Actress Elizabeth Taylor was more than just an actress, she was a movie star. According to IMDB, her first role was in 1942’s “There’s One Born Every Minute.” She went on to star in films including “Suddenly, Last Summer,” “The Taming of the Shrew,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and “Cleopatra.”

She was the first actress to ever receive $1 million for a role when she stared in “Cleopatra,” but her role in the film actually cost the production over $7 million more than they planned on spending. Her poor living conditions and health issues even causes production to stop filming completely and change filming locations.

Page Six reports that Taylor was essentially a mess while filming “Cleopatra.” Filming initially took place in London, and she was so irresponsible about taking care of herself and showing up to set on time, that her husband, Eddie Fischer, was paid $150,000 by the production to make sure his wife got to set on time and to pay attention to what she was eating and how she was interacting with her dogs.

Her dogs were a big problem. She let them sleep in her bed, and they reportedly were not housebroken. According to the 2022 book “Erotic Vagrancy” by Roger Lewis, Taylor’s residence was “crowded with shedding cats and unhousebroken dogs and a general atmosphere of disorderly paraphernalia.” In addition, she was “popping pills and drinking most of the day.”

The lack of personal hygiene and not making wise eating and drinking decisions led to several health problems during the production of “Cleopatra.” At a London clinic, she was diagnosed with “Malta fever” which is also called “brucellosis.” It can be caused by “ingestion of animal secretions — unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat.” According to Lewis, it’s possible that she got the illness from her “innumerable and terrible pets, which shared her bed.”

Several months after she was released from the hospital, she was readmitted for another problem. She was experiencing severe migraines, and in 1961, she was diagnosed with pneumonia so severe that she ended up in a coma.

This time, production of “Cleopatra” completely stopped and the film was discarded. Filming eventually started over in Rome, but there was another problem waiting for her there – her costar, actor Richard Burton.

Taylor and Burton had an affair during the production of “Cleopatra” that the Vatican called “erotic vagrancy.” Burton’s wife, Sybil, wasn’t concerned. She claimed he’d had affairs before but “he always comes home to me.”

When Burton tried to end the affair, Taylor took action. She tried to commit suicide by attempting to break through a glass door. Then she overdosed on Seconal which required her to have her stomach pumped.

In 1964, Burton and Taylor got married, but it wasn’t happily ever after. They fought a lot and called each other names. Their marriage ultimately lasted for 10 years before they got divorced. Then they remarried in 1975, but that marriage only lasted a year.

Her habits with her dogs never changed. According to Lewis, “The clean up from the animal excrement from the carpets, curtains, mirrors, and furniture at the Four Seasons Hotel, New York, took days.”

Watch the video below to learn more shocking revelations about Taylor’s life.