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Colin Firth (born 10 September, 1960) is an English actor.

Early life

Firth was born in Grayshott, Hampshire, England to David (a history lecturer and the son of an Anglican priest) and Shirley (a comparative religion lecturer, whose own parents were Congregationalist ministers); he has a sister, Kate, and a younger brother, Jonathan, who is now also an actor. Both of Firth's parents were born and raised in India, as their English-born parents were involved in missionary work.

Firth spent part of his childhood in Nigeria, where his father was teaching. He lived in St. Louis, Missouri when he was 11. He attended Barton Peveril College in Eastleigh Hampshire.

Film career

Firth starred in the award-winning 1981 London stage production of Another Country. He reprised this role for his first film appearance in 1984. In 1987, he appeared alongside Kenneth Branagh in the film version of J. L. Carr's novel, A Month in the Country. In 1989, he took the lead in the film Valmont.

Despite widespread admiration for his performances, it was only with the 1995 BBC television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that Firth gained wider renown. The serial was a big success and Firth became known as a heart-throb because of his role as Fitzwilliam Darcy. This performance also made him the object of affection for fictional journalist Bridget Jones (created by Helen Fielding), an interest which carried on into the two novels featuring the Jones character. In the second novel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, the character even meets Firth in Rome. As something of an in-joke, when the novels were adapted for the cinema, Firth was cast as Jones's love interest, Mark Darcy.

Firth had a supporting role in The English Patient (1996) and since then has starred in films such as Fever Pitch (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), Love Actually (2003) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004). He has also appeared in recent television productions, including Donovan Quick (an updated version of Don Quixote) (1999) and Conspiracy (2001).

Personal life

In 1989, Firth entered into a romantic relationship with actress Meg Tilly, his co-star in Valmont. In 1990, she gave birth to a son, Will Firth.

In 1994, Firth was involved with actress Jennifer Ehle, his co-star in Pride and Prejudice. Currently, Firth lives both in London and Italy. He is married to Italian documentary filmmaker Livia Giuggioli (since 21 June, 1997). The couple have two sons, Luca (born 2001) and Matteo (born 2003).

Firth's favourite Christmas song is "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues; his favourite romantic film is Brief Encounter.

Selected filmography

External links

• Firth.com
• Bridget Jones Online Archive
• Colin Firth 24/7: News, photo albums, multimedia, wallpapers, screensavers and much more
• Colin Firth life & career timeline
• Colin Firth profile

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