Where Are Elizabeth Taylor’s Kids (And Grandkids) Today?
Elizabeth Taylor may have loved her lavish Hollywood lifestyle, but not nearly as much as she loved being a mother!
Without knowing too much about Elizabeth Taylor, or seeing many of her films, you probably at least know that she was the typical Hollywood movie star who had affairs, sported the latest fashions, ran in the highest social circles, and, of course, having one of the biggest diamond rings, ever!
Beyond the celebrity lifestyle that she and other icons such as Marilyn Monroe were known and adored for, Taylor loved being a mother. Throughout her early career, she had four children, Michael, Christopher, Liza, and Maria.
All of her children have gone on to become successful in their own right outside of their mother’s superstar status. Now, Taylor’s grandchildren are following in her footsteps, and they are all keeping her iconic legacy alive.
Updated on May 31, 2021, by Michael Chaar: Elizabeth Taylor remains a Hollywood icon! The star left behind a massive $600 million fortune to her four kids, Michael, Christopher, Maria, and Liza, and ten grandchildren. Following Liz’s passing in 2011, her kids and grandkids have not only gone on to pursue careers in the entertainment industry but have allowed Taylor’s legacy to live on in many ways. Her granddaughters Laela and Naomi play a major role in The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, an issue the late actress was very passionate about. In addition to her foundation, her grandkids also have a say in the Elizabeth Taylor Trust, which has certainly gone to great use. The family speaks about Liz with nothing but fondness over their times vacationing with their grandmother, all while allowing her very essence to continue on today.
Elizabeth Taylor’s Legacy Lives On
Taylor had her two sons, Michael and Christopher, with her second husband, British actor, Michael Wilding.
Michael Wilding Jr. was born in 1953 and he became an actor just like his mother. He is known for working on films like Deadly Illusion, and television series, Guiding Light, and Dallas. With his first wife, Beth Clutter, he had a daughter, Laela Wilding, but they divorced after two years of living at the farm commune where Wilding stayed as a child.
With his fellow commune friend, Johanna Lykke-Dahn, Wilding Jr. had his second daughter, Naomi Wilding. And with his second wife, Brooke Palance, who he married in 1982, he had his son Tarquin Wilding.
In 1987, Wilding did a play, a rival of Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce, acting opposite his wife, who also owned the theater company producing the play. Even then, as People reported at the time, Wilding was unfazed by having famous parents.
“I realize the reason I get interviewed is because I have very famous parents, not because of something outstanding I’m doing,” Michael said. “I don’t believe that will always be the case. I believe I will someday have a career that will stand for itself.”
Meanwhile, Wilding’s children have carried on their grandmother’s legacy as well. Considering the British-American actress left behind a massive $600 million fortune, it is only expected that it be put toward the very things Liz Taylor loved, including her very own foundation, which her grandchildren continue to play a role in.
As The List reports, Laela Wilding is a graphic designer in Portland, Oregon, and continues to work with The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation along with her half-sister Naomi Wilding.
“We are determined to support the legacy of our grandmother and let the world know the foundation is thriving,” she told Arts & Understanding Magazine. She has even gotten her son, Taylor’s great-grandson, Finn McMurray, to become an ambassador for the foundation as well.
Naomi, who grew up in the U.K., also spent holidays with her grandmother as a kid and even lived with her in California when she was on a visa. Now, Naomi and her husband, Anthony Cran, own and operate the Wilding Cran Gallery in L.A, while she also has a career in fashion styling.
Taylor’s other son, Christopher Wilding, also works in Hollywood, but mostly behind the scenes in the sound department. He has worked on films like Tombstone, The Shadow, and Judgment Night, and was a post-production assistant on Overboard.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Christopher safeguards his mother’s first Oscar for Butterfield 8, and his brother Michael has her Oscar for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
With his first wife, Aileen Getty, he adopted son, Caleb Wilding, after having many miscarriages. After they adopted Caleb they had their son, Andrew Wilding, who became a cinematographer.
Taylor’s third husband was Mike Todd, and the two of them had one daughter together, Elizabeth “Liza” Todd, who was born in 1957.
Liza never met her father because he died in a tragic plane crash, but she was adopted by Taylor’s fifth husband, Richard Burton, later on. Liza has had a private life, but her two sons, Quinn and Rhys Tivey, who she had with husband Hap Tivey, are both a part of their grandmother’s foundation as well.
Quinn became an artist and also a co-trustee of the Elizabeth Taylor Trust, where he watches over her estate and was also asked to participate, with his cousin Tarquin, in an event in their grandmother’s honor after her death.
Quinn’s brother Rhys, who is a musician and songwriter, is also an ambassador. “My grandmother wanted to go right for the jugular of the problem,” Rhys said. “She always wanted to do the hardest and most unlikely thing first.”
Taylor’s last daughter, Maria Burton, was a German orphan, whose adoption Taylor started during her marriage to Eddie Fisher, who is Carrie Fisher’s father, which is something most people don’t even know when it comes to Liz Taylor.
When Taylor married Burton, he completed her adoption process, while also adopting Liza. Maria went on to have Taylor’s third granddaughter and namesake, Elizabeth Carson, who spent a lot of time with Taylor as a child.
Elizabeth Carson works for the Department of Child Protection in Manhattan and is an Ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Elizabeth also has a half-brother, Richard McKeown, who is Taylor’s 10th and final grandchild.
Ultimately behind all of the glamour and glitz, Taylor was a great mother and a loving grandmother, and her massive family supported her throughout her life and now after her death.
