Oscar-winning actress and longtime activist Elizabeth Taylor passed away last Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 79. According to the Los Angeles Times, all four of her children were with her at the time of her death. She is survived by her children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. "My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest with great passion, humor and love," Taylor's son, Michael Wilding, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world." Taylor was a force to be reckoned with, both on- and off-screen. A two-time Academy Award-winner for Best Actress, Taylor was a child star and Hollywood royalty, balancing a highly publicized personal life (she was married eight times to seven husbands) with an incredible film career. She also acted on stage, taking Broadway by storm in the 1980s. Yet Taylor's work behind the scenes of world activism may be her greatest legacy. A renowned AIDS activist, and according to the Huffington Post, Taylor devoted a great deal of time and energy to AIDS charities, raising more than $100 million to fight the disease. She helped to found the American Foundation for AIDS Research and also created her own foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. In 1992, she was awarded the Jean Herscholt Humanitarian Academy Award for her activism and charity work.

Tributes from stars to Taylor have been flowing in almost nonstop since her death was announced Wednesday morning. "It's the end of an era," Barbra Streisand said. "It wasn't just her beauty or her stardom-it was her humanitarianism. She put a face on HIV/AIDS. She was funny. She was generous. She made her life count." Elton John echoed Streisand, saying, "[Taylor] earned our adoration for her stunning beauty and for being the very essence of glamorous movie stardom. And she earned our enduring love and respect for her compassion and her courage in standing up and speaking out about AIDS when others preferred to bury their heads in the sand."

For other celebrities, the loss was more personal. "Liz was a dear friend," Julie Andrews told People Magazine. "She was a great legendary lady of Hollywood and she will be mourned worldwide."An activist, a role model, a generous person-Elizabeth Taylor represented the sort of real triple-threat that today's stars don't seem to want to be. Hopefully, the next generation of Hollywood kids will learn from her example.