All About Elizabeth Taylor’s 8 Unconventional Wedding Dresses

Elizabeth Taylor famously married eight times to seven men. The Oscar winner’s weddings spanned from lavish ballroom ceremonies and backyard bashes to intimate nuptials on a farm. Equally diverse were her wedding dress choices, which came from luxury fashion houses and costume designers she’d worked with on films. 

Only Taylor’s first gown was the traditional white. For the silver-screen star’s marriage to Conrad “Nicky” Hilton, MGM pulled out all the stops, with costume designer Helen Rose creating the dress for the big day. Unfortunately, the marriage would only last eight months, according to a 1951 Los Angeles Times report.

Her subsequent bridal attire skewed towards bright colors and knee-skimming hems, with a few exceptions. She was a multi-color goddess for her second wedding to Richard Burton, one year after the frequent co-stars’ first divorce, in a tie-dye Gina Fratini number. Nearly two decades later, The Father of the Bride star donned a pale-yellow Valentino gown for her final wedding to construction worker Larry Fortensky in 1991. 

The fashion parade came to an end following her divorce from Fortensky, as the activist-actress swore off marriage. She famously told Barbara Walters in a 1997 20/20 interview, “If you hear of me getting married, slap me!”

Below, revisit each of Elizabeth Taylor’s eight wedding dresses and learn more about the story behind each look.

A white gown to marry Conrad “Nicky” Hilton on May 6, 1950.

Taylor was just 18 when she took her first trip down the aisle, tying the knot with hotel heir (and Paris Hilton’s great-uncle) Conrad “Nicky” Hilton. MGM funded the cost of the dress, with costume designer Helen Rose dreaming up the cinched gown. Rose had recently worked with Taylor on her wedding dress for 1950’s Father of the Bride—and would go on to mastermind Grace Kelly’s iconic bridal gown six years later.

The satin dress—25 yards worth—featured a full skirt and corseted bodice, long sleeves, and a sweetheart neckline bordered by illusion mesh. Rose embellished it with seed pearls and beads for an extra touch of elegance. Taylor selected a pearl veil and matching tiara to pull the whole look together.

Her debut wedding dress sold at auction in 2013 for £121,875—equivalent to $187,000, according to a CBS News report from the time.

A tea-length skirt suit to marry Michael Wilding on February 21, 1952.

Rose returned to design Taylor’s second wedding dress, with the nuptials to actor Michael Wilding occurring a little over a year after her divorce from Hilton. Her tea-length skirt suit flouted bridal tradition but leaned into the style of the time, with an oversized collar and matching cuffed three-quarter-sleeves.

She accessorized simply, donning a pearl necklace and subtle pearl earrings. Threads of what may have been baby’s breath or lily of the valley—the floral star of her bridal bouquet—were woven throughout her jet-black hair.

The couple had a twenty-year age gap: Taylor was 19, Wilding was 39. During their five year marriage they welcomed two sons, Michael and Christopher.

A blue hooded gown to marry Michael Todd on February 2, 1957.

The Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? star may have had an intimate ceremony for her marriage to producer Michael Todd, but her bold wedding dress and flashy engagement ring ensured it was no mundane affair. Todd had previously popped the question with a 29-carat diamond, the largest engagement ring she’d ever receive from a suitor. 

For her third wedding, Taylor chose a Hydrangea blue silk-chiffon hooded dress, according to her official website. When she lowered the hood, the dress appeared off-the-shoulder. The wedding took place at the City Hall in Acapulco, Mexico. In attendance were actress Debbie Reynolds and her then-husband, Eddie Fisher.

In March 1958, just one year into their marriage, Todd died in an accident while flying in his private plane. The couple had welcomed their first child together, daughter Liza, just six months earlier. Taylor would remember Todd as one of the great loves of her life. “God, I loved him. My self-esteem, my image, everything soared under his exuberant, loving care,” she wrote in her 1988 memoir Elizabeth Takes Off.

A green hooded gown to marry Eddie Fisher on May 12, 1959.

Bonded by mutual grief over Todd’s tragic death, Taylor next found love with Eddie Fisher. Eschewing tradition, the singer gifted Taylor a 40-carat engagement bracelet in lieu of a ring. They wed at a Las Vegas synagogue in May 1959.

This time around, Taylor donned a dark-green hooded gown. She accessorized with diamond earrings and a heart-shaped diamond necklace, per her official website. The couple separated in 1964.

A short babydoll dress to marry Richard Burton on March 15, 1964.

While filming historical epic Cleopatra, Taylor fell head over heels for co-star Richard Burton. At the time, she was married to Fisher and Butron was married to actress Sybil Williams. The couple made their relationship official in 1964.

Taylor wore a knee-skimming, long-sleeved yellow babydoll dress designed by Cleopatra costume designer Irene Sharaff. Equally as eye-catching as her dress was her hairpiece, a wreath of white hyacinth that trailed down her elegant ponytail. For jewelry, she wore an emerald and diamond Bulgari brooch Burton had proposed with in place of an engagement ring, according to her website.

Her first marriage to Burton was her longest, lasting for a decade—and greatly bolstering the starlet’s already impressive diamond collection.

A tie-dye gown to marry Richard Burton on October 10, 1975.

A little over a year after Liz and Dick divorced, they reconciled and tied the knot a second time. This wedding took place in Botswana. True to the spirit of the ‘70s, Taylor wore a tie-dye dress designed by Gina Fratini. Its dramatic bell sleeves and dangling feather streamers added to the boho-chic personality of the ensemble.

Unfortunately, their second union only lasted nine months before they divorced for good. In 2011, Taylor’s breezy sixth wedding dress sold at auction for $62,500.

A cashmere dress and fur coat to marry John Warner on December 4, 1976.

The Oscar winner became a politician’s wife in 1976, marrying future Senator John Warner on his 400-acre farm in Virginia. For her seventh wedding, a winter affair, Taylor covered her cashmere dress with a fur-trimmed coat and matching turban. They stayed married until 1982.

In her revealing 1997 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters, Taylor described her marriage to Warner as one of the loneliest periods in her life. “I think Washington [D.C.], for women, is a desperately lonely city, especially if you’ve been active all your life. Because if you’re a politician’s wife and don’t have your own role, there’s nothing for you to do except be supportive,” she said, adding that she had to stay quiet when she disagreed with Warner on political issues.

A yellow Valentino dress to marry Larry Fortensky on October 6, 1991.

After two failed engagements, Taylor took her final trip down the aisle in 1991. The budding AIDS/HIV activist’s eighth marriage to construction worker Larry Fortensky took place at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Fortensky was 20 years her junior, making him Taylor’s only husband to be younger than her.

At the lavish ceremony, the actress donned a pale-yellow, shoulder-skimming Valentino gown gifted to her by the designer. People reported in its exclusive story on the wedding that it cost $25,000 to make the lacey, tiered creation.

Taylor and Fortensky divorced in 1996, and the eight-time bride kept her vow to never marry again.