Liz Taylor takes abuse confession to grave

James Dean in <i>Giant</i>. Photo / Supplied

Elizabeth Taylor took one of James Dean's most private confessions to the grave when she died on Wednesday - he was molested by a minister when he was a child, according to revered journalist Kevin Sessums.

Taylor opened up about Dean's little-known past during an interview in 1997, when she reportedly swore the writer to secrecy - only allowing him to reveal all upon her death.

The Hollywood icon, who starred alongside Dean in the classic film Giant, told Sessums, "I'm going to tell you something, but it's off the record until I die. OK?"

The journalist has now recalled the 14-year-old interview in a new article for TheDailyBeast.com, in which he quotes Taylor as saying, "When Jimmy was 11 and his mother passed away, he began to be molested by his minister. I think that haunted him the rest of his life. In fact, I know it did. We talked about it a lot. During Giant we'd stay up nights and talk and talk, and that was one of the things he confessed to me."

Dean was killed in a car accident in 1955 at the age of 24, just one year before Giant was released.

-AAP