AceShowbiz -

Elizabeth Taylor has been laid to rest in a small, private funeral service. Around four dozen family members and close friends gathered at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California on Thursday afternoon, March 24 to bid their final goodbyes to the 79-year-old screen legend, Glendale police spokesman Tom Lorenz told the Associated Press.

Five stretched limousines transporting Liz's family began pulling up to the mausoleum at 2 P.M. for the service that lasted for about one hour. No procession was held. While helicopters buzzed overhead and camera crews gathered outside, Tom said that inside the sprawling memorial park, barricades blocked access to the funeral site.

Liz Taylor passed away early Wednesday, March 23. Having been hospitalized for about six weeks before her death, she was surrounded by her four children at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The two-time Oscar winner converted to Judaism before her 1959 wedding to Eddie Fisher, and according to traditional Jewish law, a burial should be done within 48 hours of death.

It is reported that the actress, who died of congestive heart failure, was interred within the Great Mausoleum, which is also the final resting place of other Hollywood legends, including Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and her good friend Michael Jackson. Meanwhile, her publicist has stated that any details of a memorial service is expected to be announced at a later date.

In the wake of Liz's death, her son Michael Wilding said, "We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts." Her family has also asked that donations be made to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in lieu of flowers.