In Memoriam: Elizabeth Taylor

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There was something very iconoclastic about Elizabeth Taylor. That's an ironic observation to make about someone who was, well, an icon -- let alone one of the most beautiful women of all time. But throughout Taylor's career, she projected a kind of contrarian appeal. Whether she was debuting to international audiences as a raven-haired vestal virgin as she nuzzled sweetly to her animal co-stars, fearlessly vivisecting the nastiest side of marriage alongside her own real-life husband, or shilling perfume in the most cinematic commercials to appear every Christmas season, Taylor's charm always felt secret, complex, and partially hidden from view. Her beauty, though empirically undisputed by any measure, also exuded a mixture of glamor and protectiveness that felt like it could be all too easily feared or abused.