Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England in 1965. Hurley'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.[1] She has an older sister, Debbie, and a younger brother, Michael. Hurley took ballet classes as a child. She went to Kempshott Junior and Infants school, and the Harriet Costello School. Hurley 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, she became a rebellious punk, complete with pink hair and nose ring[3] and had a boyfriend called Septic. 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.
Her big break came in the late 1980s, when she won a "Face of the Year" competition at a local newspaper in Winchester, England, 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[1] 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 Hurley 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 Hurley attended the London première of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral starring her then-companion Hugh Grant. Hurley's appearance in a black Versace dress held together with gold safety pins gained her considerable media attention. It has often been referred to simply as "that dress" and, following Versace's murder in 1997, the London Times' obituary cited it as the thing for which the subject was best known.[3] In 1995 Hurley began working with top cosmetics company Estée Lauder as their main spokes model.[3] Within her first month with the company, Hurley launched the best-selling perfume, Pleasures. In 2007 Hurley's contract with Estée Lauder was renewed for the 13th year with a subsequent contract extension.
Hurley and Grant had previously joined forces to create Simian Films, a production company, during their relationship. Through this joint venture Hurley produced two films starring Grant, Extreme Measures (1996) and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).[3] She also produced the 2004 film Method in which she starred. In 2006 the company was dissolved as both Hurley and Grant focused on other projects.
Hurley was cast as the female lead in the hit Mike Myers spy comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in 1997 which gained her crucial further exposure in the film industry.[3] After the success of that film Hurley 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. Hurley also hosted the first season of the British reality series Project Catwalk featuring novice fashion designers. She could possibly play a KAOS Agent in the big screen version of Get Smart.
Hurley 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.
In 2005 Hurley'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.[5] In 2006, the line expanded its distribution among Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Asia.
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