A legendary star of stage and screen, Elizabeth Taylor has achieved equal fame for her humanitarian commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS, which dates from 1984. As she remembers it, “I kept seeing all these news reports on this new disease and kept asking myself why no one was doing anything. And then I realized that I was just like them. I wasn’t doing anything to help.” The opportunity to do so came only too soon, when her long-time friend Rock Hudson died of AIDS. Appalled by both the suffering he experienced and the cruel and gratuitous condemnation that befell so many of those affected by the disease, Ms. Taylor determined to speak out against hypocrisy and discrimination and for compassion and care. Ever since, she has lent her voice—and indeed her heart and soul—to the fight against HIV and AIDS.
