Shining Through Scandal: The Incredible Life Of Elizabeth Taylor

Taylor Gets Recognized By The Academy By The ’50s

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With the rise of television in the mid-1950s, movie studios began to focus more on the quality of their films, rather than the rate at which they were producing them. Since the shift, Taylor landed the lead role in the 1956 film Giant, co-starring James Dean and Rock Hudson. Taylor was praised for her performance in the film, which set a precedent for her subsequent project, 1957’s Raintree County, which was made with the intention of being the next Gone with the Wind. Although the film itself was a flop, Taylor earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.