By Jim Scott and Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 79, several news outlets reported.
Publicist Sally Morrison said Taylor died in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure, the Associated Press reported.
Just hours Taylor passed away, New Yorkers began commemorating the actress’s legendary career.
The New York Public Library has begun sharing historic photos of the Academy Award-winning actress from its extensive collection online.
The library has about 50 digitized images in its Library for the Performing Arts Billy Rose Theatre Collection and plans to upload them throughout the day, a spokeswoman said.
Others took to Twitter to remember Taylor, who was know as much for her philanthropy as her numerous marriages.
"the nyc sky is crying for elizabeth taylor," user samijae wrote.
Taylor was the childhood star of the movie "Lassie Come Home" (1943) and her fame skyrocketed at the age of 12 after starring in the American classic "National Velvet" (1944). Taylor quickly went from America's sweetheart in the 1940s to a national sex symbol whose beauty captivated audiences in the 50s and 60s.
"She was the most incredible vision of loveliness I have ever seen in my life," he said. "And she was sheer innocence," director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who directed Taylor in "Suddenly Last Summer" (1959) and "Cleopatra" (1963), told the New York Times after seeing her at age 18 in Cannes.
A legend of the silver screen, Taylor starred in 70 movies in 50 years and won two Academy Awards. Taylor won best actress Oscars for her role as a call girl in "Butterfield 8" (1960) and as Martha in "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966).
Taylor, who once owned a mansion on 56th Street, was born in London in 1932 and came to New York with her American-born parents in April 1939 before they eventually settled in Los Angeles later that year.
Taylor was married eight times in her life, including twice to actor Richard Burton. Other notable husbands included Hilton heir "Nicky" Hilton and actor Eddie Fisher.
Taylor was survived by her four children, 10 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
