Taylor Swift’s Elizabeth Taylor Video Celebrates Hollywood’s Most Iconic Mother

When I first streamed Taylor Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl last fall, the second track “Elizabeth Taylor” was my immediate favorite. I’m not alone in this — the upbeat, rueful tune is the album’s most striking, according to multiple critics.

And as Swift sings, “I’d cry my eyes violet,” we feel intimately connected to both the musician and the actor, worshipped for her stunning appearance, but misunderstood by even the most well-intentioned lovers.

The music video released this week, initially on Spotify and Apple Music, pays homage to Taylor in the best possible way, taking us through her life by way of her cinematic journey. Her grandkids apparently approve, too.

According to Variety, the montage of iconic film scenes and archival footage celebrating the late actress includes features clips from Julia Misbehaves (1948), Father of the Bride (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), Love Is Better Than Ever (1952), Rhapsody (1954), Elephant Walk (1954), Giant (1956), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Cleopatra (1963), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and Boom! 1968). and others.

YouTube will publish the video on Thursday.