Everyone knows Elizabeth Taylor for being a bit bonkers; 8 marriages, a hedonistic lifestyle and being the subject of some of Hollywood's most outrageous stories. Plus, Lindsay Lohan didn't exactly help matters with the made-for-TV portrayal of the actress' tumultuous relationship with Richard Burton. Here is Lindsay starring as 'Liz' in one of Liz and Dick's most notorious moments.
But, what people our age probably don't know, is that Elizabeth Taylor was a huge philanthropist and humanitarian and, in the early ’80s, she became one of the first celebrities to help the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic at a time when the disease was seen as a huge stigma. She co-founded the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR - that thing they have a big sparkly glitzy party for every year in Cannes where every celebrity under the sun shows up), and, later, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
On top of all this, it's now emerged that Elizabeth was running a 'safe house' to help AIDS patients get hold of the drugs they so desparately needed.
Last night, in honor of World AIDS Day, model and HIV/AIDS activist Kathy Ireland spoke about the work her mentor Elizabeth Taylor did for the cause – specifically setting up a 'secret underground network to get drugs to patients.' A 'West Coast Buyers Club' – just like Matthew McConaughey's character Ron Woodroof in the true-story, Oscar-winning film Dallas Buyers Club. 'Talk about fearless in her home in Bel-Air' says Kathy. 'It was a safe house. A lot of the work that she did, it was illegal, but she was saving lives. It was in a time when it was not something to do. Business associates pleaded with her, 'Leave this thing alone.' She received death threats. Friends hung up on her when she asked for help, but something that I love about Elizabeth is her courage.'
Kathy said that Elizabeth did her best to combat the stigma surrounding the disease, too: 'She would go quietly with no media no press, she would go into hospice and just hug patients who had not felt that human contact.'
So, where did the money come from to get the drugs? 'She would sell her jewellery,' Laughs Kathy. 'There was transfers of money. Sometimes there'd be a paper bag filled with money!'
Naturally.
To donate money to amfAR in honor of World AIDS Day, click here.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.