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Elizabeth Hurley
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Wikipedia
Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English model and former actress who gained fame as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant. The highlight of Hurley's professional life has been her association with the cosmetics company Estée Lauder, which gave Hurley her first modeling job at the age of 29 and has used her as a model for Estee Lauder cosmetics since 1995.

Early life

Hurley was born as a middle child in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, the daughter of Angela and Reg Hurley. Her father was an Irish-Catholic major in the British Army, while her mother was a schoolteacher at Kempshott Infant School. Her older sister Debbie is a literary agent and younger brother Michael works as an engineer.

Hurley took ballet classes as a child. She was educated at local schools, including the Kempshott Infant School and Kempshott Junior School, and later the Harriet Costello School, now known as Costello Technology College. She later studied dance and theater at the London Studio Centre.

While in her teens and before she was in the public eye, she became involved with punk fashion, dying her hair pink and piercing her nose. She associated with New Age Travellers, who sat under The Buttercross monument and the grounds of the Cathedral in Winchester, near Hurley's home.

Rise to fame

In 1987, while working on a Spanish production called Remando Al Viento, when she was an obscure actress, Hurley met actor Hugh Grant and they started a long romantic relationship. In 1994, Grant's film Four Weddings and a Funeral was an international box office success and Grant became an overnight global star, garnering the focus of much media attention. Hurley attended the premiere of Grant's film in a black plunging Versace dress held together with gold safety pins, due to which she was widely photographed at the event. This appearance propelled her to recognition in the modeling world, especially catching the attention of the cosmetics company Estée Lauder.

The Versace dress Hurley wore was, for a while, referred in popular media simply as "that dress". For a long time, Hurley was chiefly recognized as Hugh Grant's girlfriend before they separated in 2000. The Guardian has reported that she was "then known as 'Hugh Grant's girlfriend', now known as 'Hugh Grant's former girlfriend'." The All Movie Guide 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 Grant to his film premieres and other social functions while they were a couple. Though coming to prominence for her personal life, Hurley has since ventured into, both successfully and unsuccessfully: Hollywood film roles, modelling projects, television reality shows, and beachwear designing.

Modeling

In 1995, Hurley was introduced as the spokesmodel for the top cosmetics company Estée Lauder at at the Royalton Hotel. She had no modeling experience prior to this contract. Within her first month with the company, Hurley launched the best-selling perfume, Pleasures. She later recounted testing a bottle of Pleasures at the Four Seasons Hotel and said, "I was far from an ingénue, having had my first modeling job at 29." Hurley was replaced as Lauder's face by Caroline Murphy in 2001, but she continued to do perfume ads and promote Estee Lauder and the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign around the world in a lesser capacity. She said, "It is true I have received many other advertising offers and, now my contract with Estee Lauder is non exclusive, I am theoretically able to consider them." In 2008, Hurley's contract with Estée Lauder was renewed for the 14th year, with a subsequent contract extension. She has appeared more than once on the covers of the British edition of the fashion magazine Vogue.

Acting

She made her first film appearance in Aria (1987), and attracted some media attention in the late 1980s for portraying the title character in a four-part television drama, Christabel, written by Dennis Potter. During this time, she appeared in several low-budget British and Hollywood films, including a performance as a stewardess in the 1992 thriller Passenger 57. She also appeared on television on both sides of the Atlantic, working in the British series Rumpole of the Bailey and the George Lucas-produced The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

Hurley also gained experience with film production as Hugh Grant's partner. Grant, her then boyfriend, founded and directed UK-based production company, Simian Films Ltd, in 1994, and he appointed Hurley as the head of development to secure film projects for him. Hurley then served as executive producer for two Grant vehicles, Extreme Measures (1996) and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999). Grant gradually cut off involvement from the company due to lack of interest, closing the company's U.S. office in 2002 and legally resigning as director in 2005.

Meanwhile, Hurley was cast as Vanessa Kensington in Mike Myers's hit spy comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in 1997. After the success of that original film, she reprised the role of Vanessa in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). Hurley has also essayed several characters in films such as EdTV, Bedazzled, Double Whammy, Serving Sara (2002), which was her last Hollywood film, and the 2004 thriller Method.

Critics such as Julie Burchill, who wrote in The Times about Hurley's acting being a notch above pornography in 2004, have largely dismissed her cinematic performances. Hurley was publicly criticised in 2000 when she fell foul of U.S. acting unions. She filmed a fashion advertisement for Estée Lauder that year, breaking a five-month acting strike. She was subsequently fined £70,000 by the Screen Actors Guild. Hurley apologised for breaking the strike, but stated that she had been unaware of the strike due to her life in the UK and the union had not informed her of the industrial action. She was later confronted by a protest of angry actors at the U.S. première of her film Bedazzled in October, where protesters brandished banners stating "Elizabeth Scably".

Television

In 2006, Hurley hosted the inaugural season of the British reality series Project Catwalk on Sky One. The show had a rocky start and drew tepid ratings with only 1% of its target audience tuning in for the first few episodes. Hurley was criticized in the UK media for her turn as a television presenter on the show, and off the record, she asked contestants to send her free clothes. Marcelle D'Argy Smith, the former editor of the women's magazine Cosmopolitan said: "We're all Liz Hurleyed out. I'd expect somebody from the Royal College of Fashion to present it. Liz Hurley has no fashion experience whatsoever. She wore a dress and has appeared at premieres." She added that Hurley and her co-judge Sadie Frost were "witheringly boring, which is why nobody is watching it." Dylan Jones, the editor of British GQ, however, defended Hurley by calling her "a fashion icon [who is] immersed in the fashion world as a celebrity."

The Guardian's TV critic ridiculed Hurley's "aspirational Basingstoke-gone-jetset accent and dead fish stare." The Sunday Mirror described Hurley as "the not-nice-but-dim host who puts the wood into 'wouldn't Project Catwalk be a whole lot better with someone else at the helm'" in an article entitled: "Move over Trinny Woodall ... there's a new terrible TV presenter in town. And she's even worse than you!" Hurley was dropped after the first season because, according to Sky News, her bosses believed she was too wooden. She is now in talks with Channel 4 about appearing in a television show about her life in the country, "including joining the Women’s Institute, running the cake stall and all those things."

Business

Hurley was inspired to start investing the money she earned from modeling by Richard Branson. "I was on Necker Island for a fashion shoot and even as he 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," she told Tatler magazine in 2005.

In April 2005, her eponymously named beachwear line Elizabeth Hurley Beach was launched at Harrod's in the UK, and it debuted later that year in select Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the United States, certain other locations worldwide and through her website. Items from the collection, such as sarongs, linen pants, bikinis, kaftans, hats, beach bags and other products often feature semi-precious stones intermingled in the designs, a first for beachwear. In 2006, the line expanded its distribution in Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Russia, and Asia. In May 2008, a limited edition swimwear collection designed by Hurley for the Spanish fashion brand MANGO was unveiled for the summer as 'Elizabeth Hurley for MNG'. The capsule collection included 12 swimsuits and a range of other beach accessories.

Hurley is currently planning the launch of her own range of low-fat organic food in partnership with an unrevealed organic food producer. The food, made from ingredients sourced from her farm, and the recipes to be published in an accompanying cook book will be extremely low in fat. "What I really, really want to do is pre-packaged meals. Fabulous versions that are delicious, healthy, not too expensive and very low in fat. So, that’s my big dream, because there’s a massive hole in the market for that," she told Red magazine in July 2008.

Charity

Since signing with Estée Lauder, Hurley has taken an active role in the company's Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. She has talked about the fact that her grandmother died from breast cancer because she refused to reveal the existence of a lump for years. When her grandmother finally acknowledged the lump to her family, the cancer was beyond the curable stages. Hurley was the mistress of ceremonies at "The Hot Pink Party" at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City that marked the tenth anniversary of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and continues to host the event each year.

She has also supported The Prince's Trust, a charity founded by Prince Charles that aids youth in Great Britain. She co-presented the Trust's annual Fashion Rocks event in October 2003 at the Royal Albert Hall, and joined the Prince of Wales in April 2004 to launch the Get Into Cooking youth initiative. In 2006, Hurley helped cricketer Imran Khan raise funds for his cancer hospital in Pakistan. Estée Lauder created a lipstick named "Elizabeth Pink" after Hurley, guaranteeing that proceeds from its sales will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Personal life

Hurley had a high profile thirteen-year relationship with actor Hugh Grant, spanning from 1986 to 2000. Grant faced a highly-publicised scandal in 1995, when he, while dating Hurley, was arrested with the prostitute Divine Brown in Los Angeles. Hurley stood by him during the public controversy, especially showing her support by attending the premiere of Grant's movie Nine Months weeks after the arrest. After 13 years together, the two made "a mutual and amicable decision" to split in May 2000 and have remained cordial.

Hurley began a relationship with multi-millionaire American film producer Stephen Bing in October 2000. In 2001, Hurley revealed that she was pregnant with Bing's child, but the couple had already separated before the announcement was made. Bing publicly questioned the paternity of the child and called his relationship with Hurley "non-exclusive," a claim that Hurley refuted. On 4 April 2002, Hurley gave birth to a son, Damian Charles Hurley. A DNA test conducted after the child's birth established Bing as his father. Hurley is thought to have negotiated a $2.1 million deal for the first photos with her son. She is also the godmother of Patsy Kensit's son, Lennon Francis Gallagher.

According to the Daily Mail in 2004, Hurley has earned £13 million throughout her career. She used to live in a London home owned by Hugh Grant until early 2008. Hurley, her husband and her son Damian now live full-time in Barnsley, Gloucestershire, where they reside in a farm house that she bought in 2003 and subsequently converted into an organic farm. The livestock on the farm include 15 calves, 34 piglets and 50 lambs.

Wedding

On 2 March 2007, Hurley married Indian businessman Arun Nayar in a secret service at Sudeley Castle, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The couple were due to get married on 3 March, 2007, but decided to keep the ceremony private by holding it a day earlier than advertised. Hurley contracted an exclusive deal with Hello! magazine to publish the first photos of the nuptials, thought to be worth £2 to £5 million, with the overall cost of the wedding being estimated at a total of £2 million. Celebrities attending the wedding ceremonies included Elton John (who gave her away), David Furnish, Elle Macpherson, Donatella Versace, Patsy Kensit, Trinny Woodall, Susannah Constantine, Tamara Mellon, Eva Herzigova, Janet Street-Porter, Valentino, Tracey Emin, Prince Pavlos, Marie-Chantal Miller, Tom Ford, Flavio Briatore, Tania Bryer and Leonard Lauder.

The wedding festivities continued in Mumbai, India where the couple held a private celebration at Juhu Beach before moving on to Jodhpur, India. In Jodhpur, they held a private Hindu ceremony at Umaid Bhawan Palace, where Hurley wore couture sari made especially by her designer friend Donatella Versace. On the eve of the Hindu marriage, the couple held a sangeet, a traditional night of music, at the Nagaur Fort, outside the city, where Hurley had her hands and feet decorated with intricate henna designs. Hurley performed at the sangeet with close friends Trinny Woodall and Janet Street-Porter. The ceremony was followed by a private candle-lit reception on March 8 at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. On Hurley and Nayar's arrival outside Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur, a fight broke out between reporters and security guards as the reporters tried to block the celebrity couple's Bentley from entering the dinner venue. The journalists and paparazzi then chased the car into the fort, forcing a total lockdown.

Filmography

TV roles

Modelling campaigns

  • Estée Lauder, 1995-present.
  • Elizabeth Hurley Beach, 2005-present.
  • Monsoon, 2007.
  • Jordache, Fall/Winter 2006.
  • MQ Clothiers of Sweden, 2006.
  • Got Milk?, Spring/Summer 2006.
  • Patrick Cox, Spring/Summer 2006.
  • Lancel, 2005-2006.
  • Liverpool Department Stores of Mexico, 2005.
  • Saloni, 2004-2005.
  • Dreams of an angel....Mariah Crown

References

External links

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday July 24, 2008 at 10:44:09 PDT (GMT -0700)
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