Elizabeth Hurley


Biography


Early life

Hurley was born in Hampshire, England. Her father, who was of Irish Catholic descent, was an army major, while her mother was a schoolteacher. She has an older sister, Katie, and a younger brother, Michael. Hurley took ballet classes as a child and at the age of twelve, received a scholarship at a boarding school, although she was subsequently expelled for poor grades. Hurley later attended the London Studio Centre and Basingstoke College.



Career

Hurley won a "Face of the Year" competition at a local newspaper, and gained a year's modelling contract with a prestigious London firm as the first prize. She subsequently began an acting career, appearing in several BBC made-for-television films, after making her acting debut in 1988's independent film, Aria. Hurley's first role in a Hollywood film was in 1992's thriller Passenger 57, in which she played one of a group of villains who take over a plane. Hurley also came to public attention following her wearing of a form-fitting black Versace at the premiere of 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral, a film that starred her then-companion Hugh Grant.

Beginning in 1995 Hurley began working exclusively for Estée Lauder as the company's sole model, launching the perfume Pleasure in her first month with the company. She has also appeared on the covers of several publications, including Vogue (seven times), Elle (four times), Harper's Bazaar (six times) and Marie Claire (three times). After several appearances in low-budget films, she was cast as the love interest of the title character in 1997's successful comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Hurley subsequently starred in several high-profile films, including EdTV, Bedazzled and 2002's Serving Sara, which was her last major American film to date. Hurley has also produced two films starring Hugh Grant, Extreme Measures (1996) and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), under their jointly owned Simian production company. Additionally, she executive produced the 2004 film, Method.

In 2001, Hurley's position at Estée Lauder was downsized, with the arrival of model Carolyn Murphy. In 2003, model Liya Kebede also joined the company, creating a trio of 'faces' at the brand. In late 2005, after ten years as the face of Pleasures, Hurley was replaced by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. In 2006, Hurley was announced as the face of Estée Lauder's ReNutriv Skin Care Line, with a contract extension for another three years. In addition, she has a lipstick named after her, Elizabeth Pink, the profits of which go to the Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Foundation.

In April 2005 her beachwear line Elizabeth Hurley Beach debuted in select Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the United States, Harrod's in the UK, various other locations worldwide and through her website. In 2006, the line expanded its distribution among Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Hurley also fronted the spring 2006 campaign for shoe designer Patrick Cox, and was unvieled as the face of French accessory house Lancel.

The Daily Mail 2004 Rich List put her fortune at an estimated £17 million.



Personal life

Hurley had a long relationship with English actor Hugh Grant. Since the couple's break-up, Hurley has been linked with multi-millionaire American film producer Stephen Bing and American multimillionaire Ted Forstmann, but she is now engaged to Arun Nayar, son of a Bombay textile millionaire, whom she has been seeing since 2003 and who obtained a divorce from his Italian wife, Valentina Pedroni, in early 2005.

On 4 April 2002, Hurley gave birth to a son, Damian Charles Hurley, fathered by Bing, who initially denied paternity. DNA tests confirmed that he was the father, although it is not clear if Damian's surname will be changed. Damian was baptised a Roman Catholic, although Hurley herself has not yet been received into the Roman Catholic church despite publicly contemplating it for a number of years.

Hurley revealed that her grandmother died from breast cancer because her grandmother refused to reveal the lump that she discovered for a number of years. By the time that it was revealed, it was too late to save her life. Hurley was the Mistress of Ceremonies at The Hot Pink Party, at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, to mark the tenth anniversary of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Hurley has homes in London; in Ampney Crucis, a village in Gloucestershire, England; and in Beverly Hills, California