After the release of Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, earlier this month, it’s clear that one of the fan favorites from the track list is a song called “Elizabeth Taylor,” inspired by the legendary actress who got her start during the golden age of Hollywood.
Now, in a new interview with People published on October 22, Elizabeth Taylor’s son, Christopher Wilding, is speaking out about how he really feels about Swift’s new song about his late mother.
Wilding, who was born to Taylor and her second husband, Michael Wilding, told People that the references Swift made to his late mother in the song are “especially magical,” and it sounds like he thinks that if the two had been able to meet, they would have gotten along.
“She and my mom do seem like kindred spirits,” he said. “They are both the very embodiment of female empowerment. The way [Swift] has deftly captured the similarities and parallel tracks in their careers and personal lives is delightful.”
He also compared the way his mother managed to “inspire generations” even after her death to the way that Swift is already doing the same thing through her own career.
“Even as I believe my mother was for hers, Taylor Swift is an inspirational role model for her generation,” Wilding added. “Her advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights as well as her philanthropic work would have garnered her great admiration from my mother had they had a chance to get to know one another.”
Taylor Swift Reached Out to Elizabeth Taylor’s Estate While Recording the Song
Fascinatingly enough, it was actually Wilding who made Swift want to write the song about Taylor in the first place. In a TikTok video shared by Pandora, the “Fate of Ophelia” singer explained that her parents sent her a clip of him comparing her to his mother that stopped her in her tracks.
“I was so flattered by that when I read it, I just immediately started talking to Travis [Kelce] about it. I was going on and on about Elizabeth Taylor, talking about all the things about her that I loved…how she kept challenging herself late into her life,” she said.
In that moment, she was so inspired that she immediately got out of the car they were riding in to record herself singing the melody of the song her brain was already creating as inspiration struck.
In an interview with Radio 2’s Breakfast Show, Swift said that she gave Taylor’s estate a heads up ahead of the release of the album.
“If it’s Elizabeth Taylor, we go to their family and her estate and let them know and they were lovely about it,” she said.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.