Elizabeth Taylor hospitalized; cause unknown

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Elizabeth Taylor was hospitalized for an undisclosed reason but was expected to return home soon, representatives for the Oscar-winning actress said Thursday.

A statement released by Dick Guttman, her Los Angeles-based publicist, did not say where Taylor was staying, nor did it specify what was ailing the 76-year-old actress.

"Ms. Taylor is fine," the statement read. "Her hospital visit was precautionary. She will be returning home shortly. At present, she is surrounded by family, friends and fabulous jewels."

Guttman said he had no further details. A person who answered a call placed to Taylor's home Thursday, who would not give her full name, said only that Taylor's condition was "nothing to worry about."

A number of health issues have dogged Taylor through the years, including congestive heart failure in 2004 that, compounded with spinal fractures and the effects of scoliosis, left her nearly bedridden. She's also battled ulcers, amoebic dysentery, bursitis, acute bronchitis, two serious bouts of pneumonia, drug and alcohol addiction and a benign brain tumor that was removed in 1997.

Taylor won Oscars for roles in "Butterfield 8" in 1960 and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in 1966. She also won a special Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, mainly for her work as an AIDS activist, in 1993. She lives in Bel-Air, a section of Los Angeles that is home to many of Hollywood's elite figures.

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