Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, were a couple for the ages. Having met on the set of Cleopatra, the two appropriately played Marc Antony and Cleopatra, two larger than life personalities with fame, charisma and power. The couple lived in the public eye and their love was notoriously one of passion! These two Hollywood stars lived through the golden age of cinema and would be known for their troubled but hopelessly devoted relationship.

Elizabeth Taylor has come to be known one of the most famous and widely admired dark haired on screen sirens. Her charm and va va voom held captive full movie theater audiences and had captured the attention of the press. Richard Burton had too been known as an actor both on screen and on stage. When the two met it was like the confrontation of two dueling forces, sparks flew and explosions abounded.  When the two met they were married, but not to one another, confronting scorn from the media and traditional institutions for their adulterous beginning. Yet despite what others predicted about a short lived fling, their extramarital escapade led to a marriage which would last over ten years!

For years they appeared on screen together. From their first joint on screen debut and blockbuster “Cleopatra” to their all too real nightmarish portrayal of a troubled partnership in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” their mutual energy was explosive. But their chemistry and bond was effervescent, vibrant and alive. There was no doubt that these two gargantuan personalities were able to see beyond themselves and madly love one another.

Their romance littered the papers and was scattered across the tabloids. As one of the first widely publicized couples of the new era of information their love was lived out in the public eye. The volatile quarrels may have made headlines, but it was their ardent and passionate love story that has endured in our minds.

For more on Liz and Dick: Biography.com