What better way to celebrate your birthday than in your birthday suit? Elizabeth Hurley did that in June, celebrating her 60th by posting a photo of herself in a grassy meadow with not a stitch of clothing in sight.
It said everything there is to know about the Bedazzled star: she’s fun, naughty, glamorous – and she’s showing no signs of slowing down. Instead, she continues to be the flagship model for her bikini fashion label Elizabeth Hurley Beach and is enjoying a new romance with American country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.
Her secret to staying youthful
The secret to her impossibly youthful look? “A bit of lusting after someone does wonders for the skin,” she replies cheekily.
It’s been just over 30 years since Liz became an overnight star after 10 years trying to get noticed in the acting world without success. It was 1994 and her boyfriend was another little-known actor Hugh Grant, who suddenly had a mega-hit on his hands with the romcom Four Weddings and a Funeral.
When the world first noticed Liz Hurley
As Hugh’s plus-one for the London premiere, she borrowed a dress from Versace on a whim – a barely there number, held together with safety pins. It was in the days before stars regularly slayed on the red-carpet half-naked and when the photos of Hugh, with Liz on his arm, hit the newsstands, the eyes of the world collectively boggled.
“I promise I didn’t mean to steal the show,” she laughed later.
Fame, love and scandal
From that moment, Liz never struggled to find work – and she’s been just as famous for her love life.
With the fame has come a good helping of scandal, humiliation, disappointment and grief. Throughout it all, ever-classy Liz demonstrated the true meaning of ‘grace under fire’. Just a year after the Four Weddings and a Funeral premiere, she felt like she’d “been shot” when Hugh was caught with sex worker Divine Brown in Los Angeles.
The story was splashed around the world, but she kept her cool and stood by him, because “you don’t kick someone when they’re down”.
The pair stayed together another five years before parting amicably in 2000, with Liz later confiding, “Hugh Grant and I both laugh and cringe at the same things, worship the same books, eat the same food, hate central heating and sleep with the window open. I thought these things were vital, but being two peas in a pod ended up not enough.”
Love, loss and becoming a mother
She went on to have an 18-month relationship with American mega millionaire Steve Bing. In July 2001, she fell pregnant and to her horror, Steve refused to acknowledge the baby was his until their son Damian was born and underwent DNA testing.
Steve had nothing to do with Damian as he grew up, but when he died in 2020, aged 55, Liz had only good things to say about her ex, describing him as “a good man”.
A fairytale wedding
She dedicated herself to raising her son and other romances followed, including with entrepreneur Arun Nayar. The twosome tied the knot twice in 2007, starting with a civil ceremony in the UK attended by the likes of Elton John, Elle Macpherson and Liz’s enduring ‘bestie’ Hugh Grant, followed by a lavish Hindu ceremony in India.
The pair divorced in 2011, but remained on great terms – even going on family holidays together, and Damian, 23, continues to call Arun, 60, “Daddy”.
Her subsequent relationship with “bad boy” Australian cricketer Shane Warne, from 2010 to 2013, ended partly because Shane was “jumpy” about her closeness to Hugh. But that didn’t stop Liz from keeping a place for him in her heart.
Grieving Shane Warne’s loss
“Losing Shane was a terrible thing,” she said following his death in 2022. “It’s a sadness that stays with you a long time.”
Thanks to her success in movies like Austin Powers, her bikini business and 30 years and counting as an ambassador for Estée Lauder, Elizabeth is these days worth around $110 million.
She lives with Damian and her beloved dogs in a $18 million stately Georgian home in the English countryside.
A mother-son bond like no other
“They are a unit,” says a friend of the lookalike mother and son duo.
“He adores her. She’s his muse and she can’t go a day without talking to him. “They collaborate on everything, including her modelling shots for her bikini business. Of everything she has done, Damian remains her greatest achievement.”
New love and no signs of slowing down
Billy Ray coming into her life is the icing on the cake, says another source – and Liz displayed her usual chutzpah when asked what they had in common.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said.
“We have the same hair!”
“She’s living her best life,” says the source, “and has no qualms about turning 60.”
