Celebrity Heights: Elizabeth Hurley

Profile: Elizabeth Hurley

Born June 10, 1965, in Hampshire, England, Elizabeth is a striking model, film producer, and star actress. Elizabeth was an army brat with her father an army officer and her mother an elementary school teacher. Elizabeth had a desire to be a dancer as a child, so at the age of 12 her parents sent her to a private school for ballet lessons. At 16, Elizabeth went through the punk stage with pink spiked hair and a nose ring. Elizabeth, described as a diamond in the rough, became famous as a model for Estée Lauder, and then made a place for herself in the movies. Her career didn't take off until she appeared at the London premiere of "Four Weddings and a Funeral", Hugh Grant's 1994 movie. Elizabeth wowed the crowd by wearing a black Versace dress that was held together by nothing more than safety pins. At the age of 21, Elizabeth played her first role in Bruce Beresford's movie "Aria" in 1987. After a few roles in television, she met Hugh Grant when they worked on the film "Remando al Viento" (1987). Hugh Grant later became Elizabeth's beau. She didn't really make her mark in the movie scene until the Austin Powers role of Vanessa Kensington. Elizabeth stated in an interview, that the role in Austin Powers didn't come naturally to her. She has proven that she can be both funny and terribly sexy, as well as play the more dramatic roles, such as her work in "Dangerous Ground". In addition to acting, Elizabeth is the head of production for Simian Films, which was formed by herself and Hugh Grant with Castle Rock Entertainment in 1994. She produced the movie "Extreme Measures" (1996), which she found the script for. The script so intrigued her that she convinced Simian Films partners to back the project, and "Extreme Measures" became the first film produced by Simian Films. Since then, Elizabeth has produced "Mickey Blue-Eyes". In addition to her work as producer and spokesmodel, she continues to pursue her acting career. She starred in several films that were released within a year of each other, "Permanent Midnight", "My Favorite Martian", "Ed TV", and "Austin Powers 2 - The Spy Who Shagged Me".