BRIDGET’S BOYS TURN
As the dashing leading lads of Bridget Jones’s Diary hit the big 6-0, we look back at their careers, loves and scandals
Colin Firth Leading ladies
Colin C li h has fallen in love many times in front of the camera. While filming period drama Valmont in 1989, he fell head over heels for his American co-star Meg Tilly. They share a son, William, who turns 30 this week. After their split, he returned to London to star in 1995’s Pride And Prejudice. He enjoyed a year-long affair with his leading lady, Jennifer Ehle, who played Elizabeth Bennet to his Mr Darcy. He then met Italian producer’s assistant Livia Giuggioli, 51, on the set of miniseries Nostromo in 1996. They married the following year and went on to have sons Luca, 19, and Matteo, 17.
Sex & scandals
The Th iimage of fm Mr Darcy emerging from a lake with a wet shirt clinging to him set hearts racing around the world, but despite his pin-up status
Colin is no secret bad boy. In fact, it was his wife that sparked the biggest scandal in his life. In 2017, Livia admitted she had cheated on Colin with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia while the couple were briefly separated. Despite the actor forgiving his wife, they announced they were splitting in December 2019.
Fame & fortune
Colin’s filmography, which includes smash hits Love Actually, A Single Man and Mamma Mia!, have raked in more than $1.7 billion at the box office, yet his net worth is a little more humble than Hugh’s, coming in at $34 million. But when it comes to the big awards, Colin reigns supreme. Playing King George VI, he picked up an Academy Award for 2010’s The
King’s Speech.
Hugh Grant Lleading ladies
Iit’s ’ hhard d to imagine a more iconic moment than Elizabeth
Hurley wearing that infamous safety-pin dress as she was hanging on to Hugh’s arm in 1994. The couple dated for 13 years and are still the best of friends. In 2004, he had a three-year relationship with Jemima Khan, before hooking up with Chinese actress Tinglan Hong, who he has two children with. It was when she was pregnant with his second child that it was revealed he was dating Swedish TV producer Anna Eberstein, who was also pregnant. He and Anna, 41, are now married and have three children together. g
Sex & scandals
Who Wh couldld forget f that h moment in 1995 when a dishevelled Hugh was pulled over by Los Angeles police after he’d just picked up sex worker Divine Brown on Sunset Boulevard? Embarrassingly, Hugh – who was dating Liz Hurley at the time – pleaded guilty to “lewd conduct” in a public place and was placed on two years’ summary probation.
Fame & fortune
The floppy-haired Lothario’s timeless classics such as Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral and About A Boy have earned $1.8 billion at the box office. While Hugh, who has a net worth of $108 million, has never been nominated for an Oscar, he has won a BAFTA, Golden Globe and three Evening Standard British Film Awards, including one for his role as Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones’s Diary!