Judy Woodruff:

It has been 12 years since legendary Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor died at the age of 79.

And, for the first time, her estate granted a journalist access to the icon's private diaries, personal letters and off-the-record interview transcripts. The result is a nearly 450-page examination of Taylor's extraordinary career, advocacy efforts, complex personal life, marriages, and battle with addiction.

I spoke recently with Kate Andersen Brower, the author of "Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon."

Kate Andersen Brower, welcome back to the "NewsHour."

There must be dozens, if not scores of books about Elizabeth Taylor. What made you want to write another one?

Kate Andersen Brower, Author, "Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon": It was a unique kind of moment where I wanted to write about an important historic figure.

And I got to know Senator John Warner, who was Elizabeth's sixth husband. And Senator Warner put me in touch with her family. And the family said they were finally ready to let a journalist see her diaries and letters. They were very protective of her. And it had been about a decade since she had passed away.

So, it was a unique sort of chain of events that led to this book.

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