Hugh Grant

**Hugh John Mungo Grant** (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a more dramatic character actor. Among his accolades, he has received a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Honorary César. As of 2018, his films had grossed a total of nearly US$3 billion worldwide. In 2022, *Time Out* magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's greatest actors of all time. He portrays Forge Fitzwilliam the Rogue in *Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves*.

## Early life

### Family

Grant was born on 9 September 1960 in Hammersmith, London, the second son of Fynvola Susan MacLean (née Wickham) and Captain James Murray Grant. His grandfather, Colonel James Murray Grant, DSO, was decorated for bravery and leadership at Saint-Valery-en-Caux during World War II. Genealogist Antony Adolph has described Grant's family history as "a colourful Anglo-Scottish tapestry of warriors, empire-builders, and aristocracy." His ancestors include Sir Walter Raleigh; William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan; James Stewart; John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl; Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham; Sir Evan Nepean; and a sister of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.

Grant's father was an officer in the Seaforth Highlanders for eight years in Malaya and Germany. He ran a carpet firm, and pursued hobbies such as golf and watercolor painting; he raised his family in Chiswick, West London, and the Grants lived next to Arlington Park Mansions on Sutton Lane. In September 2006, a collection of Capt. Grant's paintings was hosted by the John Martin Gallery in a charity exhibition, organised by his son, called "James Grant: 30 Years of Watercolours". His mother worked as a schoolteacher and taught Latin, French, and music for more than 30 years in the state schools of West London. She died at the age of 67 of pancreatic cancer.

On *Inside the Actors Studio* in 2002, Grant credited his mother with "any acting genes that [he] might have". Both his parents were children of military families, but despite his parents' backgrounds, he has stated that his family was not always affluent while growing up. He spent many of his childhood summers shooting and fishing with his grandfather in Scotland. Grant has an older brother, James "Jamie" Grant, a New York-based investment banker.

### Education

Grant started his education at Hogarth Primary School in Chiswick, then moved to St Peter's Primary School in Hammersmith, followed by Wetherby School, an independent preparatory school in Notting Hill. From 1969 to 1978, he attended Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, at the time a direct grant grammar school. He was educated on a scholarship and played 1st XV rugby, cricket, and football. He also represented Latymer Upper on the quiz show *Top of the Form*, an academic competition between two teams of four secondary school students each.

In 1979, he won the Galsworthy scholarship to New College, Oxford. He studied English literature and graduated with second-class honours. Viewing acting as nothing more than a creative outlet, he joined the Oxford University Dramatic Society and was Fabian in a production of *Twelfth Night*. He also starred in his first film, *Privileged* (1982), produced by the Oxford University Film Foundation.

He received an offer from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, to pursue a PhD in art history, but decided not to take the offer because he failed to secure a grant.

## Personal life

### Relationships

Elizabeth Hurley (pictured in 2008) was in a much publicised relationship with Grant between 1987 and 2000.
In 1987, while playing Lord Byron in the Spanish production *Remando Al Viento* (1988), Grant met actress Elizabeth Hurley, who was cast in a supporting role as Byron's former lover Claire Clairmont. He began dating Hurley during filming and their relationship was subsequently the subject of much media attention. While dating Hurley, Grant gained international notoriety for soliciting the services of a prostitute, Divine Brown, in 1995. They separated in May 2000, but Grant is godfather to Hurley’s son Damian, born in 2002.

Grant has five children with two women. In September 2011, he had a daughter, Tabitha, with Tinglan Hong, who was sometimes misreported in the press as a receptionist at a Chinese restaurant in London. His daughter's Chinese name is Jing Xi (驚喜), meaning "happy surprise". Grant and Hong had a "fleeting affair", according to his publicist. He has said that Hong has been "badly treated" by the media; the press intrusion prevented him from attending the birth of his daughter, with Hong obtaining an injunction to allow him to visit them in peace.

In September 2012, Grant had his second child, a son, with Swedish television producer Anna Eberstein. Hong and Grant reunited briefly and she gave birth to Grant's third child, a son named Felix, in December of that same year.

In December 2015, he and Eberstein had their second child, a girl. Their third child, another girl, was born in March 2018, and they married on 25 May 2018.

### Political views

In 2011, Grant appeared at the Liberal Democrats' conference on the News International phone-hacking scandal, where he briefly met then-party leader Nick Clegg. Grant said that he was attending the Conservative and Labour conferences as well, but told Lib Dem activists that "You, more than any of the other parties, have a good bill of health. You have never been in bed with these scumbags."

In the 2015 UK general election, Grant expressed support for Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander and later hosted a dinner for the Liberal Democrats, in which he met the winner of a draw of donors to the Liberal Democrats. In an email sent by former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown, Grant wrote: "I am not a Lib Dem, a Tory, a Labourite or anything in particular but I recognise political guts." In the 2015 election, he endorsed two Labour candidates: Tom Watson and his former agent, Michael Foster.

During the 2019 UK general election Grant campaigned for tactical voting to stop a Conservative majority and Brexit. He was seen canvassing with Liberal Democrats candidates, Labour candidates, and independent Dominic Grieve.

### Sports

Grant during the second round of Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, October 2007
As a young boy, he played rugby union on his school's first XV team at centre and also played football. He is a fan of Fulham and is also a supporter of Scottish football club Rangers. He continued to play in a Sunday-morning football league in south-west London after college and remains an "impassioned Fulham supporter". His other interests include tennis and snooker.

In 2011, the BBC apologised after Grant made an offhand joke about homosexuality and rugby when he was invited into the commentary box during coverage of an England v Scotland game at Twickenham Stadium. Talking about playing rugby during his school days, Grant said: "I discovered it hurt less if you tackled hard than if you tackled like a queen".

### Relationships with co-stars

After production on *Restoration* ended, Grant's co-star, Robert Downey Jr., revealed that he and Grant did not get along during filming. Downey said: "I kinda think he's a jerk. Don't know, I just think he is. My personal experience with him is I think he's this kind of self-important, kind of, like, boring flash-in-the-pan asshole Brit." In 2018, Grant confirmed the on-set tension he and Downey had had, stating: "He [Downey] hated me. He took one look at me and wanted to kill me. I was so hurt." As a result of Grant's confirmation of their decades-long feud, Downey went to Twitter to make amends with Grant, to which Grant agreed.

In addition to the confirmation, Grant also said that he and Drew Barrymore did not get along during production of *Music & Lyrics*. "Well, Drew, I think did hate me a bit. But I admired her. We just were very different human beings," Grant said. "She was very L.A. and I was an old grumpy Londoner. The funny thing is, although it was fractionally tense on the set of that film, I think the chemistry is rather good between us. Sometimes tension makes a good crackle." Barrymore had also been one out of three leading ladies Grant listed whom he did not get along with, the others being Julianne Moore and Rachel Weisz. However, on a *Graham Norton Show* appearance, Grant told Graham Norton he did not know why he mentioned Weisz and he was probably "going for a 'comedy triple'". He is also on good terms with Barrymore and appeared on *The Drew Barrymore Show*.

Grant has praised many other female co-stars, including Sandra Bullock, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Emma Thompson, and Meryl Streep, who co-starred with him in *Florence Foster Jenkins* and was "a genius" according to Grant. He referred to his *Bridget Jones's Diary* co-star Renée Zellweger as "delightful." In 2020 he admitted he had always liked *The Undoing* co-star Nicole Kidman, saying she was a "silly Aussie girl."

## Philanthropy

Grant is a patron of the DIPEx Charity, which operates the website Healthtalkonline. He is also patron of the Fynvola Foundation, named after his late mother; it supports the Lady Dane Farmhouse, a home in Faversham for adults with learning disabilities.

Since his mother's death in 2001, Grant has worked as a fundraiser and ambassador for Marie Curie Cancer Care, promoting the charity's annual Great Daffodil Appeal on several occasions. He is also a patron of Pancreatic Cancer Action.

## Credits

### Starring

* *Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves*