So I thought: If you're going to screw me over, I'll use you.' She helped raise more than $270 million for the cause and her estate - she died in 2011 - continues to fund the ETAF's work, donating 25% of her royalties to the foundation. I wanted to retire, but the tabloids wouldn't let me. 'I could take the fame I'd resented and tried to get away from for so many years - but you can never get away from it - and use it to do some good. ' decided that with my name, I could open certain doors, that I was a commodity in myself - and I'm not talking as an actress,' she told Vanity Fair. She was one of the first celebrities to advocate for the cause and co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. However, it was her HIV/AIDS activism that gave her icon status. The Hollywood star initially gained a gay following in the '50s and '60s thanks to her legendary films and stunning style and grace. Elizabeth Taylor is one of the greatest gay icons because of her glamour, talent and activism. Hunts survey of sexual behavior in the 1970s indicated that 7 of males and 3 of females had homosexual experiences during more than three years of their.
