The glamorous queen of American cinema stardom died of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, her publicist Sally Morrison said. adding she had struggled with the condition "for many years."

The Hollywood doyenne died at 1:28 a.m. "peacefully," after she had been hospitalized for the past couple of weeks, celebrity website TMZ.com reported.

A private family funeral is pending later this week.

Four of Taylor's children, Michael and Christopher Wilding, daughters Liza Todd and Maria Burton, were with her at the hospital when she died, Morrison said.

The legendary two-time Academy Awards winner is survived by 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Born in London, England, on Feb. 27, 1932, the child star made her film debut in 1944 when she starred in MGM's "National Velvet, " which became an instant smash hit.

A series of films followed in the 1940s and continued for more than seven decades.

Her film highlights included "Giant" with James Dean; "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with Paul Newman, "Cleopatra" with Richard Burton, who she married and divorced twice.

Taylor, whose private life and marriages had been a consistent focus of the tabloid, was married eight times to seven men.

A tireless campaigner in the campaign against AIDS, Taylor served as the founding national chairman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research and founder of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.