Grant was born to James and the late Finvola Grant, who was of Scottish ancestry. He has one brother, James Grant, who lives in New York City.
He attended Wetherby School, Latymer Upper School, and New College, Oxford, where he studied English. After Oxford, he won a place at the Courtauld Institute to do postgraduate studies in Art History but turned it down in order to begin his acting career.
Career
Grant made his film debut in 1982 with the Oxford-financed Privileged. Television roles came later in 1985. He played a leading role in the Merchant-Ivory film Maurice in 1987 for which he won the Best Actor award (tied with his co-star James Wilby) at the Venice Film Festival. He then appeared in the 1988 Ken Russell film Lair of the White Worm, and in 1991, he starred in the film Impromptu as Frédéric Chopin opposite Judy Davis (as George Sand) and Julian Sands (as Franz Liszt). He also played a major role in The Remains of the Day (1993) and simultaneously became known as the partner of model/actress Elizabeth Hurley, whom he had been dating since at least 1987. However, it was Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) which turned him into a major star.
The following year was an extremely busy one for Grant. He co-starred with Alan Rickman in An Awfully Big Adventure, partnered Julianne Moore in Nine Months, was the object of Emma Thompson's affection in Sense and Sensibility and appeared in the period piece Restoration which also co-starred Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen, Sam Neill and Robert Downey Jr. . He starred with Gene Hackman in the 1996 thriller Extreme Measures.
In 1999, he starred in Notting Hill opposite Julia Roberts (of which he told E! Online, "It's very weird to be kissing an icon."). He followed with major successes in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), About a Boy (2002), and Two Weeks Notice (2002) opposite Sandra Bullock. He returned to frequent collaborator Richard Curtis for the 2003 romantic comedy, Love Actually and the 2004 sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. He also starred in American Dreamz (2006), a satire on reality TV shows.
Grant's most recent film is the romantic comedy film, Music and Lyrics.
He is also in talks to star in the 2008 Disney animated film Hollywood Dog.
Music
On the original soundtrack from Music and Lyrics, his singing voice can be heard on seven tracks - Pop Goes My Heart, Meaningless Kiss, Way Back Into Love (Demo Version) with Drew Barrymore, Dance With Me Tonight, Don't Write Me Off, Way Back Into Love with Haley Bennett and Love Autopsy.
The album is currently #12 on Amazon's music album sales list [1] and #1 on Apple's Itunes music album sales list.
Personal Life
Grant dated actress Elizabeth Hurley for many years, separating in 2000. In 1995, while dating Hurley, he was arrested in Hollywood for indecent conduct with a prostitute, Divine Brown, in a public place.[2] He offered an apology for this on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[3] He then begin dating socialite and Unicef ambassador Jemima Khan, ex-wife of Imran Khan in 2004.
In February 2007, Grant's publicist, Robert Garlock, confirmed reports that the two had mutually decided to end their relationship.[4]
Trivia
* Early in his career, he was often credited as "Hughie Grant".
* Is good friends with Kyle MacLachlan.
* Thomas Sangster, who played Sam in Love Actually, is Grant's second cousin once removed.
* Grant played cricket in his younger days, and currently enjoys playing golf, frequently taking part in Pro-Am tournaments where he receives tuition from Colin Montgomerie. He is a fan of Fulham Football Club.
* In the pilot episode of Love Monkey, one of the characters defines a man's discontentment with a woman, no matter how perfect, as "Grant's Law", a play upon Murphy's Law.
* On The Oprah Winfrey Show during promotions for Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, he revealed that the only movie out of his whole career that "does not make [him] cringe" is About A Boy.
* It is widely reported that he opted out of a nude scene in Four Weddings and a Funeral after the on-set makeup artist asked him if he wanted definition painted on his body; however, according to his interview on BBC Breakfast News (05 Feb, 9:11am), this was a fabrication for the purposes of self-deprecation.
* Jay Leno told The Independent (UK) that there are only 18 celebrities worth interviewing on a talk show, and one of them is Hugh Grant.
* Was offered the role of Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets film, but turned it down. He said that he later regretted this decision.
* Is nicknamed "the Bulldog" (ブルドッグ） in Japan, due to his facial appearance whilst talking.
* Has two Bengal cats, a gift from his ex-girlfriend Jemima Khan.
* His "claim to fame" was acting Charles in Four Weddings And A Funeral.
Source - Wikipedia
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