Drama and Diamonds: Remembering Elizabeth Taylor

Hollywood's greatest icon has passed away. Elizabeth Taylor Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner Fortensky died today at the age of 79, after years of battling various illnesses. She was admitted to Cedars Sinai over two months ago for congestive heart failure.

Any tribute to her would only scratch the surface of what she meant not only to Hollywood, but to the gay community, especially during the early days of the AIDS crisis. She was one of the first, and certainly the most recognizable celebrity to embrace gay men living with the disease, at a time when fear and ignorance about AIDS ran rampant.

Here and on the pages that follow is a gallery of the world's most beautiful woman. She will be missed.