Marking 25 years at the forefront of the fight against AIDS, the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) paid tribute to its Founding International Chairman, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, at the 2011 amfAR New York Gala on February 9.

“I will not be silenced and I will not give up and I will not be ignored.” With these words, Elizabeth Taylor lent her voice to the voiceless, her iconic image to those who had previously been invisible, and her compassion and determination to a cause many others had shunned: the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Taylor died Wednesday from congestive heart failure. She was 79.

Taylor, who worked tirelessly on behalf of AIDS-related charities and fund raising, helped start amfAR after the death of her former co-star and friend, Rock Hudson.

She also created her own AIDS foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation. By 1999, she had helped to raise an estimated $50 million to fight the disease.

Tags: AMFAR, Celebrities, Elizabeth Taylor, HIV/AIDS, In Memoriam

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