For 20 years, Hugh Grant dominated rom-coms. Most of his female co-stars hated him.

In 1994, Hugh Grant burst onto international screens with one word... 

"F**k."

He was a floppy-haired, 20-something Londoner who was running late to his friend's wedding. 

As he ran around his cramped apartment muttering "f*ck", and drove down the freeway in a tiny orange car, yelling "f*ck, f*ckity, f*ck", women around the world fell in love with him.

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In the following decades, Grant, and the movies he appeared in, became the epitome of comfort viewing. Watching a Hugh Grant movie felt like catching up with an old friend, or snuggling down to read one of your favourite books on a rainy day. 

You knew what you were going to get when you sat down to watch a Hugh Grant rom-com, and you always felt slightly better about yourself, and the world, after you watched it. 

After Four Weddings and a Funeral, Grant starred in Notting Hill, Nine Months, Mickey Blue Eyes, Two Weeks Notice, About A Boy, Bridget Jones's Diary, Love Actually, Music and Lyrics, Did You Hear About The Morgans and The Rewrite. 

At some point, his roles transitioned from slightly awkward, flopped-haired love interest, to ageing, sl*tty bachelor learns the errors of his ways, and by the end of his rom-com reign, it was difficult to tell whether Grant was playing a character or simply playing himself. 

One thing we knew for sure was that Grant had incredible on-screen chemistry with his female co-stars, the likes of which included Julia Roberts, Julianne Moore, Drew Barrymore and Emma Thompson. 

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Offscreen, however, it was a completely different story. 

The actor told SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show that Renee Zellweger was one of the few actresses he hadn't "fallen out with". 

"I love Renee. Uh, she’s one of the few actresses I haven’t fallen out with," he said. "And, we, we got on very well together and, we still exchange long emails.

"Hers in particular, at least 70 pages each, interesting stuff, but quite hard to decipher. She's a properly good egg and a genius."

After starring in Notting Hill, Grant apparently fell out with Julia Roberts after he spoke about her "big mouth" in the media. 

During a 2004 episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, Grant said Roberts was "very big-mouthed. Literally, physically, she has a very big mouth. When I was kissing her I was aware of a faint echo".

Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in Notting Hill. Image: Universal Films.  

Eleven years later, during an episode of Watch What Happens Live, a fan asked Grant if he was still friends with Roberts. 

"I’ve probably made too many jokes about the size of her mouth. She might hate me by now," he replied. 

But probably the most damning evidence of Grant's tense relationships with his female co-stars comes from an interview he did with Elle magazine in 2009. 

The interviewer asked Grant to describe his female co-stars in three words and this is how he replied: 

"[Andie MacDowell] Southern belle. Charming. Gorgeous. Emma Thompson: Clever, funny, mad as a chair. Renée Zellweger: Delightful. Also far from sane. Very good kisser. Sandra Bullock: A genius. A German. Too many dogs. Julianne Moore: Brilliant actress. Loathes me. Rachel Weisz: Clever. Beautiful. Despises me. Drew Barrymore: Made her cry. Stunning film-star face. Hates me."  

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2016, Grant was asked to clarify his comments. 

"Julianne definitely hates me, Rachel Weisz, I think we got on fine but I don't know why I said that. Maybe I was going for a comedy triple I don't know...[on Drew Barrymore] she made the mistake of giving me notes, which, how would you take that?" he said. 

In March 2023, Grant (seemingly against his will) attended the Oscars.

Before the ceremony, model Ashley Graham asked Grant a series of standard questions on the red carpet. Like who he hoped would win. To which he replied, "No one in particular". And what was he wearing. To which he replied his... "suit". 

The interview quickly went viral with millions of people labelling Grant "rude" and a "d**k". 

In the months since, Graham admitted he was "pleasant" before the interview.

"Then we started rolling and he was like, 'I don't want to be here,' and I was, 'OK, work with me! I get it! But, like, work with me,'" she told The Sunday Times.

"I was trying my hardest to be my nice, upbeat self, and he gave me what he had."

This article was originally published in March 2023, and has been updated with new information since.

Feature image: Getty.

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