Richard Burton

In 1949, Burton got married to the Welsh actress and producer Sybil Williams. They both had two daughters together––Katherine Burton and Jessica Burton. The couple got divorced after 14 years of being married.

In 1964, he got married to his co-star Elizabeth Taylor. They both married each other twice; their first wedding was in Montreal, Canada and second in Botswana. Their marriage was always under media speculation.

In 1976, shortly after his divorce with Elizabeth Taylor, Burton got married to model Suzy Miller (who was married to the Formula 1 Champion James Hunt), but got divorced within 6 years of their marriage.

Richard Burton was born in Pontrhydyfen, Neath Port, Talbot, Wales, in a working class household to Richard Walter Jenkins and Edith Maude. His father was a coal miner who was a gambler and an alcoholic.

His mother passed away when he was 2 years old and he and his other 11 siblings were taken care of by his sister Cecilia and her husband Elfed. Burton studied at a grammar school and was good at English, Welsh and rugby.

He took part in theater at school and did extremely well in it. One of the school productions was ‘The Apple Cart’ and he received an Eisteddfod prize for excellence in theater. He dropped out of the school at 16.

He worked for the local wartime Co-operative committee and later became a cadet at the Port Talbot Squadron of the Air Training Corps. At the same time he joined the youth drama club where he learnt the fundamentals of acting.

His school teacher was also at the Air Training Corps and adopted him, became his guardian and sent him back to the school. He worked on him and helped him enhance his talents. At 18, he was admitted into Exeter College, Oxford.

In 1947, Burton left the military services and started working on his career in theater by signing up with a theatrical agency. He did his first motion movie ‘The Last Days of Dolwyn’ for which he received praise of the critics.

From 1948-1950, Burton did movies and theater side by side. He did West End production ‘The Lady’s Not For Burning’ and did British movies like: ‘Now Barabbas Was A Robber’, ‘Waterfront’, ‘The Woman With No Name’ and ‘Green Grow the Rushes’.

In 1951, Burton came into the notice by giving a successful performance at Stratford in ‘Henry IV Part I’. He did the role of Prince Hal opposite Anthony Quayle.

In 1952, after signing a contract with Alexander Korda for 5 years, Burton appeared in his first Hollywood movie, ‘My Cousin Rachel, starring opposite Olivia de Havilland. For this movie, 20th Century Fox borrowed him from Korda.

In 1953, Burton did ‘Desert Rats’ along with James Mason. He played the role of a young English captain amid the World War II. After the movie, he became good friends with Mason, who introduced him to the Hollywood Crowd.

Burton received many awards and nominations for his acting in movies, Broadway and television. He received 2 Golden Globes for his movies ‘My Cousin Rachel’ and ‘Equus’. He received a BAFTA for ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’.

For his epic theatrical performances, he received 2 Tony Awards––one for the musical ‘Camelot’ and second as a Special Award. He was also the winner of a Grammy Award for ‘The Little Prince’ in the category of Best Children’s Recording.