Elizabeth Hurley
Born June 10, 1965, in Hampshire, England, Elizabeth Hurley
is the daughter of an army officer and an elementary
schoolteacher mother. While growing up in Basingtoke,
England, Hurley dreamt of becoming a dancer, which
prompted her to attend a boarding school specializing in
ballet at the age of twelve. Her attendance at the boarding
school was short-lived, and Hurley then went through a
different phase; the English punk stage. Although it must be
hard to imagine the now so glamorous Hurley with pink hair
and a nose ring, she was a victim of punk fashion of the
early 80s, since this was the thing to do at that time and
place.
At age 21, Hurley got her first film role in the 1987 film Aria,
after having attended the London Studio Centre on
scholarship. Hurley's role in the film Remando al viento that
same year could be considered a crucial one, as it also
starred her future boyfriend Hugh Grant. One year later,
Hurley received critical acclaim for her role as Christabel
Bielenberg in the BBC miniseries entitled Christabel.
Hurley became more noticed in the United States for her role
in the 1992 action film Passenger 57 starring Wesley Snipes.
Although this was a Hollywood role, she was still having
difficulty receiving quality Hollywood roles, and consequently
returned to England.
Whoever said that clothes are not important must not know
about Elizabrth Hurley's claim to fame. Apparently, Versace
did Hurley a favor by giving Hurley an unsold dress to wear to
the 1994 London premiere of Hugh Grant's film Four Weddings
and a Funeral. The low-cut risqu� dress held together by
safety pins became Hurley's ticket to stardom, as she made
heads turn at the premiere.
More attention followed when Est�e Lauder signed Hurley to
be the face of Est�e Lauder cosmetics. And who can forget
the Hugh Grant scandal (what was he thinking?) when he was
arrested for his one night tryst with prostitute Divine Brown.
Contrary to public belief, Hurley and Grant remained a
couple, and together founded the production company
Simian Films in 1994. Its first production was the film Extreme
Measures, a 1996 thriller starring Hugh, Gene Hackman and
Sarah Jessica Parker.
If by this time someone had still not heard of Elizabeth
Hurley, 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, the
little movie that became a smash hit, was sure to get her the
recognition she deserved. With her comedic turn as agent
Vanessa Kensington alongside Austin Powers, played by Mike
Myers, Hurley was now seeing the movie scripts rolling in.
Several movie roles followed the huge success of the film,
including an important role in Dangerous Ground (1997), as
well as roles in Permanent Midnight (1998), My Favorite Martian,
Ed TV, and a cameo appearance in the sequel to Austin
Powers, Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). That
same year Hurley worked as producer of Mickey Blue Eyes
which starred her boyfriend Hugh Grant, and marked the
second film for Simian Films.
Still modeling for Est�e Lauder, Hurley is currently working on
The Weight of Water and Bedazzled.