Taylor Swift is reflecting on a different Taylor. On Tuesday, the Eras Tour artist dropped the music video for “Elizabeth Taylor,” a track off her 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl that honors the late screen legend.
Premiering exclusively on Apple Music and Spotify, the video features clips from some of movie star Elizabeth Taylor’s most iconic films, including 1956’s Giant, 1958’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 1963’s Cleopatra and 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Taylor Nation, the official fan page for the artist, revealed on social media that the tribute was released in honor of the last day of Women’s History Month, which takes place throughout the month of March.
Who was Elizabeth Taylor? Why did Taylor Swift make a tribute to her?
Elizabeth Taylor, who died in 2011 at 79, was one of old Hollywood’s most adored — and talked about — stars. She rose to fame as a teenager with roles in films like the 1948 romantic comedy Julia Misbehaves and 1949’s Little Women, and was known for her supposedly violet eyes, which were framed by a double row of eyelashes. (Swift nods to the performer’s eyes in “Elizabeth Taylor,” saying in the chorus that she would “cry my eyes violet.”)
But despite Elizabeth Taylor’s many Hollywood successes — including two Academy Awards for Best Actress — the public was uniquely fascinated by her love life. Elizabeth Taylor was married eight times to seven different men, including Conrad Hilton Jr., the great-grand uncle of Paris Hilton, and her best friend Debbie Reynolds’ ex-husband, Eddie Fisher. She also famously wed Richard Burton twice.
Swift’s song “Elizabeth Taylor” was inspired by the life of the film star, whom she feels a deep connection to. In a 2025 interview with Z100’s Elvis Duran Show, the “Fate of Ophelia” singer said the track was about her “emotions and my issues with fame through the lens of cosplaying the life of Elizabeth Taylor.”
The opening lyrics to the song reference Portofino, Italy, one of Elizabeth Taylor’s favorite places, and the Paris hotel Plaza Athénée, where the actress lived with then-husband Burton.
“She is always someone that I’ve looked up to as being this very glamorous, very beloved, but for some reason a polarizing figure, which I found myself in that place, too,” Swift added.
This is not the first time Swift has nodded to the actress in her work. Her song “…Ready For It?” off her 2017 album Reputation calls a lover the “Burton to this Taylor.”
Fans say the music video is a ‘waste of potential’ and a ‘fan edit’
While many fans expressed excitement about the Instagram post announcing the news, not everyone was sold on the compilation video as the official music video for this song.
One fan wrote, “Soooo listen I LOVED it but I would really have loved to see a real MV with actors and a storyline! Are there any Easter eggs in this video or anything? Like how could there beeeeee. I love u Taylorrr and you are amazing but it’s just not what I was expecting.”
Another added, “WHAT A WASTE OF POTENTIAL FOR A BANGER OF A SONG. the way she could’ve just recreated those scenes I swear she’d look just like her…”
Others declared the choice less of a music video and more of a “fan edit” to the late star. And a few mentioned that they wanted a video akin to the one Swift made in 2015 for her 1989 song “Wildest Dreams,” in which she embodied an Elizabeth Taylor-like film actress who falls in love with her onscreen costar.
Back in February, Swift dropped the music video for The Life of a Showgirl song “Opalite,” which she directed and starred in opposite Domhnall Gleeson. She also released the also self-directed “The Fate of Ophelia” video in October 2025, alongside the album’s debut.
Currently, Swift is facing a legal battle over The Life of a Showgirl, in which performer Maren Wade has accused Swift of disregarding her trademark.
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