Kim Kardashian will executive produce a documentary series about screen siren Dame Elizabeth Taylor for the BBC.
The three-part boxset will feature privileged access to those who knew the Cleopatra star best, including relatives, friends and colleagues.
The series, which has a working title Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar, will look at her craft and technique as an actress, as well as how she reinvented the nature of fame and became a billion-dollar businesswoman, activist, and advocate.
It will aim to tell the story behind the soap opera narrative – from child star to Hollywood legend, with eight marriages, a diamond obsession and various addictions, reframing her as an actor, rebel, and mogul who created the blueprint for modern celebrity.
The series, commissioned by BBC Arts, will draw on never-before-heard audio tapes, interviews, and unseen TV footage, alongside her film archive.
Among Dame Elizabeth’s best-known films are National Velvet, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Butterfield 8.
The London-born star died in Los Angeles in 2011.
The series will also feature interviews with a range of high-profile stars who knew Dame Elizabeth personally – including Kardashian, who conducted the last interview with her before she died.
Also featured will be Dame Joan Collins, her friend and contemporary who competed with her for the role of Cleopatra, and Margaret O’Brien, who went to school with her on the MGM backlot.
Leading scientist Dr Anthony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to the US president, will also feature to discuss his work alongside Dame Elizabeth in the fight against Aids.
Kardashian said: “Elizabeth Taylor was unapologetically herself, a fighter.
“She is proof that you can keep evolving and changing and have different chapters in your life – and she paved the way for all of us who came after her with that blueprint.”
Alistair Pegg, commissioning editor at the BBC, said: “This exciting series promises a new understanding of Elizabeth Taylor – both her technique and power as an actor, and her capacity for reinventing herself.”
The series is in production and will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
By Laura Harding, PA Deputy Entertainment Editor
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