Kim Kardashian Serves Up Elizabeth Taylor-as-Cleopatra Realness for Her Latest Photo Shoot

Kim Kardashian loves a lot of things (all these foods, this outfit, her family, this facial expression), but she really, really loves Elizabeth Taylor.

Ben Hassett

Case in point: After conducting the last interview with the legendary screen actress before she died (in an article that accompanied a Cleopatra-themed photo shoot), Kardashian has shown her passion for the late star both on Instagram and in real life, by buying pieces of her jewelry. (“It’s not just a piece of jewelry,” she said at the time. “She wore them constantly during the final years of her life and I believe they carry her spirit.”)

Now, Kardashian is channeling the star in a very glamorous way — with the help of makeup artist Pat McGrath, who transforms the reality star into several interpretations of Taylor’s Cleopatra for Violet Grey’s The Violet Files. “I love Elizabeth,” Kardashian says in the interview. “Pat and I have had conversations about how iconic she is, and how iconic Cleopatra is. I would have done anything — I would have trusted Pat’s vision no matter what she wanted — but I was really excited that it was the Cleopatra vibe.”

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“Elizabeth Taylor’s makeup in Cleopatra has been reenacted countless times, but for Kim I wanted to create a version that has never been done before, a futuristic 3D version,” McGrath adds. “I wanted to portray a luxurious decadence by using elements of ornate facial jewelry constructed into shapes that pay homage to Egyptian culture, and of course to the rich exotic character that Taylor played in this role.”

Ben Hassett

When she interviewed Taylor for Harper’s Bazaar, Kardashian told Taylor, “You are my idol. But I’m six husbands and some big jewels behind” (that was in 2011; she’s now just four husbands short). And Taylor responded with some very sage advice about collecting those giant gemstones: “Size does matter, but so does the size of the emotion behind it.”

Taylor also gave Kardashian some wisdom when it comes to portraying her iconic Egyptian screen queen. “I have never wanted to be a queen,” Taylor said. “Cleopatra was a role, and I am an actor, so it was fun to play one, but it’s not real.”

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Check out The Violet Files tomorrow for even more, and tell us: What do you think of Kardashian’s Taylor/Cleopatra homage?

–Alex Apatoff
Follow @nicefunalex