A film giant who starred in some of the biggest box office hits, including Cleopatra and Butterfield 8, a gorgeous off screen heartthrob that lit up the tabloids with her eight marriages to seven different men, and a women who withstood one tragedy after another, died last Wednesday.

On March 23, Elizabeth Taylor died at the age of 79 of congestive heart failure after having been hospitalized for six weeks.

On screen, Elizabeth Taylor was undoubtedly one of the greatest actresses that ever lived. A survey taken for screen legends ranked her number seven among actresses worldwide.

Taylor made a name for herself in 1945 when she starred in her fifth movie, National Velvet. The child star wowed audiences and critics alike with a presence that followed her on screen and off.

Butterfield 8 won her her first Oscar, but when we think of Taylor’s film career, one movie cannot be overlooked: Cleopatra.

It is said that Cleopatra remains one of the most expensive films ever made and had a budget of a whopping $44 million. The film earned her $1 million and, more importantly, four Academy awards. Not only was the movie arguably Elizabeth Taylor’s greatest acting accomplishment, but it is also marked as one of her biggest and most controversial romances.

Offset, Taylor began dating co-star Richard Burton. The paparazzi wasted no time in plastering the couple’s pictures all over the tabloids. It was one of the most talked about scandals of that time because both Burton and Taylor were married when they began dating.

After they each divorced their spouses, they married and had what would be Elizabeth’s fourth child. Soon after this, the couple divorced and then again remarried about a year later.

Taylor’s string of romances didn’t stop there.

She married a total of seven men including movie producer Michael Todd, who was 20 years older than her, Todd’s best man, Eddie Fisher, who divorced his wife for Elizabeth, and Larry, a truck driver who was 20 years younger than she was.

Besides ups and downs in her romances, Taylor also faced many tragedies throughout her lifetime.

After a year of being married to Michael Todd, he died unexpectedly in a plane crash in 1958. Taylor was also hospitalized for a fatal case of pneumonia that resulted in a tracheotomy right before the Oscars. Despite being bandaged and sore, she gave an unforgettable acceptance speech for her role in Butterfield 8.

Elizabeth Taylor was also a close friend and confidant of Michael Jackson and stood by his side throughout much of his tumultuous life.

She was also the recipient of a humanitarian award, the Legions Honor (for her help with AIDS research), Kennedy Center Honors, and the Presidential Citizens Medal.

Because her life was filled with such tragedy and great success, it is often said that she "was the most blessed and cursed of actresses.”

In Elizabeth Taylor’s own words, "I don’t entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I’m me. God knows, I’m me.”

Elizabeth Taylor is survived by 4 children, 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.