Who Were Elizabeth Taylor's Husbands? Here Are the 7 Men Who Swept Her Off Her Feet

Elizabeth married socialite, hotel heir, and businessman Conrad Nicholson "Nicky" Hilton Jr. (Paris and Nicky Hilton's great-uncle) in May 1950 when she was just 18. They tied the knot at Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, CA, and her studio, MGM, organized the over-the-top ceremony. Their marriage only lasted eight months; according to reports, their union was "burdened by" Elizabeth's growing fame as well as Nicky's "gambling, drinking, and abusive behavior."

In 1952, Elizabeth tied the knot with British film actor Michael Wilding (who was 20 years her senior) in a 15-minute civil ceremony at Caxton Hall Register Office in London. It was the second marriage for both of them. They went on to have two sons, Michael Jr. and Christopher, but announced their separation in July 1956 and were officially divorced in January 1957.

Elizabeth and theater and film producer Mike Todd got married in Acapulco, Mexico, in February 1957, just a month after her divorce from Michael Wilding was finalized. Together they had one daughter, Elizabeth "Liza" Todd, but their marriage was short-lived; just a little over a year after they wed, Mike was killed in a plane crash in March 1958. Elizabeth was devastated and sought comfort in Mike's best friend, singer Eddie Fisher, who would become her next husband.

Elizabeth's romance with Eddie Fisher was a major scandal at the time, both because Eddie was best friends with Mike Todd and was married to Hollywood darling Debbie Reynolds, who was one of Elizabeth's close friends as well. After leaving Debbie and their two young children (son Todd, who was named after Mike Todd, and daughter Carrie, who would later star in the Star Wars franchise), Eddie married Elizabeth at Temple Beth Shalom in Las Vegas in May 1959.

The actress would later confess that she only married Eddie because she was stricken with grief after losing Mike Todd. Their union came to an end after Elizabeth had an affair with actor Richard Burton on the set of Cleopatra. Which brings us to . . .

The Welsh actor met Elizabeth while they filmed Cleopatra together in Italy. Both were married at the time, but they carried on affair, and after rumors (and photos) began circulating in the press, both stars were criticized by the Vatican for "erotic vagrancy." In March 1964, Elizabeth was granted a divorce from Eddie Fisher, and nine days later, she married Richard Burton in a private ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Montreal. Richard also adopted Liza Todd and Maria Burton, a German orphan Elizabeth was in the process of adopting while she was still married to Eddie.

The media dubbed the couple "Liz and Dick." They went on to star in 11 movies together and became well-known for their lavish lifestyle and shared love of furs, diamonds, and travel. They got divorced in June 1974, but quickly reconciled and remarried — this time in Botswana in October 1975. Despite trying to give things another shot, they divorced for a second time in July 1976. Richard seemed to be the real love of Elizabeth's life; after his death in 1984, she confessed that after him, the men in her life "were just there to hold the coat, to open the door," adding, "All the men after Richard were really just company."

In December 1976, Elizabeth married Virginia Republican politician John Warner after five months of dating. After their wedding, she got to work on his electoral campaign, but once he was elected to the Senate, she grew tired of the Washington DC lifestyle. Elizabeth struggled with depression and prescription drug addiction and began abusing alcohol. She and John separated in 1981 and were officially divorced in November 1982.

After her split from John Warner, Elizabeth was engaged twice — to Mexican lawyer Victor Luna in 1983 and NYC businessman Dennis Stein in 1985. Three years later, while seeking treatment for substance abuse at the Betty Ford Center, she met construction worker Larry Fortensky, who was 20 years her junior.

They got married in October 1991 at Neverland Ranch, the home of Elizabeth's longtime friend Michael Jackson. Needless to say, the wedding was a spectacle; one photographer even parachuted to the location to snap pictures, and Elizabeth sold them to People for $1 million, which she then used to establish the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. The couple called it quits in October 1996 but remained friends until Elizabeth's death in 2011.