Hugh John Mungo Grant was born on September 9, 1960, in London, England. His mother was a teacher and his father a carpet salesman who also worked as an artist. Both were from military backgrounds, and were uncertain about their son's early interest in acting. While studying English at New College, Oxford, Grant made several attempts to become involved in amateur dramatics, including putting on a production of Hamlet in which the cast wore Star Trek uniforms. Though these were not well received, he went on to win a part in the film Privileged, written by British television comedian Jeremy Beadle.
After graduating Grant worked as a tutor and spent his evenings performing comedy in London pubs, sometimes working alongside Mike Myers. He acted in several minor television roles before returning to the big screen with the award-winning Maurice in 1987, opposite James Wilby. In this year he began dating the model Elizabeth Hurley, who went on to make films herself, including Bedazzled with Brendan Fraser. In 1991 Grant starred in Impromptu with Julian Sands and in 1993 he gained critical acclaim for his role in the multiple Oscar-winning, The Remains of the Day, with Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Grant’s big break though, was 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral with Andie MacDowell. This confirmed his status as an international star.
Grant and Hurley started a production company called Simian Films (named because she said he looked like an ape) in 1995, but it collapsed after the box office failure of its one film, Extreme Measures, a thriller starring Gene Hackman and Sarah Jessica Parker.
In 1995, Grant's career seemed on the brink of ruin after he was arrested near Sunset Boulevard for receiving oral sex in his car from prostitute Divine Brown. He pleaded no contest, accepted a fine of $1,180 with two years' probation, and publicly apologized to Hurley and to his fans. Hurley forgave him, but the couple split up five years later. During these years, Grant kept a low profile, saying that he wanted to concentrate on his private life. He returned to box office stardom in 1999, appearing opposite Julia Roberts in Notting Hill. The highly successful Bridget Jones's Diary and Nick Hornby adaptation About a Boy followed, along with Two Weeks' Notice, in which Grant starred with Sandra Bullock, sparking rumours that they were romantically involved. At this point he was officially dating UN worker Kasia Komorowicz, who subsequently left to spend a year helping with rebuilding efforts in Iraq.
In 2003 Grant made Love, Actually alongside Colin Firth and the young Keira Knightley. This represented a return to his working relationship with writer Richard Curtis, who created Four Weddings and a Funeral and went on to work with him on Bridget Jones sequel The Edge of Reason. In 2007 he starred in Music and Lyrics, with Drew Barrymore and Brad Garrett. His next film, CGI animated comedy American Dog, which also features voice work from John Travolta, is due out in 2008, but Grant says that he is thinking of giving up acting to enjoy other aspects of his life. He is a keen golfer, currently receiving tuition from Colin Montgomerie, and he has been romantically linked with heiress Jemima Khan Goldsmith.
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