Hugh Grant

Early life

Grant was born to James and the late Finvola Grant, who was of Scottish ancestry. He has one brother, James Grant, who lives in New York City.

He attended Wetherby School, Latymer Upper School, and New College, Oxford, where he read English.

Career

Grant made his film debut in 1982 with the Oxford-financed Privileged. Television roles came later in 1985. In 1991, he starred in the film Impromptu as Frederic Chopin opposite Judy Davis (as George Sand) and Julian Sands (as Franz Liszt).

One of his first major film roles was in The Remains of the Day (1993) and he became simultaneously known as the partner of model/actress Elizabeth Hurley, whom he had been dating since at least 1987. However, it was Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) which turned him into a major star.

Not long after gaining a starring role in Sense and Sensibility in 1995, Grant suffered an extreme embarrassment that could have ended his career. Grant was arrested near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, having been caught receiving oral sex from a prostitute, Divine Brown, in his BMW. A sincere public apology for getting caught in such a compromising position on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno helped win back public support. Although he was forgiven by Hurley, they broke up some years later.

Grant kept a low profile until 1999 when he starred in Notting Hill opposite Julia Roberts (of which he told E! Online, "It's very weird to be kissing an icon."). He followed with major successes in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), About a Boy (2002), and Two Weeks Notice (2002) opposite Sandra Bullock. He returned to frequent collaborator Richard Curtis for the 2003 romantic comedy, Love Actually and the 2004 sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. He also starred in American Dreamz (2006), a satire on reality TV shows.

Grant is due to star in Music and Lyrics By as a washed-up singer given a couple of days to write a hit for an aspiring teen sensation played by Drew Barrymore.

Trivia

Filmography