Hurley has been associated with the cosmetics companyEstée Lauder since the company gave Hurley her first modelling job at the age of 29.[5] They have featured her as a representative and model for their products, especially perfumes such as Sensuous, Intuition, and Pleasures, since 1995.[6] Hurley owns a beachwear line.[7]
Elizabeth Hurley was born on 10 June 1965 inBasingstoke, Hampshire, England, the younger daughter of Angela Mary (née Titt) and Roy Leonard Hurley.[8] Her father was a major in theRoyal Army Educational Corps;[9][10] her mother was a teacher at Kempshott Junior School.[8] She has an older sister, Kate, and a younger brother, Michael.[11]
Hurley attendedHarriet Costello School,[12] amixed secondary in Basingstoke, and, while in her teens, she became involved withpunk fashion, dyeing her hair pink and piercing her nose.[1] "When I was 16 – this was about 1981, 1982 – the thing to be in Basingstoke, the suburb I grew up in, was punk," she explained.[13] She reportedly associated withNew Age travellers in her youth.[14] Aspiring to be a dancer as a young girl, she enrolled inballet classes. Hurley continued in the sixth form and took A-levels in English, Sociology and Psychology[15] in 1983 before studying dance and theatre at theLondon Studio Centre.[16]
When Hugh Grant founded and became the director of Simian Films in 1994, Hurley was credited as one of the producers for the company's two Grant vehicles,Extreme Measures (1996) andMickey Blue Eyes (1999).[17] In 2000, she was publicly criticised for breaking a five-month acting strike to film an Estée Lauder advertisement, for which she was fined $100,000 (£70,000 in 2000) by theScreen Actors Guild and labelled "Elizabeth Scably" by protestors.[18][19]
In 2024, Hurley acted in and producedStrictly Confidential, which was written and directed by her son Damian.
Hurley at the launch of Estee Lauder's new fragrance, Sensuous, in July 2008
In 1988, Hurley appeared briefly in a speaking part as a schoolgirl in "Last Seen Wearing", an episode of the detective seriesInspector Morse, which was partly filmed atReading Blue Coat School,Sonning, Berkshire.[citation needed] In the same year she played Rosie Japhet in an episode ofRumpole of the Bailey ("Rumpole and the Barrow Boy"). In late 1988, Hurley portrayed the title character in a four-part television drama,Christabel. After appearing inJohn Cleese'sThe Human Face (2001), she hosted the inaugural series of the British reality showProject Catwalk onSky 1 in 2006. Hurley was criticised as a presenter by Marcelle D'Argy Smith, a former editor ofCosmopolitan magazine, who said: "Liz Hurley has no fashion experience whatsoever. She wore a dress and has appeared at premieres."GQ'sDylan Jones defended her as someone "immersed in the fashion world as a celebrity".[20] She was dropped after one series because her bosses reportedly believed she was too wooden.[21]
In 2011, Hurley filmed a guest star role in the series pilot ofNBC'sWonder Woman as the villainVeronica Cale.[22] The network decided not to pick up the series. In July 2011, it was announced that Hurley would join thefifth season ofGossip Girl for a multi-episode arc. Her character,Diana Payne, was described by the series' executive producers as "a sexy, smart, self-made media mogul and all-around force to be reckoned with", whose "entrance on theUpper East Side will change the lives of all our characters—including, and especially, Gossip Girl herself."[23] In September 2013, she was cast in one ofE!'s first two scripted pilots,The Royals,[24] which was picked up in March 2014 and aired in 2015.[25] The drama series, revolving around a fictionalBritish royal family and set in modern London, stars Hurley as the matriarch Queen Helena.[25][26] Hurley playedMarvel Comics villainMorgan le Fay in the final season of the Hulu showRunaways, released in 2019.[27] In 2021, Hurley appeared as a guest judge in thesecond series ofRuPaul's Drag Race UK.[28]
Hurley with fashion designerValentino Garavani at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
In 1995, Hurley was introduced as anEstée Lauder spokesmodel.[5][1] She later recounted, "I was far from an ingénue, having had my first modelling job at 29."[5] Hurley has featured in ads for Lauder's 'Pleasures', 'Beautiful', 'Dazzling', 'Tuscany per Donna', and 'Sensuous' fragrances as well as participated in campaigns for the company's other cosmetics.[29] She was replaced as the face of Estée Lauder byCarolyn Murphy in 2001. She continues to work with the company non-exclusively, signing a contract for the 16th year with Lauder in 2010.[6] In 2005, she modelled for Saloni, Liverpool Department Stores of Mexico, and Lancel. She was part of the seasonal advertising campaigns forJordache,Shiatzy Chen,Got Milk?,Patrick Cox, MQ Clothiers of Sweden, and Lancel in 2006[30][31] andMonsoon in 2007.[32] In 2008, Hurley was unveiled as the seasonal campaign face forBlackglama mink. Hurley has appeared three times on the cover of BritishVogue.[33] She is signed to TESS Management in London.[34]
In April 2005, Elizabeth Hurley Beach, her beachwear line that she models every summer, was launched atHarrods in the UK.[7] It debuted later that year in selectSaks Fifth Avenue stores in the United States and other European countries.[35][36] In May 2008, Hurley designed and modelled a capsule collection of 12 swimsuits for the Spanish clothing brandMango.[37] In 2024, she was voted the sexiest woman in the world byMaxim magazine.[38]
Hurley has been active in Estée Lauder'sbreast cancer awareness campaign, as part of which the company created an "Elizabeth Pink" lipstick whose sales benefitthe Breast Cancer Research Foundation.[39] Hurley's grandmother died of breast cancer.[40]
She is a patron of theElton John AIDS Foundation.[46] She is a patron of the City Veterans Network, a charity based in theCity of London that links former members of the Armed Forces to opportunities for rehabilitation and employment.[47]
Hurley with her then-husband Arun Nayar at theAmpney Crucis Village Fete in 2008
Hurley was a relatively unknown actress when she metHugh Grant in 1987 while working on a Spanish production calledRemando Al Viento. In the 1990s, Hurley became known mostly as Grant's girlfriend.[49] In 1994, as Grant became the focus of international media attention due to the success of his filmFour Weddings and a Funeral,[2] Hurley accompanied him to the film's London premiere in ablack Versace dress, which gained her instant media attention.[3][4]
While dating Hurley, Grant gained notoriety for soliciting the services of the sex workerDivine Brown in 1995. Hurley stood by Grant and accompanied him to the premiere of his filmNine Months.[1] After thirteen years together, Hurley and Grant announced an "amicable" split in May 2000.[49][50][51]
On 4 April 2002, Hurley gave birth to a son,Damian Charles Hurley.[52] The baby's father, American businessmanSteve Bing, denied paternity by claiming that he and Hurley had a brief, non-exclusive relationship in 2001. ADNA test established Bing as Damian's father.[53][54] Hurley stated in 2020, that she, Damian and Bing had reconciled before his death to celebrate Damian's 18th birthday.[55] Hugh Grant is one of Damian's godfathers.[56] Hurley is godmother toPatsy Kensit's andLiam Gallagher's son, Lennon, andDavid andVictoria Beckham's two sons,Brooklyn and Romeo.[57]
In late 2002, Hurley began dating Indian businessman Arun Nayar.[58] They married in 2007. Hurley lived on a 400-acre (1.6 km2) organic farm inBarnsley, Gloucestershire, with her son and husband.[59] In December 2010, Hurley announced that she and Nayar had separated several months earlier.[60] Hurley filed for divorce on 2 April 2011, citing Nayar's "unreasonable behaviour" as the cause,[61] grounds for divorce under English law. The divorce was granted on 15 June 2011.[62]
In late 2011, three months after her divorce, Hurley became engaged toShane Warne, a former Australian cricketer.[63] In 2012, Hurley and Warne bought the Grade II–listed mansion Donnington Hall, nearLedbury, Herefordshire, as their main home.[64] In December 2013,Hello magazine reported the couple's separation.[65] Warne died of a heart attack on 4 March 2022, at age 52, and Hurley paid tribute to her ex-fiancé.[66]
In March 2018, her nephew Miles Hurley was stabbed repeatedly in the back by a group of men inWandsworth, south London.[67]
In April 2025, Hurley announced on social media that she was dating American musicianBilly Ray Cyrus.[68]
^"Hurley fined for strike-breaking ad".BBC News. 18 December 2000.Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved24 August 2008.Actress Liz Hurley has been ordered to pay a £70,000 fine by a US acting union for filming an advert during a strike.
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