Chronic back problems haven't turned Elizabeth Taylor into a shrinking violet.
The winner of two Academy Awards was swathed in her trademark jewels when she made a regal public entrance to dedicate the new UCLA Clinical AIDS Research and Education Center.
The 73-year-old actress, using a wheelchair, wore a jeweled butterfly barrette in her hair, dozens of bracelets adorned her arms and an enormous diamond lit up her left hand.
It was all for a good cause. In front of an intimate crowd that included rocker Tom Petty and actress Carrie Fisher, Taylor cut a red ribbon to signify the center's official opening Friday and announced the creation of the Elizabeth Taylor Endowment Fund, which will support the center through grants and private donations.