Life Remembering Liz: 1932-2011

With the passing of this great movie star, philanthropist, and-bona fide, in her day-living legend, it is our pleasure as much as our duty to celebrate her glorious life. Our cameras were trained on Liz since National Velvet, and our splendid archive of photography needs to be seen-by you, her fans, right now, in this moment.Elizabeth first appeared on LIFE's cover when she was barely a teenager, and last graced the cover when she trusted LIFE to tell the story of her late-in-life brain surgery with taste and accuracy. In between there was all the rest: the child-star days, the early marriages, the sensational movies, the incredible drama that was "Liz and Dick," the later success on the Broadway stage, the transition to regal presence: benefactor, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, American icon.