My 13 1/2 minutes with THE Elizabeth Taylor (True Story)

This morning while I was checking the news in the internet, I was surprised to see on the headline that the famous Hollywood actress, Elizabeth Taylor, had died at age 79. I felt sad upon learning about her death. It made me recall a moment in my life many years ago when I had a chance encounter with Elizabeth Taylor. Yes, I know this is hard to believe but let me tell you the story about my encounter with Miss Taylor.

During the 1990s, I used to work for a large telecommunication company in California and I was assigned at our corporate accounts department. We mostly handled accounts belonging to company executives, millionaires and also famous people.

One day, I got a call from one of our key accounts representatives telling me that she is transferring a call to me because the customer would like to be coached on how to operate the special functions of her phone. When I asked the rep what is the name of the customer, she responded, “This is your lucky day because I am transferring to you Miss Elizabeth Taylor”. I chuckled a bit and said, “Sure, there are a thousand Elizabeth Taylors out there”. With a friendly but serious voice, the rep said, “This is not just any Elizabeth Taylor. This is THE Elizabeth Taylor”. All of a sudden I experienced a brief panic and excitement but immediately composed myself. I quickly calm myself to receive probably the only time in my life that I will speak to a legendary Hollywood superstar.

Ever since I was a young boy, I was mesmerized by the beauty and talent of Miss Taylor. When I saw her pictures when she was still a young lady, I have to admit that I developed a crush on her. Her eyes are very captivating along with her smile which are both very warm and mysterious.

When the call from Elizabeth Taylor finally came through to my line, I introduced myself professionally (trying to keep myself very calm) and I heard the familiar voice of Miss Taylor greeting me with, “Oh, hello darling. How are you?” I was smiling from ear to ear after hearing those lovely words. I very patiently walked her through the functions of her expensive phone. Fortunately, I knew the functions of her phone or else it would have been very embarrassing for me. After finally walking her through key functions of her phone, I told Miss Taylor that if she ever needed help, she can call me and I gave her my cell phone number. To my surprise, she too gave me her other cell phone number (I guess she had two cell phones). She politely asked me to keep the cell phone number that she gave me confidential since she does not want to receive calls from people she does not know.

Our conversation lasted for about 13.5 minutes but the memory of that conversation created in me a lovely memory whom I will treasure throughout the remaining days of my life. I can’t believe that I became part of Elizabeth Taylor’s life…well, for 13.5 minutes, that is.

I grieved, in my own small way, the departure of Elizabeth Taylor whom I found to be very nice and polite. Though she was a world renowned actress and businesswoman, she never made me feel that she was all that during our brief conversation. I found her to be very charming and humorous. I will miss her.



“You find out who your real friends are when you are involved in a scandal”—Elizabeth Taylor.