Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English model and 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,[1] 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 29and 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' 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. In 2002, Hurley had a son.
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, 1982 - 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.
Career
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 three times 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 Carolyn 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 Harrods 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.
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