Hollywood actresses as activists

Here, The Culture Desk profiles these three film stars who have ventured out to champion causes dear to them. In the process they have made ripples in areas outside filmdom.

Elizabeth Taylor: The light-eyed septuagenarian is perhaps as well known for her films as her numerous marriages. Her memorable roles are in films such as National Velvet, Cleopatra, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (for which she won a best actress Oscar nomination) and Suddenly Last Summer. Describing her, Tennessee Williams screen playwright of the last two films, said: 'Liz Taylor is one of the great phenomena and symptoms of our time in America.'

After eight marriages- she divorced and remarried Richard Burton twice over- she immersed herself in the global battle against AIDS. In 1985 she co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) with Dr Mathilde Krim--the same year that her dear friend and former co-star Rock Hudson died from the deadly disease. In 1991, the actress founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which has distributed over US $8 million to AIDS organisations around the world. Her famous name helps support AIDS research.

Summing up her life, Taylor, says:' I have had everything. I've had my share of joy, pain, luck and rough times. I've been back and forth like a yo-yo. I hope I've learned from all the experiences I've had.'

Jane Fonda: The former wife of media moghul Ted Turner and the daughter of famous film actor Henry Fonda, Jane is a well known political activist. Her films include Cat Ballou (1965), Barefoot in the Park (1967), Klute (1974, for which she won an Oscar), A Doll's House (1973) and Coming Home (1978, for which she won a second Oscar). Her more recent works were the thriller The Morning After (1986) and Stanley and Iris (1990) with Robert De Niro. Her most recent project is 2004's Monster-in-law with Jennifer Lopez.

She took on the role of an outspoken political activist in 1967, during the Vietnam War. After visits with several French Communists and underground revolutionaries, she decided to speak out against the war. In 1970, she spoke to Duke University students: 'If you understood what Communism was, you would hope and pray on your knees that we would some day become Communist.' Fonda's controversial role in the Vietnam war, earned her the sobriquet of Hanoi Jane.

In 1982 Fonda launched a hugely successful workout book and video, called Jane Fonda's Workout. The video spurred an aerobics craze and she kept pace with numerous exercise videos throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2002, she joined the pacifists demonstrating against the occupation of Jerusalem. She paid a visit to Israel and Jerusalem on a mission for the organisation V-Day, which fights violence against women worldwide.

She continues in her role as an activist. She is a globetrotter who travels afar to voice the concerns of minority groups such as children and women in politically occupied countries.

Brigitte Bardot: This actress, best known for her kittenish appeal, was the first foreign-language star to attain success comparable to America's indigenous talents. While the vast majority of her pictures failed to rank even remotely close to the best of her native France's New Wave-era output, her films made a mark in English-speaking countries.

As a young girl of 15, Brigitte came into the public eye when she appeared on the cover of Elle magazine. Among her popular films are Le Trou Normand, Helen of Troy, Cette Sacree Gamine and En Effeuillant. The last two films positioned her as France's sex symbol by 1957.

Today Brigitte is better known as a champion of animal rights. Her organisation, the Foundation Brigitte Bardot, is dedicated to the cause of animals and is perhaps more significant than any of her films.

Compiled by Cultural Correspondent