There have been countless Hollywood feuds over the years, often caused by clashing egos or personalities being cast alongside one another in the same picture. One famous feud, however, is sadder—as it came at the end of a long and otherwise perfectly happy friendship.
Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor were both born in 1932, both arrived in Hollywood in the 1940s, and by the 1950s were both among the movie industry’s biggest names—Reynolds, thanks to her star turn in Singin’ in the Rain and Taylor, thanks to her star-making turn in National Velvet.
Unlike many actresses of similar age and status at that time, Reynolds and Taylor were never rivals but firm friends.
And after they both married (Reynolds to actor Eddie Fisher, Taylor to Conrad Hilton, Michael Wilding, and then film producer Mike Todd) the pair would often double date with their husbands in tow.
In 1958, however, Michael Todd tragically died in a plane crash just a year after he and Taylor married. Understandably, Taylor was distraught, and Reynolds and Fisher were all too happy to help her through the tragedy—but before long, Fisher and Taylor were doing a lot more together than just that.
Before long, the pair had started having an affair right under Reynolds’ nose, and when news of their romance broke in the press, it caused a scandal. Reynolds’ and Fisher’s marriage was promptly over, but so too was her friendship with Taylor, who soon found herself recast in the press not as a grieving widow, but as a duplicitous homewrecker.
Fisher and Taylor eventually married in 1959—while she and Reynolds would not talk to one another for the next seven years.
There is, however, a happy ending here. Entirely by chance, in 1966 Reynolds and Taylor found themselves booked on the same cruise liner. By then, Taylor’s marriage to Fisher had collapsed and she was now two years into her memorable relationship with Richard Burton. Reynolds too had remarried and had been with millionaire businessman Harry Karl since 1960.
Knowing that her former friend was on board, Reynolds extended an olive branch and asked Taylor if she would like to have dinner with her one evening. Taylor enthusiastically agreed and the pair soon met up to bury the hatchet.
Their friendship renewed, they remained close friends for the rest of their lives—and even starred opposite one another in 2001’s These Old Broads, a comedy written by Reynold’s daughter, Carrie Fisher.