaged to be married 10 times. With each engagement, Taylor received a new piece of jewelry to add to her glittering collection of diamonds, sapphires, rubies and more. But the pieces she received for her engagements feature some of the most fascinating stories from her relationships, including:
- William Pawley, Jr. – 1949
- Conrad Hilton, Jr. – 1950
- Michael Wilding – 1952-1957
- Mike Todd – 1957-1958
- Eddie Fisher – 1959-1964
- Richard Burton – 1964-1974, 1975-1976
- John Warner – 1976-1982
- Victor Luna – 1983-1984
- Dennis Stein – 1984-1985
- Larry Fortensky – 1991-1996
Here, learn more about Elizabeth Taylor’s glittering engagement rings and jewelry pieces from Mike Todd to Richard Burton and more throughout her life.
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Elizabeth Taylor & William D. Pawley, Jr.: 1949
Image Credit: Bettmann Archive William D. Pawley, Jr. and his fiancee, 17-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, relaxing poolside in August 1949 at the Miami Beach home of Pawley’s father, a former U.S. Ambassador to Peru and Brazil.
Taylor and Pawley got engaged in 1949. Pawley propsed with a cushion-cut diamond engagement. The couple did not marry.
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Elizabeth Taylor & Conrad Hilton Jr.: 1950
Image Credit: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor serves her new husband Conrad Hilton Jr cake during their wedding reception on June 5, 1950 in Los Angeles.
Hilton, the heir to the famed hotel establishment, proposed with a four-carat diamond platinum-set engagement ring. The couple’s wedding was funded by MGM, with Taylor one of its bright young stars. Hilton and Taylor divorced eight months after their wedding.
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Elizabeth Taylor & Michael Wilding: 1952
Image Credit: NY Daily News via Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor displays her engagement ring at LaGuardia Field. She stopped off here on her way to London, where she wed British actor Michael Wilding.
Wilding’s engagement ring for Taylor was a diamond-studded large sapphire. They wed in 1952 and shared two children. The couple divorced in 1957.
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Elizabeth Taylor & Mike Todd: 1957
Image Credit: NY Daily News via Getty Images In 1957, Elizabeth Taylor posed alongside Mike Todd. She was wearing a 29-karat “friendship ring” he gifted to her. At the time of their engagement, Taylor was still married to Michael Wilding. As such, Taylor referred to the engagement ring as a “friendship ring.” The two wed in February 1957. Todd was killed in a plane accident in March 1958, when the couple’s daughter Liza was seven months old.
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Elizabeth Taylor & Eddie Fisher: 1959
Image Credit: Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor married singer Eddie Fisher next. Fisher was a friend of Taylor’s late husband, Mike Todd, and was married to Taylor’s longtime friend Debbie Reynolds. Fisher divorced Reynolds in order to marry Taylor in May 1959.
Instead of an engagement ring, Fisher gave Taylor a bracelet made up of a row of 50 diamonds. She continued to wear rings and jewelry pieces given to her by the late Mike Todd.
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Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton: 1964 and 1965
Image Credit: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor showing a ring on May 20, 1968. Though they were actually married twice between 1964 and 1976, Burton never gave Taylor an actual engagement ring. She did, however, acquire a dazzling diamond known as the Taylor-Burton diamond. Instead of an engagement ring, Burton gave Taylor an emerald Bulgari brooch.
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Elizabeth Taylor & John Warner: 1976
Image Credit: Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor and Senator John Warner attend a party on May 7, 1981 in New York City. Not long after her second divorce from Burton, Taylor married Warner. The actress’ engagement ring from the Republican politician featured rubies, emeralds and diamonds. After Warner was elected to the senate, Taylor and Warner divorced in 1982.
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Elizabeth Taylor & Victor Luna: 1983
Image Credit: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Elizabeth Taylor and Victor Luna during her birthday at Lombardy Hotel in New York City. Taylor and Luna got engaged in 1983. They went their separate ways by 1984.
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Elizabeth Taylor & Dennis Stein: 1984
Image Credit: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Elizabeth Taylor and Dennis Stein had an incredibly short-lived engagement. Stein, a businessman, proposed to Taylor with a sapphire and diamond ring towards the end of 1984. By February 1985, the couple split up.
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Elizabeth Taylor & Larry Fortensky: 1991
Image Credit: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Larry Fortensky and Elizabeth Taylor at the The Plaza Hotel in New York City. Taylor met construction worker Fortensky in 1988 when she was staying at the Betty Ford Center. Fortensky proposed with a simple pavé diamond band. The couple got married at Michael Jackson’s Neverland estate in October 1991. They divorced in 1996.