Elizabeth Hurley

Biography:  Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and former actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. Born in Basingstoke, Hurley was a struggling actress in 1987, when she met Grant while working on a Spanish production called Remando Al Viento. In 1994, Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral. Hurley accompanied him to the film's London premiere and was noted for wearing a plunging black Versace dress held together with gold safety pins. According to The Guardian, Hurley was "then known as 'Hugh Grant's girlfriend,' now known as 'Hugh Grant's former girlfriend,'" due to their high-profile romantic relationship that ended in 2000. The highlight of Hurley's professional life has been her association with the cosmetics company Estée 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's 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. She became the mother of a son in 2002. Early life 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 Katie and a younger brother Michael. Hurley was educated at local schools including Kempshott Infant School, Kempshott Junior School, and the Harriet Costello School. Aspiring to be a dancer as a young girl, she took ballet classes and later briefly studied dance and theater at the London Studio Centre. While in her teens, she became involved with punk fashion, dying her hair pink and piercing her nose. "When I was 16 - this was about 1981,82 - the thing to be in Basingstoke, the suburb I grew up in, was punk," she explained. She also reportedly associated with the New Age Travellers in her youth. Professional life Hurley started working as an actress in the late 1980s and became a model in 1995. During the 2000s, she worked unsuccessfully as a reality television presenter in Britain. Allmovie described her as "one of the world's most famous arm ornaments, model, and sometimes-actress," with the first being a reference to her red-carpet appearances accompanying Hugh Grant to his film premieres and other social functions while they were a couple until 2000. She has appeared thrice on the cover of British Vogue. Fashion In 1995, with no prior modeling experience, Hurley was introduced as an Estée Lauder spokesmodel. She later recounted, "I was far from an ingénue, having had my first modeling job at 29." Hurley has since featured in ads for Lauder's 'Pleasures', 'Beautiful', 'Dazzling', 'Tuscany per Donna', and 'Sensuous' fragrances as well as participated in campaigns for the company's other cosmetics. She was replaced as the face of Estée Lauder by Caroline Murphy in 2001. However, she continues to work with the company non-exclusively, signing a contract for the 14th year with Lauder in 2008.In 2005, she modeled for Saloni, Liverpool Department Stores of Mexico, and Lancel. She was part of the seasonal advertising campaigns for Jordache, Got Milk?, Patrick Cox, MQ Clothiers of Sweden, and Lancel in 2006 and Monsoon in 2007. In 2008, Hurley was unveiled as the seasonal campaign face for Blackglama mink. In April 2005, Elizabeth Hurley Beach, her beachwear line that she also models every summer, was launched at Harrod's in the UK. It debuted later that year in select Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the United States and other European countries. She told Tatler magazine, "I was on Necker Island for a fashion shoot and even as [Richard Branson] was lying back in a hammock, he was on the phone, doing deals, managing his empire. But then I thought I am never going to have even a holiday home, let alone an island, unless I start a business that I can do without disrupting Damian's school days." In May 2008, Hurley designed and modeled a capsule collection of 12 swimsuits for the Spanish clothes brand MANGO. Hurley is signed to the Independent modeling agency in London. Movies Hurley made her first film appearance in Aria (1987). She has since appeared in movies such as Passenger 57, EdTV, Bedazzled, and Serving Sara. In 1997, she received her first and only acting award, the ShoWest Supporting Actress of the Year, for her performance in the spy spoof Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. When Hugh Grant founded and became the director of Simian Films in 1994, Hurley was credited as one of the producers for the company's two Grant vehicles, Extreme Measures (1996) and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999). Critics such as Julie Burchill, who has called Hurley's acting "a notch above pornography," have dismissed her performances. In 2000, she was publicly criticised for breaking a five-month acting strike to film an Estée Lauder advertisement, for which she was fined $100,000 (£70,000 in 2000) by the Screen Actors Guild and labeled "Elizabeth Scably" by protesters. Television In the late 1980s, Hurley portrayed the title character in a four-part television drama, Christabel. After appearing in John Cleese's The Human Face (2001), she hosted the inaugural season of the British reality series Project Catwalk on Sky1 in 2006. The show drew tepid ratings with only 1% of its target audience tuning into the first few episodes. Hurley was almost universally criticised as a presenter. Marcelle D'Argy Smith, a former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, called her "witheringly boring" and added: "Liz Hurley has no fashion experience whatsoever. She wore a dress and has appeared at premieres." GQ 's Dylan Jones defended her as someone "immersed in the fashion world as a celebrity." Hurley was ridiculed by critics for her "aspirational Basingstoke-gone-jetset accent and dead fish stare," while also being described as "the not-nice-but-dim host." She was dropped after one season because her bosses reportedly believed she was too wooden. It was also later revealed that Hurley had asked contestants to send her free clothes off the record. Charity Hurley has been active in Estée Lauder's Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, as part of which the company created an "Elizabeth Pink" lipstick whose sales benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Hurley, whose grandmother died of breast cancer, was the mistress of ceremonies at "The Hot Pink Party" that marked the tenth anniversary of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She supported The Prince's Trust by co-presenting the 2003 Fashion Rocks event in its aid and helping launch the Get Into Cooking youth initiative in 2004. She has also helped raise funds for End Hunger Network, ARK children's charity, and the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre. Personal life While Hurley was Hugh Grant's girlfriend, he 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, Grant announced an "amicable" split from Hurley in May 2000. Hurley has lived in a London home owned by Grant since 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. Hurley is godmother to Patsy Kensit's son Lennon. In late 2002, Hurley started dating Indian textile heir Arun Nayar, who has run 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. The Indian celebrations included a sangeet at Nagaur Fort and a reception at Mehrangarh Fort. The wedding ceremonies, photos of which were sold to Hello! magazine for a reported £2 million, were attended by Elton John (who gave Hurley away), Tracey Emin, Tom Ford, Elle Macpherson, Donatella Versace, Trinny Woodall, Tamara Mellon, Valentino, Janet Street Porter, Patsy Kensit, Leonard and Evelyn Lauder, among other celebrities. Hurley, who has an estimated net worth of £13 million according to the Daily Mail, resides on a 400-acre (1.6 km2) organic farm in Barnsley, Gloucestershire, with her son and husband.