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, 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 29 and 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.
