Jude Law was born December 29, 1972 in Lewisham, in southeast London. His name, Jude, comes from the Beatle’s tune, “Hey, Jude”. He began his acting career with the National Youth Music Theatre at the age of 12, and at 17 he dropped out of school (with the support of his parents, school teachers Peter and Maggie Law) to star as Nathan Thompson in a Granada daytime TV Soap called "Families" (1990). The story line had the father of the Thompson family (in England) moving in with the mother of the Stevens Family (in Australia), and the repercussions of that. . In 1992, Jude began his stage career. He starred in many plays throughout London, and was nominated for the Olivier Award for "Outstanding Newcomer." After doing the play "Indiscretions" in London, he moved and did it again on Broadway where his co-star was Kathleen Turner. He then received a Tony nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor."

After a long stage career, during which he honed his formidable acting skills, Law began his big screen career by appearing in many independent films. His first big movie was Gattaca (1997), with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. He also had a role in “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” (1997). On September 2 of that year, he married Sadie Frost, an actress and successful fashion designer with whom he has three children, Rafferty, Iris, and 2002’s arrival, son Rudy.

Jude's sudden rise to leading man status was because of his skilled performance in 1999’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” in which he plays Matt Damon's obsession, Dickie Greenleaf, and which also featured future “Sky Captain” co-star Gwyneth Paltrow. “Ripley” was a smash at the box office, and critics loved Law’s acting. But then, in a unusual move for a rising star, Law flew home to England to be with his kids and appear in "'Tis A Pity She's a Whore" on the London stage. Unlike most of his peers, Law has refused to cooperate with the Hollywood starmaking machine. "I'm kind of ashamed to be a celebrity," says Law. "I don't understand wanting to read about other people's dirty laundry. I think celebrity is the biggest red herring society has ever pulled on itself."

Astounding as it seems, Law, with his spectacular looks and boundless charisma, played his first romantic lead only a year ago, 2003.. He was cast in "Cold Mountain" after Tom Cruise dropped out. "We wanted to get into character, to soak it up," Law says about himself and co-star Nicole Kidman. "We both looked so different that when we were on the set, we walked by each other because we didn't recognize each other."

In 1996, he formed his own production company called “Natural Nylon”, which closed its doors in early 2003. His partners, called the Britpack by some, included Jonny Lee Miller, former roommate and close friend Ewan McGregor, Sean Pertwee, and Sadie Frost, now Law’s ex-wife. As he describes it, “It was a collective of friends that because of their workload, was kind of slowing each other down. We decided that rather than lose our friendships; we sort of lost the company and splintered into our own individual groups.”