Read James Dean's Full Horrific 'Confession' to Elizabeth Taylor About How He Was Sexually Abused by His Childhood Priest
Taylor knew a dark secret about the legendary Hollywood star.
Jan. 14 2025, Published 7:45 p.m. ET
James Dean opened up about his horrific childhood trauma to actress Elizabeth Taylor.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the actor "shared his deepest pain" of being sexually abused by his childhood priest with his close friend and co-star, Taylor.
Dean and Taylor's friendship, as well as the actor's abuse and sexuality, were uncovered in the new biography, Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean.
Dean was killed in a car accident at age 24 in 1955.
Despite Dean's career only lasting five years – abruptly ending with his death in a car crash at age 24 in 1955 – he cemented himself in Hollywood history as a heartthrob with back-to-back hits East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause.
While viewers fawned over Dean in the 1950s – and the decades since his death – lore alleged he was secretly gay.
In Jason Colavito's biography, Dean's history with both men and women is explored, as well as other secrets the actor closely guarded, including his alleged childhood abuse.
Before his death, Dean shared a close friendship with co-star Taylor and opened up to her about his childhood trauma.
Colavito detailed Dean's close friendship with Taylor, who died aged 79 in 2011.
Dean and Taylor co-starred in the 1956 film Giant – and while the pair apparently initially got off on the wrong foot, with Dean "purposely provoking Taylor early on by ignoring her," they soon became close confidants.
So much so that Dean confessed his biggest childhood trauma to her.
The author wrote Taylor "saw him as a wounded puppy, and he saw her as sensitive, caring and (most importantly) safe."
He continued: "They stayed up long nights talking, and Dean found that once he started to let slip bits of emotional truth, the words poured out.
"He told Taylor that his minister — he almost certainly meant the Reverend (James) DeWeerd — had sexually abused him, and Taylor felt that the trauma of the abuse had hurt him deeply and profoundly."
The author said Dean's trauma from his molestation 'hurt him deeply and profoundly.'
After Taylor's 2011 death, writer Kevin Sessums claimed she told him about Dean's molestation confession during a 1997 interview for POZ magazine.
Sessums said Taylor made him promise not to share about the molestation until after her death.
He claimed the actress told him: "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."
Taylor reportedly told a writer about Dean's confession in 1997 but made him promise to keep it a secret until after her death.
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Taylor was said to be one of the first in the industry to question Dean's sexuality.
Colavito wrote: "As he shared more of his life, his loves and his pain, Taylor developed the distinct impression that Dean was trying to tell her he was gay."
The actress went on to become known as an "ally" to the LGBTQ+ community and had close friendships with several closeted actors, one of which being Dean and Taylor's fellow Giant co-star, Rock Hudson.
He noted Taylor's friendships with other closeted stars could have also been a factor in her deep sympathy for Dean.
Colavito added: "For the first time, he shared his deepest pain with someone who neither dismissed nor mocked nor blamed him.
"Yet even now, his discomfort and his fear prevailed. After baring his soul, he couldn't look Taylor in the eye and would sulk in silence for days, wracked with guilt or embarrassment, until he worked up the courage to share more of himself."
