Hugh John Mungo Grant (born September 9, 1960) is a Golden Globe-winning English actor.Grant was born in Hammersmith, London, England to Fynvola Susan MacLean, a teacher, and James Murray Grant, an aspiring artist and carpet salesman who ran a carpet firm. He has an older brother, James. Grant's Scottish great-great-grandfather, Dr. James Stewart, was an assistant to explorer David Livingstone and Grant is also related to William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan.Grant attended Wetherby School, Latymer Upper School, and - on scholarship - New College, Oxford, where he studied English and was a member of the Piers Gaveston Society, a notorious dining club. Before his finals at Oxford, he was set to do a PhD in the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute but could not follow through as he failed to attain a first class degree required to win the grant for his doctoral studies. As a child, he was taught the piano by Andrew Lloyd Webber's mother.
Grant made his film debut (as "Hughie Grant") in 1982 with the Oxford-financed Privileged. Television roles came later in 1985. He played a leading role in the Merchant-Ivory film Maurice in 1987 for which he won the Best Actor award (tied with his co-star James Wilby) at the Venice Film Festival. He then appeared in the 1988 Ken Russell film The Lair of the White Worm, and in 1991, he starred in the film Impromptu as Frédéric Chopin opposite Judy Davis (as George Sand) and Julian Sands (as Franz Liszt). He also played a major role in The Remains of the Day (1993) and simultaneously became known as the partner of model/actress Elizabeth Hurley, whom he had been dating since at least 1987. However, it was Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) which turned him into a major star.
The following year was an extremely busy one for Grant. He co-starred with Alan Rickman in An Awfully Big Adventure, partnered Julianne Moore in Nine Months, was the object of Emma Thompson's affection in Sense and Sensibility and appeared in the period piece Restoration which also co-starred Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen, Sam Neill and Robert Downey Jr. In the same year he appeared in The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain along with Ian McNeice, Tara Fitzgerald and Harry Kretchmer. He starred with Gene Hackman in the 1996 thriller Extreme Measures.
In 1999, he starred in Notting Hill opposite Julia Roberts (of which he told E! Online, "It's very weird to be kissing an icon."). He followed with successes in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), About a Boy (2002), and Two Weeks Notice (2002) opposite Sandra Bullock. He returned to frequent collaborator Richard Curtis for the 2003 romantic comedy, Love Actually and the 2004 sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. He also starred in American Dreamz (2006), a satire on reality TV shows. Most recently, Grant appeared with Drew Barrymore in Music and Lyrics, in which Grant demonstrated a passable gift for singing. Grant was offered the role of Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets film, but turned it down. He said that he later regretted this decision. On The Oprah Winfrey Show during promotions for Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, he revealed that the only movie out of his whole career that "does not make [him] cringe" is About A Boy.
Grant's most recent film is the romantic comedy film, Music and Lyrics. It is about an 80's pop star (Grant) who has to write lyrics for a newer artist. He is also in talks to star in the 2008 Disney animated film Hollywood Dog in which he plays a dog.
On the original soundtrack from Music and Lyrics, his singing voice can be heard on seven tracks - Pop Goes My Heart, Meaningless Kiss, Way Back Into Love (Demo Version) with Drew Barrymore, Dance With Me Tonight, Don't Write Me Off, Way Back Into Love with Haley Bennett, and Love Autopsy.[citation needed]
Grant dated actress Elizabeth Hurley for many years , separating in 2000 (although they remain good friends) . In 1995, while dating Hurley, he was arrested by vice squad officers in Hollywood for indecent conduct with a prostitute, Divine Brown, in a public place. He offered an apology for this on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He then began dating socialite and Unicef ambassador Jemima Khan, ex-wife of Imran Khan in 2004. In February 2007, Grant's publicist, Robert Garlock, confirmed reports that the two had mutually decided to end their relationship.
In April 2007, Grant was arrested after he allegedly chased, kicked, and threw a can of baked beans at photographer Ian Whittaker and cursed the photographer's children with cancer.[9][10] Charges were dropped on June 2.
Grant now has an estimated net worth of $255 million.
