23 Vintage Photos of Elizabeth Taylor in the Summer

Turquoise waters, wild hair, a plunging white swimsuit. This image of Elizabeth Taylor in director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s Southern Gothic psychological drama Suddenly, Last Summer is unforgettable. Depicted on the film’s poster, the actor’s white swimsuit was reportedly deemed so risqué as to be controversial at the time. Nonetheless, it helped sparked a style trend that continues to this day.

A stunning beauty—famed for her deep blue, violet eyes—Taylor stands as one of those magnetic yet mysterious icons of American cinema whose turbulent career remains inextricably linked to Hollywood’s Golden Age. From the white sands of Malibu to the turquoise waters of Ischia, here is look back at the icon’s most striking summer appearances.

Jane Powell, Elizabeth Taylor posing at the beach, circa 1948

British-born actress Elizabeth Taylor runs along a beach with her friend, actor Marshall Thompson, circa 1948.

Elizabeth Taylor looking at a Rolliflex camera with her husband, Michael Wilding, by the pool.

Elizabeth Taylor wears a leopard-print swimsuit in the pool, circa 1955.

Elizabeth Taylor poses for a portrait session on the beach on July 4, 1956 in Malibu, California.

Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Suddenly Last Summer.

Elizabeth Taylor and the singer Eddie Fisher on their honeymoon in Cannes, France, in 1959, with Taylor's children from her previous marriage

Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher on vacation in Mallorca, Spain.

Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher board their luxury yacht "Olinico” before setting sail for Italy.

Taylor and Fisher visiting the Parthenon in the 1960s, in Athens, Greece.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton recline on the deck of a speedboat during a holiday in Ischia, 18th June 1962, after filming Cleopatra in Rome.

Taylor wearing a white robe during the filming of The Sandpiper 1965.

Hammersmith is Out. From left, Beau Bridges, Elizabeth Taylor, 1972.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Israel in 1975.