When you think of Elizabeth Taylor, your brain probably goes straight to the violet eyes, the eight weddings, and those massive Krupp diamonds that could blind a person from across the room. She was the ultimate Hollywood queen. But there’s a question that still pops up in trivia nights and history blogs: was Elizabeth Taylor Jewish? The answer isn't a simple yes or no because she wasn't born into the faith. She chose it. And she didn't just choose it for a guy, which is what the tabloids loved to claim back in the fifties.
Elizabeth Taylor was born in London in 1932 to American parents who were Christian Scientists. That’s a pretty specific religious upbringing. It’s a faith that emphasizes spiritual healing over medical intervention. But by the time she was a global superstar, Taylor was searching for something more grounded, something that felt ancient and resilient.
The path to conversion
People often assume she converted to marry Eddie Fisher. Honestly, that’s a bit of a lazy take. While it’s true she married Fisher—a Jewish singer—in 1959, her journey into Judaism started much earlier. She had been thinking about it for years.
After the tragic death of her third husband, Mike Todd, she was devastated. Todd was Jewish, and he was arguably the great love of her life. His death in a plane crash left her reeling. She started studying with Rabbi Max Nussbaum of Temple Israel of Hollywood. Nussbaum wasn't some pushover celebrity chaplain; he was a serious scholar who had fled Nazi Germany.
She spent nine months studying. That’s a long time in Hollywood years. She read history. She studied the Torah. She didn't want to just go through the motions. On March 27, 1959, she officially converted. She took the Hebrew name Elisheba Rachel.
Why she did it
Taylor once said that she felt a "sense of suffering" in the Jewish people that she identified with. She wasn't looking for an easy religion. She wanted something that felt real.
Think about the timing. This was only fourteen years after the end of World War II. Being Jewish wasn't exactly a "career move" in an industry that still dealt with plenty of quiet anti-Semitism. She did it because she felt it in her soul. She reportedly told her parents that she had felt Jewish for a long time.
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It’s interesting to look at her Christian Science roots. That religion is very much about the mind and spirit. Judaism, conversely, is very "lived." It’s about community, ritual, and action. For a woman whose life was constantly under a microscope, the structure of Jewish tradition offered a kind of anchor.
Was Elizabeth Taylor Jewish in her later life?
A lot of people "convert" for a marriage and then forget about it once the divorce papers are signed. Not Liz. She stayed Jewish for the rest of her life.
When she married Richard Burton (twice!), she didn't go back to the church. When she married John Warner and moved into the world of Virginia politics, she was still Elisheba Rachel. She didn't broadcast it every day, but it was there. It was part of her DNA.
Her support for Israel was massive. And it wasn't just "celebrity charity" stuff. It was risky.
In 1967, during the Six-Day War, she helped raise nearly $1 million for Israel. This led to her films being banned in several Arab countries, including Egypt. At the time, she was the biggest movie star on the planet. Imagine the guts it took to tell the Egyptian government to get lost while you're trying to promote Cleopatra.
The Entebbe incident
Here is a detail most people miss. In 1976, when an Air France flight was hijacked and flown to Entebbe, Uganda, Taylor was horrified. Most of the hostages were Israeli. She actually offered herself as a replacement hostage.
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She reached out to the Israeli government and basically said, "Take me instead." They didn't take her up on it, obviously, but the gesture was 100% Liz. She was dramatic, sure, but she was also incredibly brave.
Myths vs. Reality
Let's clear some things up.
- Myth: She converted only to please Mike Todd.
- Reality: Mike Todd actually didn't pressure her at all. He was famously secular. She did it after he died as a way to honor him and find her own spiritual path.
- Myth: She stopped practicing after the fifties.
- Reality: She was buried in a Jewish ceremony at Forest Lawn. The funeral was presided over by Rabbi Jerry Cutler.
She even insisted that her funeral start fifteen minutes late. Why? Because she wanted to be late for her own funeral. That’s classic Taylor. But the ceremony itself followed Jewish tradition. The casket was simple wood, and she was draped in a traditional shroud.
The legacy of a Jewish icon
Elizabeth Taylor’s Judaism wasn't a costume. It shaped how she handled her later years, especially her activism.
When the AIDS crisis hit in the eighties, the world turned its back. People were terrified. But Taylor stepped up. She founded amfAR and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. There’s a very Jewish concept called Tikkun Olam—repairing the world. Whether she used that specific phrase or not, that’s exactly what she was doing.
She used her fame as a shield for the vulnerable. She wasn't afraid of the "stigma." She had been a Jewish woman in Hollywood; she knew what it felt like to be an outsider, even as an insider.
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What can we learn from her?
Taylor showed that identity isn't just about where you’re born. It’s about where you find your truth. She was a woman of extremes—extreme wealth, extreme beauty, extreme talent—but her faith was one of the few quiet, consistent things in her life.
She didn't care about the optics. She cared about the conviction.
If you're looking into her life, don't just look at the movies. Look at the way she stood up for her community when it wasn't popular. That's the real story.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts
If you want to understand the spiritual side of Hollywood's Golden Age, you should look into the history of Temple Israel of Hollywood. It was the hub for many stars who were looking for meaning beyond the studio lots. You can also research the "Entebbe Replacement" letters, which are archived and show just how serious Taylor was about her commitment to the Jewish people. Finally, checking out the biography Elizabeth by J. Randy Taraborrelli gives a great, nuanced look at her conversion process and how it affected her relationship with her family.