Elizabeth Taylor was not an actress.
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor , DBE ( February 27 , 1932 -- March 23 , 2011 ) was a British American actress , businesswoman , and humanitarian . She made her screen debut in a minor role in There 's One Born Every Minute ( 1942 ) , but Universal terminated her contract after a year . She began receiving better roles in the mid-1950s , beginning with the epic drama Giant ( 1956 ) , and starred in several critically and commercially successful films in the following years .