Hollywood is mourning the death of screen icon Elizabeth Taylor, who died of heart failure on Wednesday aged 79.
The famed actress died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after being admitted six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, where the heart cannot pump enough blood to organs.
Taylor’s four children were at her bedside when she died.
“My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour and love,” Taylor’s son Michael Wilding said in a media release.
“Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.”
Known for her violet eyes, the glamorous two-time Oscar-winning actress was as well known for her string of eight marriages as she was for her screen career, which included 55 films and six made-for-TV movies.
Celebrity friends of the actress have begun sharing tributes, including Taylor’s close friend Sir Elton John.
“We have just lost a Hollywood giant. More importantly, we have lost an incredible human being,” he said.
Taylor first announced she was suffering from congestive heart failure in 2004 and in 2009 underwent heart surgery to replace a “leaky valve”.
