Stunning Unseen Photos of Elizabeth Taylor

Dozing on a yacht. Cooking fried chicken. Sightseeing in Iran: Stunning unseen photos of Elizabeth Taylor

• By Firooz Zahedi, www.dailymail.co.uk
• March 12th, 2016

Nobody got closer to the Hollywood legend than Firooz Zahedi, her friend – and off-duty photographer – for 40 years. He opens up his very private album for Event...

YES SHE CANNES Elizabeth Taylor napping on a friend’s yacht near Cannes in 1993 with her Maltese Terrier Sugar, her constant companion, who died in 2005

I first met Elizabeth Taylor in 1976 while on a mission to find gay clubs and pot for her assistant. 

Elizabeth was separated from Richard Burton after their second marriage and was staying with my cousin, Ardeshir Zahedi, the Iranian ambassador to the U.S., at his Washington residence.

He was out of town on business and asked me to make sure the star was kept entertained. 

Having grown up watching her Hollywood extravaganzas I was thrilled at the prospect and arranged to take her on a tour of the city.

Elizabeth insisted that I join her and Arthur, her hairdresser and assistant, in the back of the embassy car. Arthur wanted to know where to find gay clubs and drugs. 

I must have looked mortified because when Elizabeth, who was then aged 44, saw my face, she laughed and told Arthur to shut up.

‘Can’t you see he’s too young and innocent?’ she said, giving me a tender look. 

PRINCESS OF PERSIA During her visit to Tehran, Taylor asked Zahedi to see ‘the real Iran’. Here she is at the ancient ruins of Persepolis, Shiraz

I was touched by this but turned to Arthur and rattled off a list of clubs and a couple of sources of pot. This took them by surprise and now they wanted to know more about their young guide.

I told them that I’d upset my family by resigning from my post at the embassy, where I’d served as my cousin’s aide, and enrolling in art school. I was 27 and wanted to be a photographer.

‘You should do what you love to do if you want to be happy in life,’ said Elizabeth, leaning in towards me and looking into my eyes. 

I relaxed, feeling totally comfortable in her presence. We were friends from that moment on. 

She encouraged me to photograph her as we went on a sightseeing tour of the nation’s capital. 

Later that month I had the rare chance to photograph Elizabeth in some incredibly exotic costumes, when we made an unforgettable journey to Iran.

LIZ, MY CAMERA AND ME Taylor and Firooz Zahedi at a mosque en route to Isfahan, Iran, May 1976. Born in Iran in 1949, Zahedi moved to America after going to secondary school in England. He began his career with Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine and has since worked for Vanity Fair, Vogue and GQ among many others, and has photographed some of the biggest stars in the world, including Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez and Leonardo Di Caprio. He took the iconic shot of a black-bobbed Uma Thurman lying on a bed, smoking, which was used as the poster for Pulp Fiction

We grew ever closer, and I continued to capture many private moments until her death in 2011, in addition to a good number of professional sittings.

Some years ago I asked her permission to do a book of the photographs I had taken of her during the course of our friendship, which spanned more than 30 years. 

She agreed and so I proceeded to compile the images with the intention of publishing a simple book of photographs. 

Time passed, and the project ended up on the back burner, but now the book is being published and you can see some of those pictures here.

These images, Elizabeth wrote, ‘bring back so many memories of happy days with just Firooz and me being good, bad, excited, playful... all the components that go into making a thoroughly good time together.’

We had so many thoroughly good times together. I still miss her. 

LIZ TAYLOR'S CLOSE UP

EASTERN PROMISE In Iran, Taylor asked Zahedi to take some photos of her in the outfits she’d purchased at the bazaar. She was dressed in a tribal costume, accessorised by a headdress created by Arthur from a scarf. On her forehead is the famous Taj Mahal diamond pendant, bought in 1972 from Cartier for £350,000 by Richard Burton, as a gift on her 40th birthday. It was sold at auction for $8.8m in 2011

GETTING LIPPY WITH IT Taylor putting on lipstick in her dressing room on the set of A Little Night Music, Vienna, Austria, August 1976

DRIVING MISS TAYLOR Behind the wheel at Atoka farm

STRIKE! Playing softball at Andy Warhol’s home in Montauk, in June 1976. Says Zahedi: ‘Many presumed Elizabeth would not want to play, thinking it could be too strenuous for her. She proved them wrong by picking up a bat, and to everyone’s amazement, whacking the ball really hard and racing to first base with a triumphant smile on her flushed face’

FLYING SOLO Taylor on a flight to Tehran in May 1976

GRUB’S UP! Taylor cooking fried chicken at Atoka farm, Middleburg, Virginia, 1977, where she lived after marrying her sixth husband, lawyer John Warner. Fried chicken and mashed potatoes were Taylor’s favourite food, after caviar

FUNNY GIRL Taylor enjoying time off from work, Cannes, 1993

Elizabeth Taylor's Bel Air home

Furs, diamonds and a lipstick message on the mirror: Photographer granted unprecedented access to Elizabeth Taylor's Bel Air home as she lay on her death bed - but never got to meet the screen icon

• Renowned documentary photographer Catherine Opie shot Elizabeth Taylor's home January-June 2011
• The women never met as Opie wanted to create a portrait purely documenting Taylor's private stage
• In March 2011 Taylor was hospitalized and died. Opie continued the project with renewed poignancy
• Her images show countless furs, paintings, letters, and diamonds as Christie's came to take them away
• All images © Catherine Opie. Courtesy Regen Projects, Los Angeles, and Lehmann Maupin, New York & Hong Kong

By Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com

Published: 05:04 GMT, 16 September 2015 | Updated: 07:58 GMT, 16 September 2015

Hers was one of the most photographed faces in history.

An electrifying performer, colorful character and glittering clothes horse, Elizabeth Taylor was the darling of every camera lens.

And yet, she is notably absent from this incisive portrait - her last ever - by renowned documentary photographer Catherine Opie.

Between January and June 2011, Opie was granted unprecedented access to Taylor's home at 700 Nimes Road in Bel Air to take her photograph after getting in touch via their mutual accountant. But the women never met.

Instead, as Taylor lay in her bed upstairs, Opie captured the furs, glittering ornaments, Oscars, Chanel shoes, photographs, letters, priceless artworks, and plush lilac carpets that acted as Taylor's private stage.

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Fang and Chanel: A cat climbs over a row of identical Chanel shoes inside Elizabeth Taylor's Bel Air home. It is one of 129 images taken by Catherine Opie shortly before and after Taylor's death. The series, which does not feature Taylor herself, offers a poignant image of the star

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The Quest for Japanese Beef: Diamonds, pearls, stones, and crystals were part of the furniture of Taylor's private stage

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Top: AIDS Activist. Right: The Closet #9. Opie was granted an all-access pass to Taylor's home in January 2011 after getting in touch via their mutual accountant. She never met Taylor, who resided upstairs until her unexpected death on March 23, 2011

One artwork, a pair of lips, is framed by large scrawled writing: 'To Elizabeth, a big kiss, Andy Warhol'. A child's drawing on a piece of paper lies on a bedside table, signed off, 'from your goddaughter Paris Jackson'. Handbags are stacked in color order - fire engine red, gold, black, purple, teal, white. Then the clothes: pink and gold silk kaftans, a cupboard-full of aviator jackets, stacks of white lace, an entire row of multi-colored coats with fur cuffs.

Bizarrely, the boudoir mirror of the screen icon has The Quest for Japanese Beef scrawled in lipstick onto it, although it is not clear what the Oscar winning star of Cleopatra could have meant by this. 

Six weeks into the project, Taylor was hospitalized, and on March 23, 2011, she died.

The project continued, now with a bleak poignancy. Opie was even there the day Christie's arrived to remove her $183.5 million worth of diamonds for auction.

Writing in a soon-to-be-released book of the photographs, titled 700 Nimes Road, Opie explains: 'Most of the images are still lifes as Ms. Taylor left them. There are crystals, Buddha figurines, books on 'how to attract angels', and countless snapshots of Richard Burton, her twice-married husband.

'However, photographs of her jewelry inevitably had to be staged in her absence.

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The Shoe Closet: As Opie writes in her recently-released art book, Taylor was the epitome of femininity and glamour, as her home reflected

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Living room North View: Taylor always said 'a big girl needs big diamonds'. And her taste in art was no less refined. Priceless artworks by artists including Vincent Van Gogh (top center) adorned the walls of her living room in carved frames, with sculptures lining the table

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Krupp Diamond: This is one of Taylor's many engagement rings, captured by Opie as it was packaged up by Christie's to be auctioned

'Her legendary jewels sparkling in the sun were captured on their final day at 700 Nimes Road, and are represented at both the beginning and end of the book.

'One of the last images made is of the jewelry in a paper bag the day Christie’s packed everything up for auction.

'On that last day, we put the jewels out in the sun to mark a moment of silence for her beloved and monumental collections.

'As an artist who makes images, I am very aware of what it means to bear witness and document a rapidly changing world.

'Elizabeth Taylor’s home, her interior world, is an homage to the incredible life she shared with both family and friends.'

The fact that Opie was even allowed in, let alone to photograph Taylor's most precious and intimate possessions, was virtually unheard of. 

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MINE! The fact that Opie was even allowed in, let alone to photograph Taylor's most precious and intimate possessions, was unheard of

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Kitchen table: Opie describes how she would dine in the kitchen every day with Taylor's staff, who had the atmosphere of a family

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Andy Warhol to Elizabeth (Self-Portrait Artist): 700 Nimes Road by Catherine Opie was released on September 1, 2015

However, in hindsight her accountant Tim Mendelson - who brokered the project - theorizes that Taylor knew this portrait would be her last.

He is quoted in the book: 'Elizabeth was so public in the world, but she was always so private in her home. She didn’t ever want photographs to be done there. She was brought up in MGM. You had to have a separate life and she understood the importance of that. 

'Normally she wouldn’t have done this. But in hindsight it was pretty obvious she was close to the end of her life. 

'We didn’t want to believe it at the time. Nobody did. She was such a survivor and had pulled through so many times. 

'But she must have understood the importance of what Cathy wanted to do. Thank goodness she was able to capture it all, at least before it all changed.'

Elizabeth Taylor's steamy letter to Richard Burton

I wish I could tell you of my pure animal pleasure of you': Elizabeth Taylor's steamy letter to Richard Burton goes up for auction

• Letter written on March 15 1974, the couple's 10th anniversary
• Has a minimum bid of £1,000 and is expected to sell for several times more
• Bidding ends on December 12 at 7.09pm

By Deni Kirkova
PUBLISHED: 11:34 GMT, 28 November 2013 | UPDATED: 12:04 GMT, 28 November 2013

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor's relationship was one of the most scandalous and passionate to play out in public.
And the chemistry between the notorious twice-married couple is revealed in a recently uncovered love letter that Taylor wrote to Burton .
She describes how she can only 'boil and bubble' inside at the thought of the actor, and confesses her 'pure animal pleasure' for him.

Elizabeth's devotion: 'I wish I could tell you of my love for you, of my fear, my delight'

But the racy note, written on the couple's 10th wedding anniversary (first time around), is bittersweet as they split just days later.
The letter dated March 15, 1974 has now been listed for auction at picollecta.com and is believed to be the first written message from Taylor to Burton to ever hit the market.

It has a minimum bid of £1,000 and is expected to sell for several times more than that. Bidding ends on December 12 at 7.09pm.
The couple had recently begun renting a house in Oroville, California while Burton was filming his latest movie The Klansman when Taylor wrote it.

True love: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in The Comedians, 1967

Taylor had warned Burton from the start of their marriage in 1964 that she had zero tolerance for infidelity.
However during the filming of When Eagles Dare, Burton resumed an affair with co-star Mary Ure.
After that, Taylor made sure she was with on set with Burton every day in 1969 for the shooting of Anne Of The Thousand Days.
However, a further affair with co-star Genevieve Bujold lasted many years, and an affair with Nathalie Delon followed in 1972, along with rumours of an affair with Raquel Welch.

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Taylor at a gala with husband Burton: 'Let us never take eachother for granted' she wrote

Taylor finally lost patience during the filming of The Klansman when Burton commenced an affair with 'a teenager, a hotel waitress and a string of other women'.
The love letter is accompanied by a note of provenance from Toni Hennings, the woman who rented the Oroville house to them.
'This letter written by Elizabeth Taylor while renting my home from Feb 15th til April 18th 1974. It was left behind - inside a book in a drawer under the master bedroom bed,' she writes.
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In her own words: Taylor's note to Burton

'My darling (my still) My husband.
'I wish I could tell you of my love for you, of my fear, my delight, my pure animal pleasure of you - (with you) - my jealousy, my pride, my anger at you, at times. Most of all my love for you, and whatever love you can dole out to me - I wish I could write about it but I can't.
'I can only 'boil and bubble' inside and hope you understand how I really feel. Anyway I lust thee,
'Your (still) Wife.
'P.S. O'Love, let us never take each other for granted again!
'P.P.S. How about that - 10 years!!' 
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