Notting Hill, the Richard Curtis-penned film about a “normal” British bloke (played by Paddington 2‘s Hugh Grant) who falls in love with the most famous actress in the world (Julia Roberts), became the highest-grossing British film of all time when it premiered in 1999. And it has been inspiring casual conspiracy theories about who it might be based on ever since. Because, yes, according to Grant, Notting Hill does have a foundation in reality.
“This is a story he won’t admit to,” Grant told E! (via E!Online), “but [Richard has] told me in a drunken moment. A friend of his—an ordinary, normal guy—was in Harrods one day and met a very famous woman and ended up taking her back to his flat in Notting Hill—and all kinds of nonsense ensued. And they used to meet up, whenever she came to London their affair would reactivate itself—and that was the genesis of his script. But he’s so scared of people finding out who this very famous person was that he won’t tell anyone that story.”
Grant can probably get away with totally blowing up Curtis’ spot. The actor has collaborated with the writer-director on some of the biggest hits of both of their careers, including Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually. But who could the story be about? One Guardian writer theorized back in 2006 that Notting Hill could be based on the relationship between Madonna, one of the most famous pop stars of all time, and British film director Guy Ritchie. The two married in 2000 after (and would divorce eight years later), which certainly fits the timeline, but I wouldn’t exactly call Ritchie “an ordinary, normal guy,” so that theory seems suspect, especially since Grant described this is as a more casual, low-key relationship.
Meanwhile, Curtis is keeping mum on who the story might be based on. When talking about his inspiration for the film, he references not people but music.
