For a while, in the mythical Hollywood, there was a fierce battle to see who had the bluest eyes. When Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) was released, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, it seemed that the question was answered: both gazed intensely, but the actress, forever known as "the queen," carved a place in history for the violet flashes of her iris highlighted by a double edge of lashes.
On March 23, 15 years have passed since the death, due to heart failure, of the first star who created the modern concept of celebrity. She was 79 years old.
Elizabeth Taylor and the gigantic Nazi diamond that ended up in the hands of "a lovely Jewish girl"
Married eight times, the actress considered Richard Burton (whom she married twice) and Mike Todd as the two great loves of her life. Due to her unbridled passion for the Welsh actor, during the filming of Cleopatra (1963), Taylor and Burton were unfaithful to their respective partners. They married in 1964, causing one of the most notable media earthquakes in the film industry.
They were also excommunicated by the Vatican.
Today, there is practically no one, except for members of her family, who knew her as intimately as Gianni Bozzacchi, her personal photographer for 15 years. "I miss her a lot. She was the last great star," he confesses exclusively to LOC from his home in Rome, Italy.
In conversation with La Otra Crónica, Bozzacchi recalls that he started photographing the couple "behind the scenes" during the filming of The Comedians (1967) in Africa. It was a great challenge, as I was only 23 years old and they were the most famous couple in the world. But everything clicked between us from the beginning. Richard asked me to follow them around the world.
When Gianni speaks, you can feel the emotion: "Elizabeth was a woman as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. She was very nice, friendly, and approachable. It may be hard to believe with the glamorous image she wanted to convey, but she was a lovely person. She always wanted to give the audience the best of herself."
During the conversation with LOC, the photographer, who published a kind of photographic memoir in 2002 about him and the diva titled The Queen and I, reveals a secret: "When my second wife died of cancer, Elizabeth told me to marry her. As a friend and subject to photograph, she was great, I loved her, but in another way, it would have been a bit difficult. Well, you understand," he says with a laugh.
That Elizabeth Taylor is part of immortality goes beyond pure reasoning. Recalling the story of her eyes, Bozzacchi recounts that "men would fall to the ground every time she looked at them."
As her muse, he had to deal with the aesthetic changes of the three-time Oscar winner because when he started photographing her, she was becoming a mature star, around 35 years old.Later on, she started gaining weight and it was challenging to photograph her, but we managed to make everything work. She even managed to eliminate the issues that the lights created on her face.
Gianni Bozzacchi recalls an anecdote that becomes historic. "I have photographed Empress Farah Diba four times. I remember she told me she loved Elizabeth and wanted to give her something special. So, her personal designer, Keyvan Khosrovani, designed a green caftan made with threads of gold and silver for Elizabeth Taylor. He now lives in Paris, after the Iranian revolution. The empress asked me not to publicize it and to send her a signed photo of Elizabeth with the caftan. I think the photo shoot took place in London in 1969 on the terrace of the Dorchester Hotel [the Burtons' favorite], and shortly after, I sent the photo to the empress through the Iranian embassy."
The actress wore the same garment in August 1989 in Tangier for the 70th anniversary of multimillionaire Malcolm Forbes, who was her partner at the time. It is remembered as one of the most expensive birthday parties of the century costing two million euros, attended by King Mohammed VI, Aline de Romanones, Henry Kissinger, and Diane von Fürstenberg.
Another magical moment for Gianni Bozzacchi with Richard and Elizabeth was when he sailed on the couple's private yacht named Kalizma -an acronym of the couple's three daughters, Kate, Liza, and Maria- with which they docked in Monaco. Later on, in the Principality, he would immortalize Grace Kelly at their request for Rainier III's Jubilee in 1974. "She was an elegant, charismatic, and very beautiful woman," he reveals.
After leaving photography, Gianni dedicated himself to producing films. "For the past decade, I have been developing an ambitious project called Renaissance: From Dante to Galileo because it is very important to show the world how art and science went hand in hand. He also collaborates with The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation to raise funds for AIDS research. "She helped many people privately in many ways."