HUGH GRANT first appeared in front of the camera at Oxford in Privileged at the age of 22; he then went on to theatre work, forming his own revue. His movie career took off at 27, in Merchant-Ivory's Maurice, for which he won the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor prize. After that, he was cast as Lord Byron and Chopin. Grant never seems to take himself too seriously, which made his youthful sophistication in Four Weddings so endearing. The surprise success of that picture made Grant the flavor of the year in Beverly Hills boardrooms and, apparently, on Hollywood Boulevard. In 1995, Hugh became the scandal of the year by hiring a prostitute, Divine Brown, to perform certain acts in the privacy of his automobile. Not so private, it turned out. Grant was arrested, made fun of, and remarkably, lauded for his actions. Newspapers and television shows around the world covered his troubles. Longtime girlfriend, Estée Lauder model Elizabeth Hurley, was not amused; she has claimed she will never ("No, never, no, no") marry him. The couple has collaborated on several movie projects, the latest being 1999's Mickey Blue Eyes, which Hurley co-produced and Grant starred in and co-directed.

          The response to Hugh Grant's performance in Mike Newell's Four Weddings and a Funeral, for which he won a Golden Globe, has been phenomenal worldwide. He and Newell reteamed for An Awfully Big Adventure, set in postwar Liverpool and Grant enjoyed the challenge of playing a more eccentric and villainous part than his role in Four Weddings.

          Grant's first acting success came while he was studying English at Oxford. He had appeared in a number of student productions and was cast in the lead in Michael Hoffman's Privileged. Following Oxford, Grant worked in repertory theatre, the milieu of An Awfully Big Adventure. He was soon cast in Merchant/Ivory's Maurice and he and his co-star, James Wilby, shared the Best Actor award at the 1987 Venice Film Festival.

          Grant's other feature films include The Dawning, with Anthony Hopkins and Jean Simmons; Ken Russell's Lair of the White Worm; The Big Man, co-starring Joanne Whalley-Kilmer; Sirens, directed by John Duigan and starring Sam Neill, Tara Fitzgerald and Elle Macpherson; Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon; James Lapine's Impromptu, in which he played Chopin; and Merchant/Ivory's acclaimed The Remains of the Day, with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. His British television credits include The Trials of Oz and The Changeling, opposite Bob Hoskins and Elizabeth McGovern.

          In 1994, Grant formed his own production company, Simian Films. Since completing production on An Awfully Big Adventure, Grant has starred in An Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain and Nine Months.