You probably know Elizabeth Hurley as Hugh Grant’s girlfriend even though the couple split up at the turn of the century. In the late 90’s, Grant and Hurley were one of the most celebrated couples in show business. Their personal lives made headlines. For a time, Hurley had a pretty successful acting career of her own. But when the 90’s ended, Hurley’s acting career fizzled out as quickly as her high profile relationship. Good thing she had super-model good looks to fall back on!
What the hell happened?
Hurley briefly studied ballet while at boarding school. But she soon returned home. She won a scholarship to the London Studio Centre where she studied theater. In the 80s, Hurley adopted a punk rock style with pink hair and a nose ring.
After college, Hurley made her movie debut in the opera anthology, Aria.
Aria asked the question, “What can we do to sex up opera?” The answer turned out to be to “add some sex scenes”. Viewers were treated to opera, pretension and nudity. I believe I saw it twice. I was really into pretentious opera movies at the time.
Hurley appeared in the segment directed by Bruce Beresford with music from Die tote Stadt. Hurley and Peter Birch played lovers who serenade one another in the seemingly-dead city of Bruges, Belgium.
The cast included Theresa Russell, Beverly D’Angelo, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt and Bridget Fonda. Other segments were directed by Robert Altman, Jean-Luc Godard, Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell and Julien Temple.
Aria‘s sexed up take on opera won the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival that year.
In 1988, Hurley appeared in the Spanish drama, Remando al viento also known as Rowing With the Wind.
The movie told the story of how Mary Shelley came to write her classic novel Frankenstein. Lizzy McInnerny played Shelley, Valentine Pelka played her fiance, famed poet Percy Shelley, Hurley played Shelley’s step-sister and Hugh Grant played Lord Byron who challenged them all to write a horror story.
The movie won seven Goya awards which are the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars. None of the English actors were nominated. But this is where Hurley met Grant.
Meanwhile, Hurley was appearing on several British TV shows. In 1988, she appeared in a second-season episode of the long-running crime drama, Inspector Morse. Hurley played a student at a private school where a teenager may have been murdered.
That same year, Hurley appeared on an episode of the English legal drama, Rumpole of the Bailey.
Nigel Timson played a young rich boy who is arrested on his birthday and accused of insider trading. Hurley played his boss’ daughter who he is living with. Series lead, Leo McKern, played Rumpole, the eccentric barrister who defends him.
Hurley also starred in the English mini-series Christabel. The series was based on the memoirs of Christabel Bielenberg, an English woman who married a German lawyer during World War II. When her husband is arrested for conspiring to kill Hitler, Christabel has to decide how best to help him.
In 1989. Hurley appeared in the British mini-series, Act of Will. Act of Will was the third mini-series based on a novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Victoria Tennet starred as an orphan who is forced to work for a greedy aunt. Hurley played her grown daughter whom she raised to be an artist.
In 1990, Hurley starred in the German thriller, Der Skipper also known as Kill Cruise. Whoever decided the English title should be Kill Cruise and not The Skipper deserves a raise.
Hurley and Patsy Kensit played a couple of English singers who talk a German sailor played by Jürgen Prochnow into sailing them to Barbados. Along the way, Kensit begins flirting with the Skipper who ignores her advances. She becomes angered and steals his insulin! In order to get her to reveal the location of the drug, he throws her overboard!
I don’t usually get into a lot of spoilers. But the end of Kill Cruise is just so mystifying, I have to share it. So if you don’t want to be spoiled, skip ahead. Hurley’s character eventually finds the missing insulin and saves the skipper’s life. He professes his love for her and they become intimate. Kensit walks in and sees them having sex. Hurley’s character tries to comfort her friend who is heartbroken that the man she almost killed by depriving him of insulin prefers brunettes to blondes.
Later, every one seems to have gotten over the incident. Hurley and Kensit are singing for the skipper when all of the sudden and with no warning, Hurley kills him with a spear gun! Kensit understandably runs in terror. Hurley takes the time to draw a heart in the skipper’s blood before she makes herself a cup of tea. She tries to calm down Kensit, but ends up smothering her with a pillow.
Hurley also starred in the TV movie, Frederick Forsyth Presents: Death Has a Bad Reputation.
Hurley played a journalist who spots a terrorist who has resurfaced in Europe. Alan Howard played a British intelligence agent who tries to capture the terrorist before he can disappear again.
If you’re wondering when Hurley will move on from British TV, the answer is “not yet”. In 1991, she appeared in the “four-part television serial” (or mini-series as we call them here) The Orchid House.
The Brit TV continued in 1992 with Hurley appearing in The Good Guys and The Long Winter. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to come up with any usable pictures or clips from these shows. Perhaps a reader will send something my way. Truthfully, images can be difficult to come by when you’re dealing with someone who has done as much modeling as Hurley. Image searches with her name include a lot of fabulous pictures of her in swimsuits – not that I mind all that much. But it can make finding pictures from old English mini-series a bit of a challenge.
Hurley moved into American TV in 1992 with an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. To make up for the lack of pictures from The Good Guys and The Long Winter I am doubling down on the Young Indy pics. Hurley played a bus conductor who falls for the young Dr. Jones. Vanessa Redgrave played her mom.
In 1992, Hurley returned to the big screen after a five-year absence in the action movie, Passenger 57.
Wesley Snipes starred as a security expert whose plane gets hijacked by some very unlucky terrorists. Hurley played the lead terrorist’s henchwoman who disguises herself as a flight attendant. Before you can say “Die Hard on a Plane”, Snipes jumps into action.
Despite negative reviews, Passenger 57 was a hit at the box office.
Co-star Tom Sizemore, claims to have had an affair with Hurley after meeting her on the set. According to Sizemore, Snipes was interested in Hurley and told him to back off. But Sizemore approached Hurley and she basically seduced him. Sizemore wrote about the relationship in his tell-all, By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There: A Memoir.
He claims that he fell in love with Hurley and was hurt when she made him clear out his stuff whenever Grant was in town. Eventually, Sizemore broke things off because it was too painful for him.
According to Sizemore, they carried on a four-year relationship behind Grant’s back. He also claimed that he eventually set up Hurley with President Bill Clinton during a screening of Saving Private Ryan. Hurley immediately denied the allegations of having an affair with the former Commander-in-Chief. Sizemore admitted to making up the story. He attributed it to drug use. So you should probably take anything Sizemore ever says with a pretty large chunk of salt.
In 1994, Hurley starred in the English horror movie, Beyond Bedlam.
Craig Fairbrass played a detective who is haunted by a serial killer he has apprehended. Hurley played a neurologist who is treating the killer with an experimental drug. When people in the lab start killing themselves, the detective figures out that the drug allows the killer to bring his dreams to life… or something. The movie was universally panned as a Nightmare on Elm Street rip-off.
Later that year, Hurley appeared opposite Sean Bean in the English TV movie, Sharpe’s Enemy. The movie was part of a series adapted from the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell. Bean played a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars. Pete Postlethwaite played Bean’s arch-enemy who takes over a Portuguese village and takes Hurley captive.
Bean starred in 14 of these Sharpe movies between 1993 and 1997. He returned to the character in 2006 and 2008.
By far, the thing Hurley was best known for in 1994 was the dress she wore to the premiere of Hugh Grant’s movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral. The black Versace dress created a sensation when Hurley wore it to the premiere. According to Hurley:
That dress was a favor from Versace because I couldn’t afford to buy one. His [Grant’s] 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.
Now, I’m not a fashion guy. But according to the Internet, this dress was a really big deal. It is sometimes known as “that dress” or “the safety-pin dress” and is considered by some to be the most memorable red carpet dress of all times. The dress was eventually sold at an auction at Harrods, as part of an exhibition dedicated to “the little black dress.”
Bottom line, no one knew who Hurley was prior to the premiere. After the premiere, people were buzzing about her.
Following the success of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Grant formed his own production company, Simian Films. He appointed Hurley as the head of development to look for prospective projects.
In 1995, Hurley appeared in the US TV movie, The Shamrock Conspiracy.
Edward Woodward, best known to American audiences from The Equalizer, played a just-retired Scotland Yard chief inspector visiting his daughter in New York. Hurley played his daughter who is dating a New York cop. The cop is investigating the case of a serial killer who seems to be killing again after a few years of inactivity.
Later that year, Hurley starred in the British thriller, Mad Dogs and Englishmen or Shameless as it was released in the US. Hurley played a high-society heroin addict who meets an American motorcycle courier played by C. Thomas Howell. Hurley uses Howell to score her drugs, but eventually the two become romantically involved. Howell’s character does what he can to save Hurley from her drug addiction.
In 1995, Hurley was indirectly caught up in a scandal when her boyfriend, Hugh Grant, was arrested for picking up prostitute Divine Brown. The arrest happened just two weeks before the release of Grant’s high-profile summer comedy, Nine Months. At the time, everyone assumed this would be a death sentence for Grant’s career as a leading man. But Grant went on a charm offensive. He made a very public apology tour starting with an interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
For all intents and purposes, Grant rewrote the text-book on how to handle a scandal in Hollywood. He got out in front of it and very publicly fell on his sword. It helps that the guy oozes charisma. Audiences were won over. They couldn’t resist Grant’s charms.
The interview was a major coup. Not just for Grant but also for Leno. Leno had been struggling in a late night TV war against his rival, David Letterman. But with the Grant interview, Leno overtook Letterman in the ratings for the first time. From that point on, Leno consistently beat Letterman in the ratings. As for Grant, his sins were largely forgotten. He pleaded no contest to the charges and was fined $1,180 with two years’ summary probation.
But this isn’t “What the Hell Happened to Hugh Grant?” At the time, Hurley was known primarily as Grant’s girlfriend. The scandal put their relationship very much in the public eye. People speculated openly about why a guy like Grant would cheat on his gorgeous, sophisticated girlfriend with a common prostitute. Many expected Hurley to leave Grant. She was seen as a victim and viewed sympathetically. Of course at the time we didn’t yet know that she had been cheating on Grant with Tom Sizemore.
Later that year, cosmetics company Estee Lauder selected Hurley as their spokes-model despite the fact that the 29-year-old actress had no modeling experience whatsoever. Since she was still largely unknown as an actress, you have to figure she landed this job based on the Divine Brown scandal and her infamous black dress.
In 1996, Hurley continued appearing in TV movies. First she appeared in the crime drama, Harrison: Cry of the City. Then she played Delilah in the Biblical movie, Samson and Delilah (pictured).
Although Hurley’s acting career had yet to take off, Hugh Grant was an A-list movie star. Hurley served as a producer on Simian Film’s first movie, Extreme Measures. Grant co-starred in the medical drama opposite Gene Hackman.
Reviews were mixed and the movie disappointed at the box office. It opened in second place behind The First Wives Club which was in its second week of release. It went on to gross less than $18 million dollars.
In 1997, Hurley returned to American movies for the first time since Passenger 57 five years earlier. First, she starred opposite rapper Ice Cube in the thriller, Dangerous Ground.
Cube played an African who left for America after fighting against apartheid. He returns 14 years later for his father’s funeral. When his youngest brother does not attend the funeral, Cube goes looking for him. Instead, he finds a stripper played by Hurley. They discover that Cube’s brother has been kidnapped by a gangster played by Ving Rhames.
Dangerous Ground received terrible reviews and flopped at the box office. It opened in 12th place behind The Beautician and the Beast which had already been in theaters for a week. In fact, it barely out-grossed Evita which had been playing for 8 weeks!
Later that year, Hurley starred opposite Mike Myers in the 60’s satire, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
Myers played Austin Powers, a swinging English super spy in the 1960’s. Myers also played his arch nemesis, Dr. Evil. When Dr. Evil escapes, Austin is cryogenically frozen so that he can capture Dr. Evil whenever he reappears. When Dr. Evil resurfaces 30 years later in the PC 90’s, Austin is thawed out. Hurley played a British agent tasked with helping Austin adapt to the changing times. She also happens to be the daughter of Austin’s 60’s love interest played by Mimi Rogers.
When most people think of Austin Powers, they think of the catch phrases that dominated pop culture in the late 90’s. They assume that the first Austin Powers movie was a smash hit. But in reality, it opened at #2 at the box office and only grossed about 50 million dollars in the US.
That was enough to make International Man of Mystery a hit. But in spite of mostly positive reviews, it wasn’t the box office smash most people remember. Audiences didn’t really find the first Austin Powers until it was released on video.
In 1998, Hurley appeared in the drama, Permanent Midnight.
The movie is based on the autobiography of comedy writer, Jerry Stahl. Stahl developed a crippling drug habit while writing 1980’s TV shows like thirtysomething, Moonlighting, Twin Peaks and ALF. In the movie, Stahl is portrayed by Ben Stiller. Hurley played his wife. Owen Wilson played his best friend and Maria Bello played a fellow recovering addict.
While critics praised Stiller’s dramatic turn, reviews for the movie were mixed. It never received a wide release in the US.
1999 was a big year for Hurley. First, she appeared in the big screen adaptation of the TV show, My Favorite Martian.
Christopher Lloyd starred as a goofy martian who crash-lands on Earth. Jeff Daniels played a reporter who finds Lloyd’s miniaturized space ship. Darryl Hannah played Daniels’ shy assistant who secretly has a crush on him. And Hurley played Daniels’ boss’ daughter who will do anything to get ahead.
My Favorite Martian was panned by critics. It opened in third place at the box office behind Payback which was in the second week of its release. It ended up grossing roughly half of its $65 million dollar production budget.
Next, Hurley appeared in Ron Howard’s media satire, EdTV.
Matthew McConaughey starred as a simple guy who is chosen by a TV producer (played by Ellen DeGeneres) to be the subject of a 24-hour TV program. The premise was similar to The Truman Show which came out in 1998. But both movies came out prior to the proliferation of reality TV that was kick-started by Survivor in 2000.
Woody Harrelson played McConaughey’s brother who is jealous of all the attention he receives. Jenna Elfman played Harrelson’s girlfriend on whom he is cheating. Dennis Hopper played the brothers’ long-lost father and Hurley played a model/actress who is brought on the show to seduce McConaughey and drive up ratings.
EdTV received mixed reviews and flopped at the box office. It opened in third place and ended up grossing about a quarter of its $80 million dollar production budget. But over time and with the spread of reality television, EdTV has developed a cult following.
Hurley returned for a cameo in the Austin Powers sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. At the end of the first movie, Hurley’s character, Vanessa Kensington, married Austin Powers. The sequel opens with the couple on their honeymoon where it is revealed that Hurley is actually a femmebot sent by Dr. Evil to kill Austin Powers.
No, it doesn’t make any sense. But it clears the way for new love interest Heather Graham. Despite mixed reviews, the sequel was a box office smash that flooded pop culture with quotable catch phrases.
Finally, Hurley served as a producer on the second movie from Simian Films, Mickey Blue Eyes. Mickey Blue Eyes was a mob-themed romantic comedy which starred Hugh Grant, James Caan and Jeanne Tripplehorn.
The movie received mixed reviews and flopped at the box office. It opened in third place and grossed less than half of its $75 million dollar production budget. The failure of Mickey Blue Eyes essentially killed Grant’s production company. Simian Films closed its US offices in 2002. Grant resigned as director in 2005. Hurley continued using the UK offices for her fashion business, but Simian Films never released another movie.
In 2000, after thirteen years as a couple, Grant and Hurley split up. It was described as an amicable split and the two remained friends afterwards. Hurley even chose Grant to be her son;s godfather in 2002.
So bye, bye, Hugh! You’ll get your own article before you know it.
At the movies, Hurley co-starred opposite Brendan Fraser in Harold Ramis’ wish-fulfillment comedy, Bedazzled.
Bedazzled was a remake of a cult British comedy from 1967 starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. In the original, Cook played the devil who offers Moore seven wishes. But each time he grants a wish, he twists it so that the outcome isn’t what Moore intended. Raquel Welch had a memorable cameo as the embodiment of Lust.
In Harold Ramis’ remake, the Devil and Lust are combined into one character played by Hurley. She plays Satan by way of a Victoria’s Secret model.
Bedazzled opened to mixed reviews and disappointing box office. Even Hurley slinking around in form-fitting red outfits and Fraser in a series of goofy costumes couldn’t make Bedazzled a hit. Bedazzled was supposed to prove that Fraser and Hurley could open a movie. Instead, it proved the opposite.
Hurley made headlines in October of 2000 for crossing a picket line to film an Estee Lauder commercial. Hurley claimed she was unaware the strike was going on and would not have agreed to appear in the commercial if she had known. The Screen Actors Guild was not swayed. Outspoken actor, Tim Robbins, blasted Hurley:
“We’re bringing her to trial after this is over. She won’t get away with it. This is a strike about working-class actors; this is not a strike about celebrity actors”
Hurley issued an immediate statement apologizing for the misstep. She blamed the issue on Estee Lauder and their representatives who did not inform her that the commercial was crossing picket lines. Estee Lauder claimed that since the commercial would not air in the US, the SAG strike never came up. Hurley attempted to make amends by donating $25,000 to the SAG.
In the end, Hurley was fined $100,000 by the SAG for crossing the picket line. Since the commercial was part of her “all-in” contract with Estee Lauder, she wasn’t paid for her appearance. Hurley claimed she was disappointed by the decision but paid the fine anyway:
“Although I have a right of appeal, my legal challenges would not serve to benefit those who truly suffered most through the strike. I hope that by paying the fine imposed by the trial board, rather than appealing the decision, I will be helping the families of guild members who were harmed by the strike and are in need of assistance.”
Later that year, Hurley appeared in Kathryn Bigelow’s adaptation of Anita Shreve’s 1997 novel, The Weight of Water.
Catherine McCormack played a newspaper photographer researching the murder of two immigrant women in 1873. She and her husband, played by Sean Penn, travel to the Isles of Shoals along with his brother and his brother’s girlfriend played by Hurley. As McCormack uncovers clues to the past, she begins to suspect that her husband is having an affair.
The Weight of Water premiered at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival where it received mixed to negative reviews. It wasn’t released theatrically until 2002. Even then it was given a limited release and grossed just over $100,000.00 – roughly the same amount as Hurley’s fine from the SAG.
In 2001, Hurley starred opposite Dennis Leary in the cop comedy, Double Whammy.
Leary played a New York City police officer whose back went out while he was trying to apprehend a murderer. Hurley played his chiropractor and love interest. Steve Buscemi co-starred as Leary’s partner on the force.
The movie was panned by critics and released direct to video.
In 2002, Hurley reunited with Leary to star in the comedy Dawg also known as Bad Boy.
Leary played an unrepentant womanizer who is late for his grandmother’s funeral. He later finds out that she left him one million dollars. But as eccentric deceased people often do in movies like Dawg, she made the inheritance conditional. In order to get the money, Leary must apologize to twelve women he has wronged and get them to forgive him. Hurley played the executor of the estate who must witness the apologies.
When I go, I’m going to require my beneficiaries to write 50 more What the Hell Happened articles if they want a dime – which may be all that’s left by then…
Like Double Whammy, reviews were negative and the movie went direct to video.
Hurley capped off 2002 by starring opposite Matthew Perry in Reginald Hudlin’s romantic comedy, Serving Sara.
Perry played a process server tasked with serving divorce papers to Hurley. When he completes his assignment, she proposes a counter-offer. She offers him a million dollars to rip up the papers and help her serve her husband (played by Bruce Campbell) with divorce papers instead.
Perry was in rehab for much of the film’s shooting schedule so the production had to shoot around his availability.
I often say that a movie “got bad reviews” or even that it was “panned by critics”. In fact, I have used those two phrases a lot in this very article. (For the record, the highest rated movie in Hurley’s filmography according to Rotten Tomatoes is the first Austin Powers and even that movie holds only a 70% approval rating.) But critics really hated Serving Sara. It currently holds a 4% approval rating because the critic from Moviehole gave it the following faint praise:
There’s still something vaguely enjoyable about the film, as there has been with most of Matthew Perry’s movies.
Thank you Clint Morris for jacking up a well-deserved 0%!
Serving Sara opened in sixth place at the box office. It ended up grossing just over half of it’s production budget. If it wasn’t the last nail in the coffin of Hurley’s movie career, it was the second to last nail.
On 4 April 2002, Hurley gave birth to a son. The baby’s father, film producer Steve Bing, denied paternity. He claimed that his relationship with Hurley was brief and non-exclusive. Apparently Bing missed the health class where they explained that it only takes one time to make a baby. Ultimately DNA tests confirmed that Steve Bing, you ARE the father! As mentioned previously, Hugh Grant was named as the baby’s godfather.
In 2004, Hurley starred in and executive produced the thriller, Method.
Hurley played an actress who is making her first movie after a three-year hiatus. Jeremy Sisto played her ex who is also her co-star in the new movie. Hurley’s character is a method actor and she plays a murderer in the movie. So when people around her start dying, she begins to question whether or not she has gotten too into character.
Hurley clashed with director Duncan Roy on the set in Romania. Afterwards, Roy went to the press with a list of complaints about Hurley. Among other things, the director complained about her on-set sexcapades with her boyfriend of the time, Indian textile heir Arun Nayar. Roy’s comments were brutal:
“We made a good film because Elizabeth did act well in it but I want everyone to know what I think she’s like as a person. She is horrible. Liz wanted to control every aspect of the film. She seems to have the impression that she is a great actress. She totally believes that she’s someone special. She’s not. She also think she’s really beautiful. Well, I have seen her without make-up and it’s not a pretty sight.”
He complained that she threw a temper tantrum after receiving feedback that her acting was “stiff”, that she insisted on being called Elizabeth rather than Liz and then insisted on calling Roy ‘Dunc’, complained about her trailer and a house she was being put up in, and messed up her hair and make-up while spending time with Nayar.
Hurley responded that she liked Roy and was surprised by his accusations. She claimed that she actually campaigned to get him hired as director in the first place. The movie’s producer, producer Brad Wyman, backed Hurley. As he put it:
“This was my 30th movie, it was Liz’s 20th and Duncan had done one; it takes time to turn those things around.”
According to Wyman, there was friction between Hurley and Duncan. But he called his criticisms “unfair”. He did admit that Hurley and her boyfriend were fooling around on the set. “They were really smitten with each other.”
Duncan has not stopped trashing Hurley since the movie’s release over a decade ago. He ended up selling his story to the British tabloid News of the World which Hurley saw as a betrayal. Duncan claims it was revenge. Duncan continues to write about his experiences working with Hurley on his blog. He has only directed one other movie since Method. In 2009, he appeared on VH1’s reality show VH1’s reality show Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew. So he seems like a classy, credible guy.
In 2006, Hurley returned to British TV for the Project Runway clone, Project Catwalk. Hurley was host and judge of the show’s first season. She was replaced for seasons 2 and 3 by Kelly Osborne.
In 2007, Hurley married Nayar married at Sudeley Castle and then had a second traditional Hindu wedding at Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. Photos of the wedding which were sold to Hello magazine for a reported £2 million or some large amount of American dollars. Sorry, I’m not up on conversion rates. Hurley was given away by Sir Elton John because why the hell not?
The marriage lasted four years. After reports surfaced that linked Hurley romantically with Australian cricketer Shane Warne, Hurley filed for divorce in 2011. Three months after the divorce, Hurley and Warne announced their engagement. In 2013, the couple split up.
In 2010, Hurley resurfaced after a six year absence from acting. She appeared opposite Jennifer Tilly and Danny Huston in the faux documentary, Made in Romania. Thankfully, it was not about the making of Method.
From 2011-2012, Hurley appeared on 14 episodes of the CW nighttime soap, Gossip Girl. During the show’s fifth season, Hurley played a wealthy business woman who poses as another character’s mother. Drama and tight red dresses ensue.
Hurley also appeared in the ill-fated David E Kelley-produced pilot for a Wonder Woman TV show. The pilot was not picked up to series. If it had been, Hurley would have played evil business woman Veronica Cale to Adrianne Palicki’s Wonder Woman.
In 2015, Hurley began appearing in the first-ever scripted series on E! The show is called The Royals and Hurley plays a modern monarch of a fictional royal family. The show was promised a second season before the first episode even aired. Ratings have been relatively strong by the network’s standards, though not as high as Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
So, what the hell happened?
Arguably Hurley was Hugh Grants “+1” to the Hollywood party. She rose to prominence based on his success and scandal. For a time, it seemed like she might have a substantial acting career on her own. But she wasn’t able to capitalize on the success of movies like Austin Powers. When Bedazzled flopped, it revealed that even Hurley’s sex appeal wouldn’t sell tickets.
Eventually, Hurley returned to her day job. Today, she splits duty between acting and modeling. At the moment, she’s on a TV show so one could argue that she is in actress mode. But for the last several years, her primary focus seems to have been fashion and modeling. For the time being, Hurley has the luxury of living in both worlds.
Plz may I condense this? WTHH to Liz Hurley? 1) She had a career coz she looks lovely 2) Her career went nowhere coz she’s not a great actress 3) She shagged High Grant & wore a stonking dress 4) Her career went nowhere coz she’s not a great actress 5) She earns a lot of money coz she looks lovely. I’m speaking as someone who watched ‘Christabel’ at the time of transmission. The real life story is brilliant, and the adaptation was by the peerless Dennis Potter. But really, no matter how lovely the externals, the acting talent is… Read more »
I was looking forward to hearing your thoughts as most of us are probably unfamiliar with a lot of her early work. But yeah, that pretty much sums it up.
Why, thank you, kind sir. For anyone who’s not seen her work: think Amanda Donohoe without the wry sense of humour & awareness of her own failings. TBH, almost no-one here had heard of Liz Hurley prior to the 4W&AF prem. It was a complete fluke that I remembered her from ‘Christabel’, and I suspect any of us to whom that applies were only watching it because it was a Potter adaptation of the autobiography. (Aside: Dennis Potter was one of the finest ever writers for TV. His works, however, did tend to employ outrageously beautiful women with limited talent… Read more »
As I was writing the article I was disappointed to realize just how little Hurley’s movie career amounted to. In my memory, it was more substantial most likely because for a time it seemed like she was everywhere. But mostly, she was just the mean, sexy girl. Not even the female lead but the girl who tries to steal the male lead and fails. I generally like to stay focused on the work and not the personal stuff. But in Hurley’s case, all the interesting stuff took place outside of the actual movies. I was mildly amused to discover what… Read more »
You can actually condense her career into two words: “That Dress”. Honestly. In the UK, there’s a reasonable %age of people would place her better from that term than they would from her name. Yet she’s got decades out of it; as I say, a genius. I was somewhat surprised to see your pic of her punk era on Facebook as a hint you were featurin her, given how minimal her achievements have been, which kind of underlines the point. Hugh Grant, bless him, isn’t much of an actor either. He’s either the posh fop or the posh villain, but… Read more »
I don’t follow fashion. Those who have seen my attire can attest to that. So “The Dress” didn’t register with me at all at the time. I don’t think I knew who Hurley was before the Divine Brown scandal. It wasn’t until I started researching this article that I came to realize what a big deal The Dress was. I’m not entirely certain it was as big of a deal in America as it was in England. Maybe it was and I just missed it. That wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I do think Grant might have a bit… Read more »
The fact you keep calling it “The Dress” rather than “THAT Dress” does rather give away that you knew bugger all about it. 😉
lol
That is giveaway isn’t it. Full disclosure: I’m not sure I had even seen it before writing the article. It’s not such a big deal post JLo green dress.
There’s a decent chance that 4W&AF wouldn’t have done nearly as well as it did without her appearance at the premiere. I listened to a brilliant programme recently on the making of the film, and it sounds like it barely made it to the final edit, not least due to lack of cash. So a front-page-conquering-frock in the UK was a very useful thing indeed.
Definitely agree with you. She made a splash at the premiere. It made headlines that got Hugh and the movie much needed publicity. Pure speculation on my part, but I’m guessing that’s why Grant stuck with her even though he likely knew she was sleeping around. She was an asset. I suspect that’s why they have remained friends after their split. Their relationship was probably more utilitarian than romantic.
I think Hugh Grant would be the perfect follow up to Elizabeth Hurley’s write-up. This sort of whets the appetite for me and serves as a natural lead-in into the Hugh Grant story.
I’ve seen quite a few Elizabeth Hurley films (all on cable; yes, “Double Whammy” and “Dawg” too, which aired constantly on HBO the previous decade), but I have to agree with the fact that the Divine Scandal and her relationship with Hugh Grant are what she’s remembered for. Also, something I noticed: she looks quite different facially than she did earlier in her career, and I doubt it has anything to do with age.
1) You are clearly a glutton for punishment.
2) No more different than any of Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Melanie Griffith, Sharon Stone, etc.. Sad how it’s actually the more naturally beautiful who screw it up by Botox, fillers, surgery etc..
Yeah, I was pretty curious and bored when I viewed those pictures on HBO; I considered them afternoon/late night fodder (I haven’t had HBO in a few years..$14.95? Get out of here). Really though, when it comes to Elizabeth Hurley and her looks, I just think her facial features changed drastically from, say, “Passenger 57” to “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” (I initially didn’t know it was the same actress).
Griffith naturally beautiful? I want some of what you’re smoking. She never looked good until Milk Money and that was thanks to some excellent plastic surgery. It was only the later procedures to counteract aging that made her look stupid.
Going back and looking at her pre-fame pictures was a bit startling. I barely recognized her! In some of the early British TV shows, I had to watch clips to make sure I was getting pictures of the right girl. It seems very likely she employed a plastic surgeon. And if so, they did fabulous work. How much of her career can be attributed to perfect breast enhancements?
It wasn’t just surgery, tho’ – she lost a lot of weight, changed her makeup, & got her eyebrows under control. The latter is a surprisingly effective change (see J.Carrey) for opening up the face & making it less threatening. And she may have had some perking up now, but she was always a relatively buxom wench (which can survive weight loss surprisingly well), so just a switch of lingerie style will have done a lot for that in earlier years.
Apparently Liz Hurley fascinates me more than I realised.
She’s a pretty fascinating topic. Despite the fact she had a pretty lackluster movie career, we’ve been talking about her for decades.
You’re right that the eyebrows made a huge difference.
One thing I will say is that I Tweeted the first picture of the article as a clue to who would be the subject of the next article. Quite a few readers on the site’s Facebook Page and on Twitter immediately recognized her despite the very different appearance. So will the changes are noticeable, she is still recognizable to many.
Yeah, I’m just surprised her radical transformation hasn’t been mentioned all that much. I agree that it was great work. Heck, it doesn’t bother me, and i think she look fantastic, but with all the public and media harping on performer’s changing looks, it’s hard for me to figure she’s been relatively untouched. Another note: I love the made up story that Tom Sizemore introduced Elizabeth Hurley to Bill Clinton. Now I can see Hugh Grant and Mr. Clinton being chummy (they seem like they would click), but that tidbit was mentioned just to help sell his book (like basketball… Read more »
I agree Lebeau, it seems likely that Hurley and Grant were more business partners and friends, with success their common goal. But maybe sparks didn’t fly with them.
I imagine they did at one time. And of course I could be way off base. Pure speculation on my part.
I have a feeling that their flame was no longer burning bright by the time they were established though.
If I were going to hazard a guess I would agree with you.
The word “utilitarian” that Leb used seems apt. At the time, it did seem like they were more friends than a lasting couple. Utilitarian relationships happen outside Hollywood all the time; it probably happens within Hollywood more often than we fans care to think about.
Smashing good writeup, baby! (get it?) In this WTHH you’re really giving us an absorbing chapter in movie history. Hurley is undeniably gorgeous no matter what she’s in and no matter what changes have taken place, but beyond just looks, she brings a lot of personality and intelligence into her roles. As usual when I read a WTHH, it turns out the subject has a lot of background filmography I didn’t know. I’ve never seen the Austin Powers sequels beyond the first couple of minutes of the second one. The minute they decided to turn Vanessa into a fembot, they… Read more »
I really loved the first Austin Powers. I don’t think all that many people appreciated it for what it was. The sequel was bigger. I think most people just remember the catch phrases, Mini Me and Myers wearing crazy get-ups. But the first movie had a real sweetness to it. And it even had something to say about the changing times. I remember being sad that they essentially killed of Hurley’s character whom I cared about from the first movie. But the sequel wasn’t about that. It was all about the gags. I quickly got past that.
If they wanted to kill off Hurley’s Austin Powers character, they just should have re-shot the final scene from the George Lazenby Bond film shot-for-shot. It was pretty funny to begin with.
Then we wouldn’t have gotten Hurley in lingerie with guns coming out of her boobs…
well the guns kind of kill it for me, so I wouldn’t consider that too much of a loss
It was pretty good up until then though. When her face drops off, it is a bit of a buzz kill, I’ll grant you. Fortunately Heather Graham wasn’t far behind.
She had some nice guns, for a woman.
Let’s be honest here the only real reason why Elizabeth Hurley got a WTTH write up, ultimately, is because she co-starred in the first Austin Powers film. Without Austin Powers her film career is nothing and she is just an incredibly, impossibly gorgeous woman that famously dated Hugh Grant for several years. Giving credit where credit is due though, Hurley was terrific in Austin Powers, and despite Bedazzled failing at the box office I found it pretty funny, no not great but still entertaining. I would say it was, sadly, the last Harold Ramis movie worth watching, even if it… Read more »
I was legitimately surprised to realize how unimpressive her movie resume was. I remembered her being in a lot of movies. And she was for a time. What I didn’t recollect was that she basically showed up as the bad girl/temptress in most of them. Austin Powers and Bedazzled were about it for big leading roles in movies anyone would remember. There were a few other surprised like the nature of her relationship with Grant. For decades, I branded him a cheater when in reality, she was cheating on him first. And the fact that she was an actress-turned-model instead… Read more »
I, too, never knew just how promiscuous Hurley was during her tenure with Grant. She came off as the victim at the time. And really, if she was going to cheat she could have done a lot better than Tom Sizemore. One way to look at Hurley’s career is an example of just how difficult it is to become a legitimate movie star. Sorry to repeat myself but Elizabeth Hurley was (and still is) an incredibly gorgeous woman, but yet amazing good looks are not enough to become a movie star, even with a decent amount of talent to back… Read more »
I think you make a lot of good points. Especially that Hurley could do better than Tom Sizemore. When Grant got picked up with Divine Brown everyone asked “WHY!?!” I have the same reaction to the news that Hurley shacked up with Sizemore for 4 years. Heck, she chose him over Wesley Snipes. Now, I’m no expert on this kind of thing. But Snipes seems like a better choice than Sizemore. I’m playing amateur celebrity psychologist here, but I suspect part of the appeal of Sizemore was that he was a lovesick little puppy she could play with while Grant… Read more »
Why Hollywood won’t cast Hugh Grant anymore http://www.looper.com/14211/hollywood-wont-cast-hugh-grant-anymore/ For about a decade, Hugh Grant was everywhere. The charming Brit was the crown prince of romcoms and practically inescapable at the movies. Then, well, he wasn’t around much anymore. What happened? That whole sex scandal thing Back before a sex tape could make someone famous and successful, sex scandals were, well, scandalous—and Hugh Grant was embroiled in a particularly infamous one. In 1995, the affable actor was busted for hooking up with a prostitute named Divine Brown in his car. He looked particularly sheepish in his mugshot. Oh, and did we… Read more »
‘The people who wanted me were always the money people’: Hugh Grant concedes that he was never in demand with ‘important’ Hollywood directors
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3717039/Hugh-Grant-opens-film-career-admits-never-sought-important-directors.html
10 Worst Explanations For Missing Movie Characters http://screenrant.com/worst-explanations-missing-movie-characters/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_865483 Austin Powers (Mike Myers) is a bumbling secret agent of the 1960s, a broad caricature of James Bond. In Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, he awakes after 30 years of cryosleep to once again battle his nemesis Dr. Evil (also played by Myers). To help him adjust to 1990s, Powers is partnered with the lovely agent Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley). The film then plays with the standard trope of its main couple first bickering before falling in love. However, at the very beginning of the sequel, it is discovered that Agent… Read more »
12 Great Directors Who Helmed Terrible Movie Remakes http://whatculture.com/film-tv/12-great-directors-who-helmed-terrible-movie-remakes?page=12 Harold Ramis – Bedazzled (2000) It’s weird to think that there was ever a point when a major studio were able to cast Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley in a film, like that was the most normal thing in the world: they’re the last pair you’d expect to find in anything of worth nowadays, but back in 2000 they were considered hot property, apparently. Those were the days. Betting on their, uh, sizzling chemistry, Fraser and Hurley found themselves paired with Harold Ramis, the comic director behind Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation… Read more »
Very interesting overview! I think I might be the only person who loves the Hurley/Fraser Bedazzled and even found her role in My Favourite Martian amusing. I think Hurley’s problem was that her looks, though extremely gorgeous, are quite ‘hard’ if that makes sense. It is difficult to imagine her playing vunerable or likable. Even the part in My Favourite Martian I mentioned above, where she played an airhead still played it as a ruthless airhead. Incidentally I don’t know if anyone knows the Irish actress Katie McGrath (of Merlin, the recent Dracula series and Jurassic World) but she looks… Read more »
She didn’t have the sweet “girl next door” persona. She was never going to be America’s Sweetheart. When she attempted a rom com, you got Serving Sara. Whether that’s her looks or her energy or some other intangible factor, I don’t know. But she played as a manipulative vixen and not so much the girl that the guy is supposed to end up with.
Yeah. Not blonde AND not a doormat. Not a big market for those in Hollywood – 2% of all actresses, would you say? Or is that a bit high?
lol
You’ll get no argument from me.
That’s so narrow that Hollywood thinks like that, but we all know that’s the case. Personally, I like females of all hair colors.
The question is whether Hollywood’s reflecting the anglophone media, or vice versa.
Does the Canal+ / BBC4 detective series “Spiral” get broadcast in the US? Audrey Fleurot slinks her way through it like some kind of auburn panther on heat (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1109153/). Something tells me she’ll never have a career of note outside Europe. Think Eva Green with added sensuality and menace.
It looks like it’s available on Netflix. These days, if you look hard enough, you can find most anything. But none of these shows are out in the mainstream. You’re going to have to go out of your way to find them.
“I think Hurley’s problem was that her looks, though extremely gorgeous, are quite ‘hard’ if that makes sense.”
An awful lot of actresses seem to look like grown up little girls. You’d never mistake Hurley for anything other than a woman.
I go nuts in the Bedazzled film where she plays a school teacher.
http://img.pandawhale.com/54586-elizabeth-hurley-schoolgirl-mi-CpPr.gif
I agree with you both Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley are both excellent WTTHT material. Grant more so as he was a big star and seems to have just fallen off the face of the Earth. Hurley’s real big test was Bedazzled and that was a real missed opportunity for both her and Fraser. It was actually quite funny and they had loads of chemistry. (it did admittedly peter out after about the fifth wish the devil granted). I remember the big sticking point with critics is the film seemed to shy away from the chemistry they had (maybe because… Read more »
What Do You Want To Know About Elizabeth Hurley?
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/what-do-you-want-to-know-about-elizabeth-hurley
Submit your burning questions here!
Hurley (along with fellow WTHH alums Sharon Stone and Demi Moore) in WatchMojo’s Top 10 Sexiest Women of the 1990s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPf75TWsfWY
Elizabeth Hurley’s quote of “I’d kill myself if I was as fat as Marilyn Monroe” makes WatchMojo’s list of Another Top 10 Dumb Things Said by Celebrities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FscUcWRsYfc
Hurley (along with Sharon Stone) makes WatchMojo’s list of Top 10 Actresses with Sexy Voices
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRpppK6WrCs
10 Famous Actresses Who Don’t Act Anymore
http://www.fame10.com/entertainment/10-famous-actresses-who-dont-act-anymore/5/
Elizabeth Hurley
Model and actress Elizabeth Hurley is famous for her role in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and for being Hugh Grant’s girlfriend in the 1990s who wore a Versace dress held together with gold safety pins to his film premiere. In 2002, she took a break from acting to raise her son but has since been seen on the small screen for Gossip Girl, Project Runway and in her current role as Queen Helena on The Royals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKuMfBjxiNs
Steve Bing & Liz Hurley’s son Damien
http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/1062512-Steve-Bing-amp-Liz-Hurley-s-son-Damien
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Elizabeth Hurley
http://www.fame10.com/entertainment/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-elizabeth-hurley/
‘Teenage me!’ Elizabeth Hurley, 51, has hardly aged a day as she shares fresh-faced throwback snap from her pre-fame days
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3785448/Elizabeth-Hurley-51-hardly-aged-day-shares-teen-snap.html
Forgotten Classic: Method (AKA Dead Even)
http://www.culturefix.co.uk/2012/11/forgotten-classic-method-aka-dead-even.html
We have always rated Elizabeth Hurley highly as an actress – she harks back to the golden days of glamorous cinematic leading ladies like Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor. And like the aforementioned, may not be the most-convincing actress but remains a star all the same. Although, Hurley in Method may be best suited to comparisons with the later career of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis – when the stars ventured into trashy horror films.
Elizabeth Hurley stuns the world again with blazing new bikini photos. http://MAXIMM.AG/acWjMQo
What a crappy, boring article. I could have gotten this from a middle schooler’s biography of Hurley. A pitiful waste of time. ONE star.
10 Actors Who Quit While They Were on Top
http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/actors-who-quit-while-they-were-on-top.html/?a=viewall
Elizabeth Hurley
British actress Elizabeth Hurley is best known for her starring roles in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Bedazzled, using her ravishing good looks and likable on-screen persona to become a successful model, actress, and spokeswoman.
There isn’t a clear reason why her film career came to a sudden halt around 2002, save for the birth of her son. Hurley has continued to appear in advertisements, becoming an outspoken supporter of Estee Lauder’s breast cancer awareness program, but hasn’t enjoyed a major film role since.
Elizabeth Hurley reportedly dating David Foster http://www.nickiswift.com/77386/elizabeth-hurley-reportedly-dating-david-foster/ Has the Royals star found herself a new man? E! News reports that Elizabeth Hurley has started dating record producer David Foster. But don’t expect them to go public with their romance anytime soon—a source said that the two are still in the “early stages” of a relationship. Rumors that Hurley, 52, and Foster, 67, were an item started after paparazzi spotted them boarding a private jet together in Olbia, Italy. A friend of the pair also shared a photo of the two of them with a group on Instagram, showing them spending time… Read more »
Where Are They Now? Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery http://screenrant.com/austin-powers-international-man-of-mystery-where-are-they-now-cast-then/ ELIZABETH HURLEY As Vanessa Kensington, the daughter of Austin Powers’ 1960s love interest and his new pursuit in the modern day, Elizabeth Hurley leapt from British television and small parts in American film to a genuine movie star. Her first role after Austin Powers was a dramatic turn in Permanent Midnight, which also displayed comedian Ben Stiller’s dramatic skills. She was only able to return for a cameo in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999 because it was a busy year for her. She starred in… Read more »
15 Celebs That Got Hotter After They Stopped Being Famous http://screenrant.com/celebs-hotter-after-stopped-being-famous-leaving-hollywood/ ELIZABETH HURLEY The lovely Elizabeth Hurley first came on the scene as a model as a long-running spokesmodel for Estée Lauder, and then easily transitioned to the big screen in the 1990s. Her breakout role came in the hit 1997 comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and she went on to do a few more films, including Bedazzled and Serving Sara. Hurley’s biggest claim to fame, however, later became being the longtime girlfriend of Hugh Grant at the height of his career. She even stood by him when… Read more »
Why You Never Her About Elizabeth Hurley Anymore
http://www.nickiswift.com/85442/never-hear-elizabeth-hurley-anymore/
You know her from “Austin Powers” and from the tabloid headlines — Elizabeth Hurley has been a television and film fixture for quite some time. But in recent memory, this British bombshell has fallen out of the public eye. Her absence from the A-list has led many to wonder, “Where has she gone?” From an embarrassing divorce to a split from a famed cricket player and taking time off to raise her son, these are reasons why Hurley has been out of sight.