A woman who knows all about the sweet smell of success, fiesty Elizabeth Rosamond Taylor (1932-) was born on this day in London, England. The film beauty is known for her soap opera life of romance, scandal, tragedy, and illness.

"What do you expect me to do? Sleep alone?" she exclaimed to an interviewer in 1979 who questioned her about her many marriages.

Movie goers fell in love with Taylor at age 12 as the lead in National Velvet (1943). A perfect beauty with unique violet eyes, she matured from child roles to romantic leads.

"I'm not like anyone ... I'm me," she once said. Called "the most photographed woman of the world," the melodrama of her life includes over 50 films, 2 Oscars and 5 nominations, widowhood, affairs, breakdowns, addictions to alcohol and pills, weight fluctuations, and (give-or-take) 40 surgeries.

Taylor is known as a loyal friend... and a loyal lover. "If I love somebody," she said, "I love them always."

Through it all, her face has bloomed for perfume promotions and House of Taylor jewelry collection. Her voice has carried eloquent strength and compassion for AIDS awareness. A Hollywood icon treasured by millions throughout the world, she has fascinated and endured, living life... PASSIONATELY.

In a 1999 interview, Taylor told Barbara Walters that she'd like her tombstone to read, "Here lies Elizabeth. She hated being called Liz. But she lived."

Success: how SWEET it is!