according to clift's brother, it was likely that clift was either bisexual or gay. elizabeth taylor was a significant figure in his life. he met her when she was supposed to be his date at the premiere for "the heiress". they appeared together in "a place in the sun", where, in their romantic scenes, they received considerable acclaim for their naturalness and their appearance. clift and taylor appeared together again in "raintree county" and "suddenly, last summer". clift and taylor remained good friends until his death. in 2000, at the glaad media awards, where taylor was honoured for her work for the lgbt community, she made the first public declaration by anyone of the fact that clift was gay and called him her closest friend and confidant.