Long Live Liz Taylor!

Liz Taylor recently appeared on Larry King Live to dispel the rumors that she is dead and/or suffering Alzheimer's disease. I felt for her, really I did, but I must confess that I dread the day when I can't stand at the checkout line at the drugstore and read weird tabloid headlines about her. It seems to me that Liz has been on her last legs my entire life (at least according to the tabloids), and I don't know what I'll do when she doesn't come back fighting like a lion. I've always considered Liz a force of nature, but as such, she's been easy to take for granted. Lest you should do the same, I offer you my top ten reasons to love Liz Taylor:

1.) She stands up for herself and says what she thinks with absolute grace. Kudos to Liz Taylor, the most difficult interview Ms. Oprah Winfrey has ever done! Um, Oprah? When Liz asked not to discuss her love life, was that really so hard to respect? You couldn't think of anything to say about Lassie or AIDS charities or jewelry? You really had to ask about Burt f-ing Reynolds? Yeah Oprah, looks like Liz was way out of line to be annoyed at your questions.

2.) She made up 50% of the Taylor-Burtons, and never looked better than when Richard was throwing her around onscreen...Come to think of it, he looked pretty good when she was throwing him around too. I defy anyone to find a better love story than theirs.

3.) Before she discovered boys, a 14 year old Liz wrote and illustrated a book about her pet chipmunk called Nibbles and Me. Could she be any cuter?

4.) One time I realized that I hated her voice, and then I saw this interview with her, and she said, "I hate my voice," and I had to love her. Who can resist a girl who knows her own flaws and is completely willing to laugh at herself?

5.) She lets other people try on her jewelry, even the really good stuff. She also lets us peek in to her collection in My Love Affair With Jewelry. I can waste entire evenings just reading that book. The best anecdote involves Liz trying to pry her new pearls from the mouth of a puppy without a pouting Richard Burton realizing what was going on.

6.) She wrote about overcoming addiction and weight in an absolutely candid, just-between-us kind of way in Liz Takes Off. Sadly most of the recipes include artificial sweetener, but I really think Liz wanted to help other girls get skinny and healthy.

7.) She thinks Johnny Depp is hot.

8.) Her compassion is so boundless that she even let obsessed fan Michael Jackson be her friend.

9.) She's dealt with a lifetime of health problems, saved Montgomery Clift from a terrible car accident, and adopted a little girl with bad hips. For being so fabulous, Liz has never shied away from real life, and she's never been afraid to face the worst it has to offer.

10.) She's LIZ TAYLOR!

Need I say more?