EARLY LIFE
Elizabeth Jane Hurley was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England on 10th June,1965. Elizabeth's father, a lapsed Catholic of Irish descent, was a British Army major, while her mother, an Anglican, was a schoolteacher at Kempshott Infant School. She has an older sister, Debbie, and a younger brother, Michael.
Elizabeth took ballet classes as a child. She went to Kempshott Junior and Infants school, and the Harriet Costello School now known as Costello Technology College. She later attended Queen Mary's College, Basingstoke, for one year, followed by Basingstoke College of Technology and won a scholarship to the London Studio Centre.
Whilst in her teens and before she was in the public eye, Elizabeth became involved with punk fashion, where she dyed her hair pink and pierced her nose. She associated with New Age Travellers who, typically, sat under The Buttercross monument and the grounds of the Cathedral in Winchester, near to where she lived.
CAREER
A start in Elizabeth's career came in the late 1980s, when she won a Face of the Year competition at a local newspaper in Winchester, and gained a year's modelling contract with a prestigious London firm as the first prize. She made her first film appearance in Aria in 1987 and attracted some attention with the Dennis Potter-directed UK TV movie Christabel in the late 1980s, and appeared in several low budget English and Hollywood films, including the 1992 thriller Passenger 57, in which Elizabeth played a stewardess. She also appeared on television on both sides of the Atlantic, appearing in the British series Rumpole of the Bailey and the George Lucas-produced The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
In 1994, Elizabeth attended the London première of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, starring her then companion Hugh Grant. Elizabeth's appearance in a black plunging Versace dress held together with gold safety pins gained her considerable media attention. It has often been referred to simply as "that dress" and is credited with the launch of her high profile career. Following Versace's murder in 1997, the London Times' obituary cited it as the thing for which the subject was best known.
In 1995, Elizabeth began working with top cosmetics company Estée Lauder as their main spokes model. Within her first month with the company, she launched the best-selling perfume, Pleasures. In 2007, Elizabeth's contract with Estée Lauder was renewed for the 13th year with a subsequent contract extension.
Elizabeth and Hugh Grant had previously joined forces to create Simian Films, a production company, during their relationship. Through this joint venture, Elizabeth produced two films starring Hugh, Extreme Measures (1996) and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999). She also produced the 2004 film, Method, in which she starred. In 2006, the company was dissolved as they both focused on other projects.
Elizabeth was cast as the female lead as Vanessa Kensington in the hit Mike Myers spy comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in 1997, which gained her further crucial exposure in the film industry. After the success of that film, she reprised the role of Vanessa in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999 and appeared in several more high-profile films, including EdTV, Bedazzled, Double Whammy and 2002's Serving Sara, which was her last American film to date. Elizabeth also hosted the first season of the British reality series Project Catwalk, featuring novice fashion designers.
Elizabeth became a favourite with the press again in 2000 when she fell foul of US acting unions. She had filmed an advertisement for Estée Lauder which broke a five-month strike. She was subsequently fined £70,000 by the Screen Actors Guild. She apologised for breaking the strike, but said she had been unaware that it was going on as she had been based in the UK, and the union had not informed her of the industrial action. She was confronted by a protest of angry actors at the US première of her film Bedazzled in October where protesters brandished banners stating "Elizabeth Scably".
In 2005, Elizabeth's 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, Australia and Asia. In 2007, Elizabeth was voted best "British Body Idol" in New Woman magazine. 5,000 women cast their votes on which British woman they thought was the best body idol. In May 2008, Elizabeth designed and modeled a capsule collection of 12 swimsuits for the Spanish clothes brand Mango.
CHARITY
Elizabeth has been active in Estée Lauder's Breat Cancer Awareness Campaign, as part of which the company created an Elizabeth Pink lipstick whose sales benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Elizabeth, 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 supported the End Hunger Network, ARK children's charity, and the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital And Research Centre.
PERSONAL LIFE
While Elizabeth was Hugh Grant's girlfriend, he was embroiled in an international scandal for soliciting the services of a female prostitute in 1995. Elizabeth stood by him and accompanied Hugh to the premiere of his movie Nine Months. After 13 years together, Hugh announced an "amicable" split from Elizabeth in May 2000. On 4th April 2002, Elizabeth gave birth to a son, Damian Charles Hurley. The baby's father, Steve Bing, denied paternity by alleging that he and Elizabeth had a brief, non-exclusive relationship in 2001. A DNA test, however, established Bing as the child's father. Elizabeth is godmother to Patsy Kensit's son Lennon.
In late 2002, Elizabeth started dating Indian textile heir, Arun Nayar, who runs a small software company since 1998. On 2nd March 2007, Elizabeth and Arun 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 Elizabeth 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. Elizabeth, who has an estimated net worth of £13 million according to the Daily Mail, resides in a 400-acre (1.6 km2) organic farmhouse in Barnsley, Gloucestershire, with her son and husband.
ELIZABETH'S FILMSAria (1987) .... Marietta
Rowing with the Wind (1988) .... Claire Clairmont
Christabel (1988) (TV) .... Christabel Bielenberg
Act of Will (1989) (TV) .... Christina
Death Has a Bad Reputation (1990) (TV) .... Julia Latham
Kill Cruise (1990) .... Lou
The Orchid House (1991) (TV) .... Natalie
The Long Winter (1992) .... Emma Stapleton
Passenger 57 (1992) .... Sabrina Ritchie
Beyond Bedlam (1993) .... Stephanie Lyell
Sharpe's Enemy (1994) (TV) .... Lady Isabella Farthingdale
The Shamrock Conspiracy (1995) (TV) .... Cecilia Harrison
Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1995) .... Antonia Dyer
Harrison: Cry of the City (1996) (TV) .... Cecilia Harrison
Samson and Delilah (1996) (TV) .... Delilah
Dangerous Ground (1997) .... Karen
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) .... Vanessa Kensington
Permanent Midnight (1998) .... Sandra
My Favorite Martian (1999) .... Grace Channing
Edtv (1999) .... Jill
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) .... Vanessa Kensington
The Weight of Water (2000) .... Adaline Gunne
Bedazzled (2000) .... The Devil
Double Whammy (2001) .... Dr. Ann Beamer
Bad Boy (2002) .... Anna Lockheart
Serving Sara (2002) .... Sara Moore
Method (2004) .... Rebecca Fairbanks
TV ROLES
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Rumpole of the Bailey (1988) .... Rosie Japhet - Rumpole and the Barrow Boy episode
Inspector Morse (1988) .... Julia - Last Seen Wearing episode
Sharpe (1994) .... Lady Isabella Farthingdale - Sharpe's Enermy
MODELLING CAMPAIGNS
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Elizabeth Hurley Beach, 2005-present.
Estée Lauder, 1995-present.
Chopard, 2007.
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.
Elizabeth Hurley Beach
Estee Lauder
ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION