Liz Taylor in Hospital 12 February 2011

Taylor treated for heart problem12 February 2011
.Print this page|EmailShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on DiggShare on LifestreamSearch: Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor has been taken to hospital with congestive heart failureElizabeth Taylor has been taken to hospital with congestive heart failure.

Her spokeswoman, Sally Morrison, said that the Oscar-winning actress was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre within the past couple of days.

The 78-year-old is being treated for symptoms caused by congestive heart failure, a condition she disclosed she had back in November 2004.

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter RSS Morrison said it is unknown how long she might be in the hospital. She added that Taylor's family appreciated the support from fans, but asked for privacy to allow the medical team space to do its work.

Taylor had been scheduled to attend an amfAR benefit gala in New York, where she was to receive an award alongside President Bill Clinton and designer Diane von Furstenberg, celebrating their dedication to Aids research.

But she missed the event, so Elton John accepted the honour on her behalf and passed along a message from her: "I am there in spirit and I join you in saluting my fellow honourees and all these extraordinary leaders. I am inspired by their example, exhilarated by their vision, and encouraged by their compassion and love. And I love them in return."

Taylor, who has appeared in more than 50 films, won Oscars for her performances in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).

But she has been just as famous for her marriages - all eight of them, including two to Richard Burton - and her lifelong battles with substance abuse, her weight and physical ailments, including numerous visits to the hospital for more than 20 major operations and countless treatments.

The actress had near-fatal bouts with pneumonia in 1961 and 1990, and another respiratory infection forced her to cancel all engagements for several weeks in late 1992. She had both hip joints replaced in 1994 and 1995.

Her 2004 diagnosis for congestive heart failure, compounded with spinal fractures and the effects of scoliosis, left her nearly bedridden. She has also battled ulcers, amoebic dysentery, bursitis, and had a benign brain tumour removed in 1997. In recent years, she has had to use a wheelchair when out in public.

It sounds like she has been through a lot.