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Elizabeth Hurley
(June 10th, 1965-) |
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Height:
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5-foot-9 |
"I would seriously question whether anybody
is really foolish enough to really say what they mean. Sometimes
I think that civilization as we know it would kind of break down
if we all were completely honest." |
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Weight: |
125 pounds |
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Hair: |
Brunete |
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Eyes: |
Blue |
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Figure: |
36-25-35 |
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Considered to be one of
the world's most famous arm ornaments, model and sometimes-actress |
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Biography
Elizabeth Hurley was born to an
army officer father and elementary schoolteacher mother on June 10, 1965
(See Liz's Birthday Countdown) in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. As
a youngster growing up in the suburb of Basingstoke, England, Elizabeth
Hurley's dream was to become a dancer, so she went to a boarding school
for ballet instruction when she was twelve years old. However, she soon
returned home.
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Around the age of 16,
Hurley became caught up in the English punk-rock scene and even
wore pink hair and a nose ring. Hurley says, "When I was sixteen
-- this was about 1981, '82 -- the thing to be in Basingstoke,
the suburb I grew up in, was punk. Which, as any hip person will
tell you, was way past its sell-by date. But the thing to do was
to have a pierced nose and spiky hair. And I loved the music.
Still do." Despite her punkiness, Hurley won a college
scholarship to the London Studio Centre, which taught courses
for dance and theater.
Later Years Hurley
parlayed her training at the London Studio Centre into theatre
work and made her screen debut at the age of 21 in Bruce
Beresford's movie Aria in 1987. Several roles in television and
the film Remando al viento (1987) with young actor (and future
beau) Hugh Grant soon followed.
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Continuing her streak of
success, Hurley drew accolades for her portrayal of the title role of
Christabel Bielenberg in the BBC mini-serial Christabel in 1988.
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In 1992, Hurley
made her Hollywood film debut as a terrorist (she can terrorize
me any day) in the Wesley Snipes action drama Passenger 57.
Disappointed, however, at the lack of meaty roles she received
after two years of auditioning, Hurley returned to England.
Unbeknownst to
Hurley, her fame was soon to skyrocket for several reasons.
Reason one was the London premiere of Four Weddings and a
Funeral (Grant's 1994 movie), where Hurley wowed the crowd with
her black Versace dress that was held together by nothing more
than safety pins. (You can find several pictures of that dress
on this site at the Pictures section, FYI.) Hurley says, "That
dress was a favor from Versace because I couldn't afford to buy
one. His people told me they didn't have any evening wear, but
there was one item left in their press office. So I tried it on
and that was it." |
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Reason two for Hurley's
fame really taking off was when Hugh Grant was found with Divine Brown.
Since she also was the model representing top cosmetics house Est└e
Lauder at the time (Est└e Lauder had signed her shortly after the
Versace safety-pin dress), Hurley was thrust into the public eye.
Despite the Brown incident, Hurley and Grant founded Simian Films
("Simian" because Grant resembles a monkey) in partnership with Castle
Rock Entertainment in 1994.
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Hurley, the Head
of Development, discovered the script and was producer of the
film Extreme Measures (1996), starring Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman,
and Sarah Jessica Parker. Extreme Measures, a medical mystery
thriller, is Simian Films' first production and a departure from
what Hurley and Grant had planned on doing in their first
production -- comedy. Hurley found out about Extreme Measures
after Simian Films was established, during her first meeting
with executives from Castle Rock Entertainment. Elizabeth liked
the story and read Tony Gilroy's script eagerly. "I found the
moral intricacies of the script so complex that even now, nearly
two years after reading the first draft, I still can't decide
exactly where I stand on the ethical issues," said Hurley during
an interview.
Since producing Extreme
Measures, the well-rounded Hurley has continued to be very busy
with a plethora of projects. The film Austin Powers:
International Man of Mystery (1997) was probably the biggest and
and most successful of those projects.
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On Austin Powers' impact on her
career, Hurley says ". . . thanks to Austin Powers, I'm earning more
money acting than I have before and getting better scripts. But that
film was not what I feel comes naturally to me. I'm actually a more
melancholy, more serious actress. I mean, in England I got known for
very sad, dramatic, quite heavy emotional BBC dramas." In addition to
portraying the "shagadelic" Vanessa Kensington in Austin Powers, Hurley
still models for Est└e Lauder; has been working on producing Simian
Film's second film, Mickey Blue-Eyes; appeared in the film Dangerous
Ground (1997); and has been filming her characters in Permanent Midnight
(out fall 1998) and in Ed TV and My Favorite Martian (both out in 1999).
Weight of Water (2000) Bedazzled (2000) Servicing Sara (2002.) |
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Filmograpahy
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1996-2004 |
1987-1995 |
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"Method" (2004) |
"Harrison: Cry of the City" (1995) |
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"Serving Sara" (2002) |
"Shamrock Conspiracy, The" (1982) |
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"The Human Face" (2001) |
"World of 007, The" (1995) |
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"Double
Whammy" (2001) |
"Shameless" (1995) |
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"Weight of Water, The" (2000) |
"Sharpe's Enemy" (1994) |
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"Bedazzled" (2000) |
"Beyond Bedlam" (1993) |
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"Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me"
(1999) |
"Passenger 57" (1992) |
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"Edtv" (1999) |
"Largo invierno, E1" (1991) |
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"My Favorite Martian" (1999) |
"Orchid House" (1991) |
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"Permanent Midnight" (1998) |
"Death Has a Bad Reputation" (1990) |
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"Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of
Life" (1997) |
"Kill Cruise" (1990) |
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"Austin Powers: International Man of
Mystery" (1997) |
"Act of Will" (1989) |
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"dangerous Ground" (1997) |
"Christabel" (1988) |
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"Samson and Delilah" (1996) |
"Aria" (1987) |
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"Remado al viento" (1987) |
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