John Hurt

Bio:
John Hurt (born John Vincent Hurt on January 22, 1940, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England) is an English actor. John had a strict upbringing as a child. He grew up across the street from a movie theatre but was not allowed to see the films. While attending St. Michael’s Prep School in Otford, Kent, John developed a passion for acting. At 17, he won a scholarship to study at the St. Martin’s School of Art in London. His first film role came when he was 22, appearing in The Wild and the Willing. However, his first major role came in A Man for All Seasons in 1966. His portrayal of Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant won him a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. He continued to star in movies throughout his six-decade career, including Kane in 1979’s Alien, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, of the title character in the award winning The Elephant Man, and as Mr. Ollivander, the wand-maker, in the Harry Potter film series. John was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2004 and was knighted in 2015. In June 2015, John announced he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Best Known For:
John Hurt is best known as a distinguished British actor, with numerous roles, including that of as Mr. Ollivander in the Harry Potter film series.

Personal Life:
John married actress Annette Robertson in 1962. They divorced two years later. In 1967, John began his longest relationship with French model, Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot. She tragically died in 1983 in a horse riding accident. John married his friend, actress Donna Peacock, in 1984, before moving with her to Kenya. They divorced in 1990. That year, John and Joan Dalton wed. They have two sons together — Alexander and Nicholas. The marriage ended in 1996. John and Sarah Owens were together from 1996 until 2002. In 2005, John married his fourth wife, Anewen Rees Meyers. John Hurt died on Jan. 27 2017. He was 77 years old.