Born into an academic family - his father is a history lecturer at Winchester University College (formerly King Alfred's College) in Winchester and his mother is a comparative religions lecturer at the Open University - Colin Firth's first acting experience came in infant's school when he played Jack Frost in a Christmas pantomime. Three of his four grandparents were Methodist missionaries and he spent his early childhood in Nigeria, returning to England at age five where he entered a comprehensive school in Winchester. He spent two years at the Drama Centre in Chalk Farm where he was "discovered" while playing Hamlet during his final term. His first professional role was as Bennet in the West End production of Another Country. From this performance he was chosen to play the character of Judd in the movie of the play. He went on to play a variety of character parts in both film and television. For his portrayal of Robert Lawrence in the 1989 TV production _Tumbledown (1989) (TV)_ , he received the Royal Television Society Best Actor award and also a BAFTA nomination. He also received a BAFTA nomination for Mr. Darcy in the 1995 TV version of Pride and Prejudice.
Relationship with Meg Tilly began while filming Milos Forman's Valmont. Had a relationship with Jennifer Ehle, whom he met while filming Pride and Prejudice On People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" list (2001). Has twice lost his screen wife to a member of the Fiennes family - to Ralph in The English Patient and to Joseph in Shakespeare in Love. Has one child with actress Meg Tilly, Will (born 1990) and 2 sons named Luca (born March 29, 2001, in Rome) and Mateo August 2003 Brother of Kate Firth (a vocal coach) and Jonathan Firth. Co-starred as character Mark Darcy in the film adaptation of Bridget Jones's Diary, while appears himself as a character in writer Helen Fielding's sequel, which was adapted to the big screen as Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Contributed a short story, "The Department of Nothing", to the collection "Speaking With the Angel", edited by Nick Hornby. Colin Firth starred in the film adaptation of Hornby's semi-autobiographical novel, Fever Pitch. Has played a Mr Darcy on three occasions. Once in Pride and Prejudice, in Bridget Jones's Diary and again in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Although he usually gets along quite well with other actors, he had a well-publicized verbal feud with Rupert Everett, although the source of this tension is not known. A member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford Upon Avon, England, during the early to mid 80s where his stage credits include such works as Hamlet and King Lear. According to Colin Firth, when he was first offered the role of Darcy, his brother incredulously remarked, "Darcy? But isn't he supposed to be sexy?" On the DVD audio commentary for "Love Actually," Hugh Grant continuously mocks the looks, age, acting abilities, and alleged vanity of Firth (his sometimes on-screen rival), eventually encouraging his fellow-commentators writer/director Richard Curtis, and co-stars Bill Nighy and Thomas Sangster to join in on the mocking. Firth appears to have taken these comments in good nature and said that he and Grant seem to have a "Bette Davis-Joan Crawford" kind of relationship. Attended Kings' School, Winchester