From trainee animator to Spielberg, from JAWS to BLUE LAGOON, to falling in love with the ocean and with her husband, Ron, this is the exceptional and unique life story of pioneering marine conservationist, photographer and shark expert Valerie Taylor.
At 86 years old, Valerie Taylor has lived a big, bold adventurous life.
Born in Australia, Valerie spent a great deal of her childhood in New Zealand. A talented artist, she dropped out of school when she contracted polio and was saved by Sister Elizabeth Kenny's treatment plan; it was two years before she could walk unaided. When Valerie was fifteen, she found work as an animator and moved back to Australia with her family. All the while she thrived on being close to the ocean, and was a keen spear fisher.
In the 1950s, she met Ron Taylor and then her real adventures started. Together they sailed all over the world, photographing and filming their travels for magazines, TV and movies, and making many documentaries. Valerie and Ron became interested in conservation, and focused on sharks in particular. They did all the shark work on Jaws, and James Cameron decided he wanted to become a filmmaker because of Valerie and her husband.
Valerie is working with the brilliant Ben Mckelvey to share her story of falling in love with the ocean and with her husband, Ron. From trainee animator to Spielberg, from JAWS to BLUE LAGOON, this is the remarkable story of an incredible woman.
ANZEC Member - Valerie May Taylor
Valerie May Taylor AM (born 9 November 1935) is a conservationist, photographer and filmmaker, and an inaugural member of the diving hall-of-fame. With her husband Ron Taylor, she made documentaries about sharks, and filmed sequences for films including Jaws (1975). In 1967 a Belgian scientific expedition asked the Taylors' to join their endeavour to record life on the Great Barrier Reef. Over several months, Valerie dove the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef from Lady Elliot Island up to the Torres Strait. Taylor and her husband made documentary films about sharks, and were the first people to film great white sharks without the protection of a cage. Their work also included Blue Water, White Death in which they swam cageless among a school of oceanic white tip sharks feeding on a whale carcass. The documentary was successful, and attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg, who called on them to shoot the real great white shark sequences for Jaws. In addition to their work in film, the Taylors have performed conservation work in Australia and elsewhere. They have campaigned to prevent oil exploration in Ningaloo Marine Park, the overturning of mining rights on Coral Sea Islands, the protection of the Great Barrier Reef prior to its being awarded World Heritage status, and they have lobbied for marine sanctuary zones in South Australia. Taylor has worked as an underwater photographer, and work has appeared in National Geographic Magazine, including some macro images of coral and invertebrates on the Great Barrier Reef that were featured on its front cover in 1973. During the early 1980s Taylor began experiments with sharks wearing a steel mesh suit. The 1981 front cover of National Geographic magazine featured Taylor, off the coast of California, during one of these experiments with Blue sharks wearing this chainmail suit. In 1981 Taylor was awarded the NOGI award for Arts, Academy of Underwater Arts & Sciences, presented by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (AUAS). In 1986, Taylor was appointed by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, the 'Rider of the Order of the Golden Ark' for marine conservation. She was recognised for her successful efforts protecting of the habitat of the potato cod near Lizard Island – the first gazetted protection of the Great Barrier Reef. She was awarded the 1997 American Nature Photographer of the year award for a picture of a whale shark swimming with her nephew in Ningaloo Marine Park. By 2000 she was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame. At 66 years old she was still diving with sharks and was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society in marine conservation and the Australian Senior Achiever of the Year In 2008 Taylor received the Australian Geographic Lifetime of Conservation award. In 2010 Taylor was awarded an AM For service to conservation and the environment as an advocate for the protection and preservation of marine wildlife and habitats, particularly the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef, and as an underwater cinematographer and photographer. Taylor's husband Ron died from leukemia in 2012. Taylor remained active in lobbying in favour of marine conservation. She has illustrated and written a children's book, campaigned against ocean plastic pollution overfishing and published her memoirs. In 2014, Valerie campaigned against an Opposition Bill to remove sanctuary zones from marine parks in South Australia.
