birthdays: Hugh Grant

*Hugh Grant
(56 years old)

9 September 1960
Hammersmith, London, England, UK
5' 11" (1,8 m)

Hugh Grant, one of Britain's best known faces who has been equally entertaining on-screen as well as in real life, and had enough sense of humor to survive a media frenzy, is best known for his roles in Notting Hill (1999), opposite Julia Roberts, and in "Music and Lyrics" (2007), opposite Drew Barrymore, among his other works.

He was born Hugh John Mungo Grant on September 9, 1960, in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. His mother, Fyvola Susan (MacLean), was a teacher. His father, James Murray Grant, was an artist and carpet salesman, and his grandfather was in the British Army during WWII. His ancestry is mainly Scottish and English, with distant Irish, Welsh, and Dutch, roots. Young Grant was fond of literature and acting. He won a scholarship to Oxford, going up to New College in 1979. There he was involved in student drama, and considered a career as an art historian. After Oxford, he turned down a scholarship to do postgraduate studies in Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London, and focused on his acting career. In 1982, while still a student, Grant made his big screen debut in Privileged (1982) by director Michael Hoffman.

Grant's breakthrough came with the leading role as Charles in "Four Weddings and a Funeral"(1994), opposite Andie MacDowell, a role which won him a Golden Globe Award, as well as a BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor. During the 1990s Grant established himself as a very original and resourceful actor. He played a string of characters projecting a positive mindset, showing how do you stay optimistic when you are actually worried about a cascade of troubles. Grant had his own experience as a survivor of an unfortunate episode in his private life, which he managed to overcome thanks to having a pretty damn good outlook on life.

His forte is playing characters projecting warmth and sincere happiness, with his hallmark stuttering, albeit some accused him of reprising the same character he has been playing for the past two decades. Grant's ability to show his character development within a limited screen time shines in Love Actually (2003), with his witty portrayal of a Prime Minister whose personal insecurities become intertwined with his country's international affairs, a performance that earned him a nomination for European Audience Award. His screen presence and skillful understatement takes his characters beyond the written script, thanks to his mastery of timing and effortless style.

Outside of his acting profession, Grant has been a good athlete, he played cricket and football in his younger years. He enjoys playing golf, frequently taking part in Pro-Am tournaments. He has been an avid art lover since his younger years, and has been collecting fine art, a passion he inherited from his father. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Shelokhonov

Trade Mark*

Posh English accent

Floppy hair

Roles in romantic comedies

Trivia*

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#43).

His production company is called "Simian Films" -- so named by Elizabeth Hurley because she has said that he resembles an ape or a monkey.

He was arrested in Los Angeles, California, for lewd conduct after police checking into a "suspicious parked car" found him with Divine Brown, a prostitute, in the front seat (it was his car). He pleaded no contest and got a $1,180 fine and two years' probation.

Opted not to do a nude scene in Cuatro bodas y un funeral (1994) when a make up artist asked if he wanted definition painted on his body.

On the set of Mickey ojos azules (1999), James Caan gave Hugh the nickname of Whippy, because Caan said he worried about everything like "the little whippet dogs that get nervous and you got to put a sweater on them when they're cold".

Got his start by performing in a British comedy sketch group, The Jockeys of Norfolk.

Featured in the 1996 paperback "Mug Shots" that includes many other celebrities who've been arrested for one reason or another.

Voted fourth in the Orange 2001 Film Survey of Greatest British film actors.

Usually dubbed in French versions by actor Vincent Cassel.

Jay Leno told the London Independent that there are only 18 celebrities worth having on a chat show, one of them being Hugh Grant.

Has long wanted to make a film about his grandfather's real life escape from a prisoner of war camp during WWII.

Long time loyal fan of Fulham Football Club (English Premier League soccer club), based at Craven Cottage, Fulham, London, England. Fellow fans include Elizabeth Hurley, Lily Allen, Pierce Brosnan, Hugh Laurie, Benicio Del Toro, Daniel Radcliffe, Andrew Johnstonand the late Michael Jackson.

Model and actress Elizabeth Hurley is a former girlfriend [1987 - 2000].

Graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English (1982)

He is a second cousin, once removed, of Thomas Brodie-Sangster. Hugh's maternal grandmother, Margaret Isabel Randolph, was the sister of one of Thomas's maternal great-grandmothers, Barbara May Randolph.

His favorite artist is Patrick Rondat.

Godfather of Damian Hurley, son of his ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley.

Turned down a place to do post-graduate studies in art history at the Courtauld Institute, in order to concentrate on his acting career.

Used to play in a cricket team called 'Captain Scott'

Had a skating accident when he was a teenager. Part of the bone in his elbow is still detached from the other bones and "swims" freely between the skin and his elbow.

Played Emma Thompson's love interest in Sentido y sensibilidad (1995) and her brother in Love Actually (2003). He also collaborated with her in the films Pasiones privadas de una mujer (1991) and Lo que queda del día (1993).

Broke up with Jemima Khan after approximately three years [February 16, 2007].

Was originally cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter y la cámara secreta (2002), but was forced to withdraw at the last moment because of scheduling conflicts.

Speaks French fluently.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's mother was Hugh's piano teacher when he was a child.

In 2001, he purchased an Andy Warhol painting of Elizabeth Taylor for just under $4 million. He later sold it in 2007 for $23.5 million.

In a 2002 Capital FM radio interview, he stated that Lo que queda del día (1993) is the best and Tren nocturno a Venecia (1996) is the worst film he had ever made.

His favorite co-star is Sandra Bullock.

His favorite films include Hacia adelante (1944), Zulú (1964) and El guateque (1968).

Often described as a "golfing addict". He also can play cricket, soccer, tennis and snooker. He has stated that his favorite sport to watch is ladies' tennis.

In 2010, film critic David Thomson wrote in "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film": "With his drooping chin and pouty lips, his quaff of hair and dithery manner, Hugh Grant seems like a refugee from Thirties theatre - or an incipient sneeze looking for a vacant nose".

Appeared on the cover of GQ magazine three times: December '94, October '98 and November '02 (with Denzel Washington and Ralph Lauren).

Became a father for the 1st time at age 51 when his ex-girlfriend Tinglan Hong gave birth to their daughter Tabitha Grant on 26 September 2011.

Became a father for the 3rd time at age 52 when his ex-girlfriend Tinglan Hong gave birth to their son Felix Chang Grant on 16 February 2013. Hong and Grant briefly reunited as a couple in 2012, after their short relationship, which was described by his publicist as a "fleeting affair", in 2011.

His ancestry is mainly English and Scottish, along with distant Irish, Welsh, Cornish, and Dutch, and even more remote French and Belgian (Walloon), roots.

Became a father for the 2nd time in September 2012. Mother of the child is Swedish television producer Anna Elisabet Eberstein.

Godmother of his daughter Tabitha is ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley.

Personal Quotes*

I could do with more mobbing, particularly from women. I'd like to be treated like Ricky Martin.

I just don't believe in love at first sight any more, even though I've based my whole career on the concept. In my experience, power, money and influence always attract the opposite sex. It's something that I've always exploited - with good results.

Basically, my life is so boring, it's embarrassing.

[on being called "posh" by the media] I do, kind of, want to ram their microphones down their patronizing throats.

I don't particularly like babies. I don't mind them for about four minutes. That's my max. After that I can't quite see what everyone's fussing about.

I watch an awful lot of women's sport recently. I don't know what that means about me. I watch the women's golf. I watch the women's tennis very much.

I've got four houses in my street. I live in two and the others are empty. I'll buy more as they come up, because I think it would be great to have the entire street.

Women are frightening. If you get to 41 as a man, you're quite battle-scarred.

[his thoughts of actress Julia Roberts] Very big-mouthed! Literally, physically, she has a very big mouth. It is a very big mouth. When I was kissing her I was aware of a faint echo.

[on his screen fight with Colin Firth in Bridget Jones: Sobreviviré (2004)] It was the same approach as the first one, which was just to make sure that it was as crap as we wanted it to be. The key is to stop the stunt coordinator from coming in to make it look like a film fight. We just wanted it to be two pathetic Englishmen scared of each other, throwing their handbags at each other, basically.

I think film acting's just a miserable experience. It's so long and so boring and so difficult to get right so that what you need above all is incredible willpower and strength of mind.

[on playing "the bad guy" in films] Now, I quite like it. For years I sat in these interviews and everyone said, "You're always Mister Nice Guy, why don't you ever play someone nasty?" So in fact it's been a relief to be . . . for the real me to come out more on camera. I don't have any particular burning desire to go back to being cuddly. Not really.

[on why he is conducting a crusade to regulate standards for the British press] It certainly isn't a craving for attention. I trudge on to 'Newsnight' or 'Question Time', like Saddam to the scaffold. We beg them to use our professors, but they won't.

[on Rupert Murdoch calling him a "scumbag"] Harsh. But I see where he's coming from.

I'm often asked why I keep banging on about the press. Am I a lefty? I'm not. I'm not a righty either. I drift.

[on Elton John's marriage to his husband David Furnish] Groom Groom - Britain races into the future. Congrats Elton and David. Congrats enlightened UK.