Elizabeth Taylor? nah.

 I watched Zifferelli's 1967 version of The Taming of the Shrew that has Elizabeth Taylor as Katherine.

I thought she was an interesting pick because she is/was so well known for her beauty and sexuality. This part calls for neither and brought on a new element into the performance. She seemed to be more of a tease to her husband and cunning- like all along she knew exactly what she was doing to annoy him.
Her charm really came out in juxtaposition with other frightfully annoying female qualities that were all heightened and rather ugly. Overall though, I really think her beauty sort of betrayed the character that was written.

In comparison, a very modern day telling of this play '10 Things I Hate About You' is similarly based on Shakespeares writing although it is all said in modern day speech.

This Katherine played by Julia Styles, represents a different and more subtle kind of shrew however I think her demeanor and natural looks are more how the part should be played.
Styles has a very dry sense of humor and really only talks to entertain herself or put down others around her. In contrast to Elizabeth Taylor's performance where she is extremely attention grabbing and quite hysterical, Styles compliments a more modern shrew as discussed in my previous post.