Elizabeth Taylor was a great sex symbol: John Travolta

Los Angeles, Sep 8 (IANS) Actor John Travolta says he loved Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Katharine Hepburn because of their "incredible physical sexuality".

Travolta shared a list of names when asked about the female celebrity he looked up while growing up.

"Females, oh, I loved Liz Taylor. I loved Marilyn Monroe. I loved Kate Hepburn. I loved Fellini's La Strada film when I was very young - Giulietta Masina, she broke my heart. She just had this incredible vulnerability I loved," Travolta said in a statement.

"Sophia Loren because I thought she had it all. I thought her and Liz Taylor had it all going on. They had this incredible physical sexuality and also this talent so they could be great actors and be that. If you think of Liz in 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' -- she's all of that. She's being a great actor and a sex symbol," he added.

The actor is seen on the small screen with "American Crime Story", which airs in India on Star World and Star World HD.

Talking about the show, he said: "Well, it took a long time (for him to decide about the show) to decide. It took four months from my first meeting. I wanted to know if it was going to be a sensational, kind of tabloidy thing and if it were I wasn't interested in it but then I realised there was a lot of gravity to it and it was reflective of what's happening also today.

"And the mix of social significance, with the level of artistry that Ryan (Murphy) offers and Nina (Jacobson) offers."

Travolta says he asked around before giving his nod for the show.

"I asked four people -- who I will not name who they are but I would not even arguably say they are the four most powerful people in the movie industry -- I asked their opinion and they all agreed that I should do it. I needed encouragement to do pulp fiction."