Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life

Taped: February 16, 1997
‍Aired: February 24, 1997 on ABC

Elizabeth celebrated her sixty-fifth birthday in 1997 with a star-studded TV special, Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life. The show boasted a glittering array of stars, including Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Cher. Shortly before the taping, Elizabeth learned that she had a benign brain tumor but postponed surgery so the evening, which was a fundraiser for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, could move forward.

Elizabeth celebrates her 65th birthday at the Pantages Theatre

“I had to decide what to do about the party. ABC had gone to enormous expense to arrange a broadcast to celebrate my 65th birthday. The taping was set for Sunday night, February 16, two weeks away, though my actual birthday falls on the 27th. To be there for the show, I’d have to delay the operation. My surgeon said I could.

“And yet, I thought, the last thing I want to do right now is go to a birthday party. I can’t put my heart into that. Then I thought, to back out is really chickenshit. The party was a fund-raiser for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, a benefit for people with AIDS. The only way I can raise money to fight AIDS is by doing things like that. I can’t sing. I can’t dance. I told myself: If I don’t go, I’m letting down the people I love and support with all my heart.”

Elizabeth arrives at her birthday bash on the arm of her dear friend Michael Jackson, who, that evening, would perform a song he wrote in her honour

Highlights of the evening included Hugh Grant confessing that he isn’t likely to be invited back to Elizabeth’s home after he was found rooting around her closet (but, as he said, Shirley MacLaine was caught doing the same thing). Roseann Barr carried onstage atop a litter as the Queen of Denial. Whoopi Goldberg, dripping in diamonds, presenting Elizabeth with her first social security check. Magician David Copperfield making the Krupp diamond disappear. Madonna paying tribute to the woman she called “the most golden of stars.” Michael Jackson performing “Elizabeth, I Love You,” a song he wrote especially for the occasion. Cher paying tribute to Elizabeth’s tireless AIDS work.

The galaxy of stars present that evening to help Elizabeth celebrate her birthday also included the Bacon Brothers, Christine Baranski, Drew Barrymore, Carol Burnett, Harry Connick Jr., Claudia Schiffer, Elizabeth Hurley, Arsenio Hall, Dennis Hopper, Patti LaBelle, Shirley MacLaine, Martina McBride, Rosie O’Donnell, Paul Reiser, David Schwimmer, Rod Stewart, Lily Tomlin, and John Travolta.

The most emotional moment of the night came at the finale when Elizabeth, inviting her family to join her onstage, received a prolonged standing ovation. 

As Elizabeth later reflected, “All that love washing over me washed away my fears.”