A message of peace in the 2008 Christmas cards sent by Elizabeth Taylor.

Just the name Elizabeth Taylor evokes those violet eyes, the raven hair, her memorable roles, the cultured voice, sophistication – in one word, elegance. And what do you know, Elizabeth Taylor’s 2008 Christmas cards were as elegant as she is. A white dove delicately flies though white snowflakes as we read the greeting, “Peace is the beauty of life” in red script against a pale green background. Two corners of the card are decorated with red filigree designs, drawing your eye to the message and the dove. Ah, this is a quiet Christmas card and I can almost see the snow falling in the mountains at the exclusive ski resort where Ms. Taylor is writing out her holiday cards and decides to send one to me and…oh, sorry, I got carried away.

Elizabeth Taylor is such a legend that you can just mention certain movies and everyone is on the same page. What images come to mind when you think of A Place in the Sun (1951), Suddenly Last Summer (1959), Cleopatra (1963), and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf 1966)? All are memorable films, some with added drama and intrigue provided by her life and husbands. The ads for her perfumes, Passion and White Diamonds, make us curious about this fabulous creature and give us a way to have a little intrigue of our own.

It would be more correct to refer to this extraordinary star as Dame Elizabeth Taylor, as she was honored by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000. And there have been many other honors world-wide for her humanitarian interests as well as her acting career. These days you hear of her great passion in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness, support services, and education through the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. How incredible that one person could have such an impact throughout her life.