Laurie was educated at a top prep school before attending Eton and then Cambridge University
From bumbling British comedian to unlikely international heart-throb, the versatile Hugh Laurie has had a remarkable journey as an actor, comedian, writer and musician.
The multi-talented 58-year-old, known for his comedy partnership with Stephen Fry and for roles in sitcom Blackadder and US drama House, is being awarded the upgraded honour of a CBE in the New Year Honours for his services to drama.
Laurie, born June 11, 1959 in Oxford to gold medal-winning rower and doctor Ran Laurie and Patricia Laidlaw, was educated at a top prep school before attending Eton and then Cambridge University.
It was there, as the president of the university’s renowned Footlights amateur drama club, that he met Fry and, shortly after, a professional partnership was born.
Fry and Laurie’s stage success led to their TV sketch show Alfresco, which also featured the likes of their friend and Laurie’s one-time partner Emma Thompson, Ben Elton and Robbie Coltrane.
Among the duo’s many projects together, their sketch show A Bit Of Fry And Laurie and comedy series Jeeves And Wooster cemented Laurie’s reputation as one of the UK’s brightest comedy talents.
His comedy prowess was further bolstered by his role in Blackadder as the amiable idiot George in the third and fourth series of the hit sitcom in the late 1980s.
On the big screen, Laurie has appeared in films such as Peter’s Friends, Maybe Baby, Sense And Sensibility, 101 Dalmatians, The Man In The Iron Mask and Stuart Little and its sequel.
In 2004, Laurie’s star grew even more when he landed the leading role in US medical series House.