British-American actress Elizabeth Taylor was born on this day, February 27, in 1932. Taylor began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s. At the time of this portrait, taken on Valentine’s Day in 1946, she was fourteen years old and had starred in her breakthrough role in “National Velvet”. A two time winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress, she went on to become not only one of the greatest film legends of the 20th Century but also a dedicated humanitarian. In 1999, Queen Elizabeth appointed her Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.