Elizabeth Taylor’s name has long been synonymous with Hollywood glamor. A star since she was 10 and appeared in “National Velvet,” Taylor remained a film queen throughout her appearances in more than 50 films.
Taylor won Academy awards for Best Actress in “Butterfield 8” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and made news on- and off-screen for her relationships and storied life.
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But even as an acclaimed actress and glamor goddess, she couldn't do it all. Here are a few roles Taylor didn't get that other actresses made famous:
"All The Brothers Were Valiant"
Taylor was originally set to play Priscilla Holt in this 1953 romantic drama,
according to Turner Classic Movies, but Ann Blyth ultimately got the role because Taylor, who'd just had her first child, reportedly hadn't gotten back to her pre-baby weight.
"The Barefoot Contessa"
In another 1953 film, Taylor begged for the lead role, author Kitty Kelley wrote in "Elizabeth Taylor, the Last Star." Kelley said Taylor wired movie executive Benny Thau from London, asking him to let her read for the part, saying, “I want to do it more than any script I have ever read.” But it didn't work. The part went to Ava Gardner.
"40 Carats"
By 1973, Taylor was among the “older actresses” in high demand for this role of a 40-year-old divorcee, but Liv Ullmann got the part.
"Even Cowgirls Get the Blues"
In 1993, Taylor signed on to play Miss Adrian in “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” with the young Keanu Reeves, but she backed out, and Angie Dickinson took over.
"Faithful"
By the mid-1990s, Taylor still “never thought of herself as an ‘ex’ anything,” author Alexander Walker wrote in the biography, “Elizabeth: the Life of Elizabeth Taylor.” She wanted to rejoin her “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” co-star Paul Newman in “Faithful,” but Cher and Ryan O’Neal got the parts instead.
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But those are just a few of the times Taylor’s name came up in casting discussions in her five decades of making films. Other roles that went to someone else include the films “Follow Me!” (a Mia Farrow lead), “Gone with the Wind’s” Bonnie Blue Butler (Cammie King), and the role of Mary Magdalene in “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (which went to Joanna Dunham). Taylor could have been the lead in movies such as “Helen of Troy” (which went to Rossana Podestà), “Hello Dolly!” (Barbra Streisand’s part), “High Society” (Grace Kelly), and “My Fair Lady” (Audrey Hepburn), among others, the website
NotStarring wrote.
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