Intimate portrait of Liz Taylor at 24 seen for the first time

Fabulous: Liz Taylor aged 24 in the photograph she gave to third husband Michael Todd. The picture was taken by one of her closest friends, actor and photographer Roddy McDowall

The picture was taken by one of her closest friends, actor and photographer Roddy McDowall. He persuaded her to pose naked by promising her it would be done tastefully.

She then gave it to Todd as a present after he proposed in 1956 – the pair married a few months later but the relationship was tragically short-lived.

Todd was killed 13 months after their wedding day when his private plane crashed during a storm over New Mexico.