Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s granddaughter says her work as an HIV/AIDS activist gave her "a sense of purpose".
The iconic actress was the first ever person to host a fund-raiser to benefit the AIDS Project Los Angeles and in 1991 the late star founded The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) to raise awareness and to provide support services for people with HIV/AIDS .
Elizabeth’s granddaughter, Naomi deLuce Wilding, has now shared that although the ‘Cleopatra’ star loved being an actress, once she "found activism" she has a clear sense of purpose and had "made sense of her passion".
In an interview with People, Naomi said: "She spoke of it as being something that finally gave her a sense of purpose; she spoke of being relatively ambivalent about her fame and her acting career. She loved it, but when she found activism, it really made sense of her passion."
"She was one of the first celebrities to get up and not only do things like start a foundation, but to be so outspoken.
"She had a role in creating that expectation that we have now for celebrities to a certain extent. I think she’d be proud of herself."
To mark their fifth year as a partner with AIDS United, the ETAF will partner with AIDSWatch 2019 for the two-day advocacy event in Washington, D.C. from Monday (01.04.19) and Naomi thinks that the collaboration is "one of the most beneficial things" the organisation has done.
She said: "It’s one of the most beneficial things that we as a family for ETAF have done, it keeps us involved. It makes us also feel like we’re part of a community, which is really important to us."
Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s AIDS activism gave her a ‘sense of purpose’
