ELIZABETH TAYLOR - DAME ELIZABETH TAYLOR 'HOME AND HAPPY' AFTER HOSPITAL STAY

DAME ELIZABETH TAYLOR 'HOME AND HAPPY' AFTER HOSPITAL STAY

Dame Elizabeth Taylor has returned home after spending several weeks in a Los Angeles hospital, her publicist has confirmed.

Dick Guttman - who last month denied reports that the Oscar-winning actress was gravely ill - gave no details other than confirming a report from People magazine which claimed the 76-year-old had been discharged.

"Ms Taylor is at home and happy - and busier than ever," an unidentified friend was quoted as saying.

"She's living her life. She's been having dinner with friends. She's working."

Another source was quoted by the celebrity magazine as saying Taylor was planning trips to Europe and Hawaii, as well as working on a new packing line for her perfume White Diamond.

It was claimed in July that the Cleopatra star had been hospitalised with heart failure and had been put on life support.

In response, Guttman called the rumours "dramatic, overstated and untrue".

"Her hospital visit was precautionary. She will be returning home shortly," he said on August 1st.

The National Velvet actress, made an honorary Dame by the Queen in 2000, has suffered from a number of health problems in recent years and is confined to a wheelchair due to her osteoporosis.

A mother-of-four, she has broken her back five times, had a benign brain tumour removed and suffers from diabetes and congestive heart failure.

However, she denied claims she was suffering from Alzheimer's during a 2006 interview with CNN's Larry King.

"Oh come on, do I look like I'm dying?" she asked the talk show host.