The story of Elizabeth Taylor has always been told in gossip-column terms: the seven marriages, the physical breakdowns, the priceless diamonds, the press hysteria over her private life with Richard Burton. But behind this typecasting of Taylor as the last of the great headline-grabbing movie stars there has always existed an extremely powerful actress. Sheridan Morley follows the development of her career from the first Lassie in 1943 to Giant and Butterfield 8, for which she was finally awarded an Oscar.