Kim Kardashian recalls ‘surreal’ interview with Elizabeth Taylor

Kim Kardashian has executive produced a series on the late Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor.

Kim Kardashian was “so nervous” interviewing her idol Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

The Skims founder, 43, conducted what is thought to be the last interview with the late Hollywood star for Harper’s Bazaar before she passed away in 2011 at the age of 73 from congestive heart failure, and admitted it was a “surreal” experience.

Kim is the executive producer of BBC Arts’ three-part series ‘Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar’, in which she opens up about meeting the ‘Cleopatra’ actress and how surprised Elizabeth was that she knew so much about her jewellery collection.

She said: “I was doing a shoot for Harper’s Bazaar, and they said they’d love it to have a Cleopatra-themed cover, and that I could interview Elizabeth for the cover story.

“Everyone knew how much I loved her and I was so excited.

“Interviewing her felt surreal, I was so nervous.

“Just to know we had a good time doing it. Elizabeth would laugh and say, ‘I can’t believe you know so much. I can’t believe you know more about my jewellery than I even remember.’”

The ‘Kardashians’ star also spoke about how Elizabeth – who was one of the world’s highest paid movie stars and was known for her HIV/AIDS activism – continues to inspire and “motivate” her as someone who wasn’t afraid to speak out on the issues she cared about and use her platform to help others.

Kim – who has become involved in prison reform advocacy in recent years – said: “I’ve always looked to her to motivate me.

“It doesn’t matter what’s acceptable to other people if you believe in it and that’s what you want to fight for.

“You fight for those people who don’t have voices, to be their voice.

“I think if you have a platform that you can use to talk about the issues that are really wrong with this world, then you’re shedding a light for so many people that otherwise they might not even know about.

“Elizabeth has been such an inspiration to me. She was a huge driving force in paving the way for anyone in my position today.

“It’s not easy to be first, you know? And I love that there’s someone like her to look up to.”

The series will analyse Elizabeth’s technique as an actress and will examine “how she reinvented the nature of fame, even as she smashed the glass ceiling in Hollywood, before going on to become a billion-dollar businesswoman, activist and advocate.”

It also features interviews with Dame Joan Collins, 91, who competed against Elizabeth for the titular role in 1963’s ‘Cleopatra’, Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris, 26, and 66-year-old femme fatale actress-and-model Sharon Stone.

‘Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar’ heads to BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on September 27.