Elizabeth Hurley

Elizabeth Hurley

Born 1965-06-10 (age 60) Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, UK
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Biography

Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born June 10, 1965) is an English model and actress. She became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s after accompanying him to the Los Angeles premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral in a plunging black Versace dress held together with gold safety pins, which gained her instant media notice.

The highlight of Hurley's professional life has been her association with the cosmetics company EstΓ©e Lauder. The company gave Hurley her first modeling job at the age of 29 and has used her as a model for its products, especially perfumes such as Sensuous, Intuition, and Pleasures, since 1995. Her best known cinematic work was as Vanessa Kensington in Mike Myers' hit spy comedies, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). Hurley currently models and designs an eponymous beachwear line.

Hurley was born as a middle child in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, the daughter of Angela and Roy Hurley. Her Irish father was a Major in the British Army, while her Anglican mother was a teacher at Kempshott Infant School. She has an older sister, Kate, and a younger brother Michael James Hurley.

Hurley was a struggling actress in 1987, when she met Hugh Grant while working on a Spanish production called Remando Al Viento. While Hurley was his girlfriend, Grant was embroiled in an international scandal for soliciting the services of a female prostitute in 1995. Hurley stood by him and accompanied Grant to the premiere of his movie Nine Months. After 13 years together, Hurley and Grant announced an "amicable" split in May 2000. Hurley lived in a London home owned by Grant after the break-up. She invited Grant to her wedding in 2007, but he chose not to attend.

On 4 April 2002, Hurley gave birth to a son, Damian Charles Hurley. The baby's father, Steve Bing, denied paternity by alleging that he and Hurley had a brief, non-exclusive relationship in 2001. A DNA test, however, established Bing as the child's father. In late 2002, Hurley started dating Indian textile heir Arun Nayar, who runs a small software company since 1998. On 2 March 2007, Hurley and Nayar married at Sudeley Castle and then had a second wedding at Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India.

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Known For

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

1999

as Vanessa Kensington

Bedazzled
Bedazzled

2000

as The Devil

Passenger 57
Passenger 57

1992

as Sabrina Ritchie

Serving Sara
Serving Sara

2002

as Sara Moore

Aria
Aria

1987

as Marietta

EDtv
EDtv

1999

as Jill

Permanent Midnight
Permanent Midnight

1998

as Sandra

Double Whammy
Double Whammy

2001

as Ann Beamer

An Elephant's Journey
An Elephant's Journey

2018

as Aunt Sarah

My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian

1999

as Brace Channing

Sharpe's Enemy
Sharpe's Enemy

1994

as Lady Isabella Farthingdale

The Weight of Water
The Weight of Water

2001

as Adaline Gunne

Sharpe: The Legend
Sharpe: The Legend

1997

as Lady Farthingdale

The World of James Bond
The World of James Bond

1995

as Self - Hostess

The Piper
The Piper

2023

as Liz Haines

Celebrity Naked Ambition
Celebrity Naked Ambition

2003

as Self (archive footage)

Strictly Confidential
The Shamrock Conspiracy
The Shamrock Conspiracy

1995

as Cecilia Harrison