8 Hollywood Stars Who Didn't Accept Their Oscars
2. Elizabeth Taylor Was Duped By Her Husband
Equally as problematic as some of Peter O'Toole's roles, and equally as canonised, Elizabeth Taylor found one of her career-defining parts as the titular Egyptian queen in Cleopatra (1963), written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz (brother of Herman/'Mank') and co-starring Richard Burton. But not before Burton and Taylor had burned their marriages on the altar of stardom, embarking on a scandalous affair.
And it was Richard Burton (now her husband), who also co-starred with Taylor in 1966's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? who ultimately caused the actress not to accept her Oscar. Amongst the film's 13 other nominations, Burton and Taylor were up for Best Actor and Best Actress, and at least one of them was a shoe-in for the win.
Burton had lost out on the award four times before, including the previous year's The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and, afraid of turning up for another dud, convinced Taylor to join him in boycotting the ceremony. Lucky for him, it was indeed another loss; unfortunately for her, this wound up being Taylor's second and final win in the category.
Nonetheless, she went on to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993, by which point she had divorced Burton twice over.