Elizabeth
is the daughter of an army officer and an elementary schoolteacher
mother. While growing up Hurley dreamt of becoming a dancer,
which prompted her to attend a boarding school specializing
in ballet at the age of twelve. Her attendance at the
boarding school was short-lived, she was a victim of punk
fashion of the early 80s, since this was the thing, she
stopped being a princess and became a punk.
At 21, Hurley got her first film role in the 1987 film
Aria. One year later, Hurley received critical acclaim
for her role as Christabel Bielenberg in the BBC miniseries
entitled Christabel.
Hurley became
more noticed in the United States for her role in the
1992 action film Passenger 57 starring Wesley Snipes.
Although this was a Hollywood role, she was still having
difficulty receiving quality Hollywood roles, and consequently
returned to England.
Elizabrth
Hurley's claim to fame came with a very expensive dress.
Versace did Hurley a favor by giving her a free dress
to wear to the 1994 London premiere of Hugh Grant's
film Four Weddings and a Funeral. The low-cut risqué
dress held together by safety pins became made heads
turn at the premiere.
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In
1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, the
little movie that became a smash hit, gave her all of
the recognition she deserved. With her comedic turn as
agent Vanessa Kensington alongside Austin Powers, played
by Mike Myers, Hurley was now seeing the movie scripts
rolling in. She did more movies, including roles in Dangerous
Ground (1997), Permanent Midnight (1998), My Favorite
Martian, Ed TV, and a cameo appearance in the sequel to
Austin Powers, Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me
(1999). She also produced the hit mobster film, Blue Eyes
which starred her boyfriend Hugh Grant. Her success is
now fully insured.
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