Life After Death

Liz Taylor's Fragrances a Windfall for Estate

Made $69 million last year.

Legends indeed never die. Following her passing this week from congestive heart failure, Elizabeth Taylor’s estate will remain wealthy for a long time coming thanks to her lucrative line of fragrances. Her perfume brand, White Diamonds, combined with her other brands Passion and Passion for Men, brought in an estimated $69 million at retail worldwide last year, according to tracking firm Euromonitor International. And sales are expected to receive a boost following the recent wave of remembrances and a renewed interest in her films. Experts say the Taylor estate will take anywhere from 4 to 15 percent of fragrance sales. "You can just go right down the line of these female celebrities that are fashion icons, that are brands," said Mark Roesler, the chief executive of CMG Worldwide, a rights management company whose clients include the estates of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. "That's certainly not going to die."