Elizabeth Taylor's Eight Marriages: The Shocking Stories Behind Her Seven Husbands And Two 'Great Loves'

Few Hollywood legends have captured the public imagination quite like Elizabeth Taylor, and no aspect of her life was more scrutinized than her love life. Her series of eight marriages to seven different men—a record for a major star—turned her into a global icon of passion, controversy, and enduring romance. As of December 10, 2025, the stories of these relationships continue to fascinate, offering a candid look at the life of a woman who lived by her own rules, prioritizing love above all else, regardless of the drama it caused.

The saga of Elizabeth Taylor's husbands spans five decades, from her first society wedding at age 18 to her final, surprising union with a construction worker she met in rehab. Each marriage was a chapter in a life lived on the grandest stage, featuring everything from tragic death and political ambition to the most passionate, tumultuous love affair in Hollywood history.

Elizabeth Taylor: Complete List of Spouses and Marriage Timeline

Elizabeth Taylor was married eight times to seven men. The following is a complete list of her husbands in chronological order, detailing the start and end of each union.

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• 1. Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr. (Hotel Heir)
  • Married: May 6, 1950
  • Divorced: February 1, 1951 (Length: 9 months)
• 2. Michael Wilding (British Actor)
  • Married: February 21, 1952
  • Divorced: January 26, 1957 (Length: 5 years)
• 3. Mike Todd (Film Producer)
  • Married: February 2, 1957
  • Widowed: March 22, 1958 (Length: 1 year, 1 month)
• 4. Eddie Fisher (Singer/Actor)
  • Married: May 12, 1959
  • Divorced: March 6, 1964 (Length: 4 years, 10 months)
• 5. Richard Burton (Welsh Actor)
  • Married (1st Time): March 15, 1964
  • Divorced: June 26, 1974 (Length: 10 years)
• 6. Richard Burton (Welsh Actor)
  • Married (2nd Time): October 10, 1975
  • Divorced: July 29, 1976 (Length: 9 months)
• 7. John Warner (U.S. Senator)
  • Married: December 4, 1976
  • Divorced: November 7, 1982 (Length: 5 years, 11 months)
• 8. Larry Fortensky (Construction Worker)
  • Married: October 6, 1991
  • Divorced: October 31, 1996 (Length: 5 years)

The Early Marriages: From Fairy Tale to Scandal

Taylor’s first four marriages established her reputation as a woman who followed her heart, often with dramatic consequences. Her first union to Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr. was a grand, studio-organized affair in 1950, designed to transition the 18-year-old starlet from child actress to sophisticated woman. The "fairy tale" quickly became a "Grimm fairy tale," lasting only nine months due to Hilton's alleged drinking and abusive behavior.

Her second husband, British actor Michael Wilding, offered a period of relative calm. Twenty years her senior, Wilding provided a stable, low-key home life, and they had two sons, Michael Jr. and Christopher. However, as Taylor’s star power soared in the mid-1950s, the dynamic shifted, and the marriage quietly dissolved after five years.

The third marriage to producer Mike Todd was one of the most significant. Taylor often referred to him as one of the two "great loves" of her life. Todd was a larger-than-life personality who showered Taylor with extravagant gifts, including the famous tiara she wore to the 1957 Academy Awards. Tragically, Todd was the only husband Taylor did not divorce; he died in a private plane crash in March 1958.

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The immediate aftermath of Todd’s death led to Taylor’s most scandalous marriage: her union with singer Eddie Fisher. Fisher was married to actress Debbie Reynolds, Taylor’s close friend and Todd’s best man. The affair, which began while Taylor was grieving, shocked the world and led to Fisher divorcing Reynolds to marry Taylor in 1959. This highly publicized love triangle cemented Taylor’s image as a glamorous home-wrecker, though she later claimed the relationship with Fisher was primarily one of comfort and necessity following Todd’s passing.

Richard Burton: The Epic, Tumultuous 'Great Love'

No discussion of Elizabeth Taylor's husbands is complete without Richard Burton. Their relationship, which began on the set of *Cleopatra* in 1962, was an international spectacle of passion, luxury, and volatility. Both were married to others at the time, making their affair a global scandal condemned by the Vatican.

They married in 1964 and spent the next decade as Hollywood royalty, co-starring in 11 films, including *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* (for which Taylor won her second Oscar). Their love was legendary for its extravagance—Burton gifted Taylor the 69-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond—and its dramatic, public fights. The relationship was so intense it led to divorce in 1974.

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However, the separation did not last. The couple attempted to rekindle their romance and remarried in a remote ceremony in Botswana in 1975. This second, desperate attempt at marriage lasted only nine months, proving that the passion that fueled their relationship was ultimately too destructive for a lasting union. Despite the tumult, Taylor consistently referred to Burton as the other "great love" of her life, and a close friend later revealed that Burton was her favorite partner "in bed."

The Post-Burton Era: From Senator to Construction Worker

Following her final divorce from Burton, Taylor’s life took another unexpected turn toward politics with her seventh husband, John Warner. Warner, a prominent Republican from Virginia, married Taylor in 1976. The marriage saw the actress trade the glamorous sets of Hollywood for the political landscape of Washington D.C. and Warner’s Atoka Farm in Virginia. Taylor actively campaigned for Warner during his successful run for the U.S. Senate, but the transition to a more traditional political life proved isolating and challenging for the star. The marriage ended in divorce in 1982.

Taylor’s final marriage to Larry Fortensky remains one of her most unique and heartwarming stories. Fortensky was a construction worker 20 years her junior, and the couple met while both were receiving treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic in 1988. Fortensky was the only husband not to be an actor, producer, politician, or wealthy heir, representing a true departure from her Hollywood past. Their 1991 wedding was a spectacle, held at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, with Jackson giving Taylor away. The marriage lasted five years before ending in 1996, with Fortensky later stating he was deeply in love with her but struggled with the intense media scrutiny that came with being Mr. Elizabeth Taylor.

Elizabeth Taylor's eight marriages were a testament to her unwavering belief in love and commitment. They were not failures, but rather a series of passionate, public commitments that defined an era and solidified her legacy as the ultimate romantic star.