20 Most Influential Actors Of All Time

For many, Elizabeth Taylor is one of the first people that comes to mind when considering the greats of cinema. Thanks to her stylish, iconic and powerful performance in the 1963 epic Cleopatra, she is one of Hollywood's earliest examples of the "celebrity".

Though it can be easy to dismiss her as a figure rather than an actress, thanks to the image producers crafted of her in '60s, behind the tabloids and shifting attitudes of audiences (many of whom were more interested in Taylor's personal life than her art), Taylor influence is also made up of some truly great performances.

From Cleopatra, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Butterfield 8, which won her an Oscar, she carved a career out of being an intelligent and competent performer and top box office draw. Her career saw a decline in the late '60s and early '70s, but thanks to a career best performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Taylor was known by many critics at the time as one of the strongest actors of her generation.

Outside of acting, she was hounded by the rising tide of paparazzi photographers and received more media attention for her personal life than her professional endeavours. She was also, believe it or not, the first star to release a perfume brand, and since her brilliant rise to the greats of Hollywood being a celebrity has never been the same since.