LOS ANGELES, Dec 12, 2009 (AFP) - Hollywood film legend Elizabeth Taylor missed the grand opening Saturday 12 December of her Beverly Hills jewellery boutique because she is sick with flu, her spokesman said.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images/File/Frederick M. Brown

Taylor, 77, had been expected at the opening ceremony of Luxury Jewels, but guests waited three hours for her to turn up until her spokesman announced she had canceled the event because she fell ill with flu.

Taylor's publicist did not respond to an AFP request for comments.

The two-time Oscar winner had not suggested anything was wrong on her online Twitter page, in her last message Friday 11 December.

However, in an interview published on Friday 11 December by USA Today, Taylor said she was tired of hearing speculations about her health, after she underwent a heart operation in October to repair what she said was a "leaky valve."

Taylor's health has been the subject of intense speculation in recent years. In 1997 she underwent surgery to have a brain tumor removed and in 2006 she appeared on US television to deny rumors she had Alzheimer's.

In July 2008 she was hospitalized in Los Angeles but her spokesman denied reports that she was close to death and had been placed on life support.