Elizabeth Taylor's nude photo revealed

The picture appears in public for the first time, is said to be Taylor's engagement gift to producer Michael Todd, her third husband.

The photograph was taken by one of her closest friends, actor and photographer Roddy McDowall, who had persuaded her to pose naked by promising her it would be done tastefully, the Daily Mail reported.

Taylor gave the photograph to Todd as a present after he proposed in 1956. The the relationship was tragically short-lived as Todd died 13-months later when his private plane crashed during a storm over New Mexico.

The 'Cleopatra' star is believed to have given the nude photograph to her assistant and make-up artist Penny Taylor.

The photograph was bought by a private collector Jim Shaudis in 1980 and had been thought lost. But after her death from heart failure last week aged 79, he decided to show the image publicly for fans of the star.