Last Updated: 21 Apr 2011

An unlikely friendship with icon

Since Elizabeth Taylor's death various stories have emerged, not least the fact that she told a reporter, off the record until she died, that James Dean had confessed to her that he had suffered horrific sexual abuse as a child.

There are also wild tales about just how much her extensive collection of jewels could go for (last estimate was $1 billion!).

But perhaps most surprising was the details about those she was close to before her death, namely Colin Farrell.

It's perhaps not that random when you consider the decades long friendship she had with Michael Jackson (who was rumoured to have modelled his plastic surgery on her face).

But there were eyebrows raised when Colin actually read out a poem at Elizabeth's memorial.

Colin spoke about their friendship after the memorial saying, "How did we become friends? You know, the old story of boy meets girl, and boy pesters girl with too many phone calls at inappropriate hours of the night."

He continued, "I was just lucky enough to become her friend in the last year and a half . I adore her…still. Elizabeth chose it [the poem he read]. It was a tricky poem as well. Even in passing she had me under the thumb, sweating bricks."