Inside Laurence Fox’s life – famous family, celeb ex-wife and rent-a-gob infamy

Laurence Fox has caused controversy yet again, this time with a vile rant about how "sh*ggable" a female journalist was during a chat with GB News' Dan Wootton.

The divisive figure's name is rarely followed by anything positive nowadays, and his latest comments have seen him get suspended from the alternative news network under investigation. But before he was one of the most hated men in the country, the 45-year-old had a lot going for him as an actor – a multi-generational nepo-baby, but still.

His first big-screen role was in 2001 alongside Kiera Knightley and he eventually found great success on ITV crime drama Lewis between 2006 and 2015. Laurence even kept it in the industry when he married his now ex-wife Billie Piper.

READ MORE: Laurence Fox's vile 'who would sh*g that' rant slammed as GB News forced to apologise

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But things began to change for him around 2019, in the wake of the apparent public obsession with "woke culture". Then when the pandemic hit he took on the government, and has been involving himself in heavy hitting subjects ever since.

Nepo-baby

Laurence was born into the Fox family – a family filled with actors and those in other similar professions, such as talent agents. Other notable relatives include BAFTA Award winner James, popular actress Emilia, and actors Jack and Freddie.

Theatrical agent Robin Fox married actress Angela Worthington, and had three sons – actors Edward and James, and agent Robert. The brothers would go on to father another litter of Fox actors, which includes Laurence.

Laurence's father James, 84, has appeared in films such as 1997's Anna Karenina, 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and 2009's Sherlock Holmes among many others. He also had countless TV stints, but he won his BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for The Servant back in 1963.

His other actor son, Laurence's brother, is Jack, 38, who is best known for Riviera and Sanditon. James' daughter Lydia is married to actor Richard Ayoade.

Meanwhile, Laurence's uncle Edward, 86, has appeared in a long list of screen titles and also has two acting children. Daughter Emilia, 49, is known for her role in Silent Witness, and also alongside Laurence on Celebrity Gogglebox, while son Freddie, 34, is set to see his profile skyrocket after being cast in House Of The Dragon season two.

While Laurence was one of the lead actors in ITV drama Lewis, many of his relatives had appearances too. Edward, James, Jack and Freddie all landed roles.

Famous ex-wife

Like sister Lydia, Laurence also married another famous face – Billie Piper. He and singer/actress Billie met while performing in the play Treats in 2006.

They tied the knot on December 31, 2007 and welcomed son Winston a year later in 2008, and another, Eugene, in 2012. But things didn't last and they divorced in May 2016.

Laurence told The Mirror at the time: "The physical symptoms of trauma and suffering are profound panic attacks for an extended period of time, and I’ve never had a panic attack in my life before. I haven’t slept for six months, even with sleeping pills. I go to bed the same time, same bed as the kids and just lie awake, sleeping two or three hours. My mind’s whirring round.”

Actor life

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Laurence didn't have a straightforward schooling and was expelled from pricey private school Harrow weeks before his A-Levels. He then worked as a gardener and in an office after being unable to get into university.

Before long he decided to cash in on his family name and follow the Foxes that came before him into acting, auditioning for and securing a spot at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He graduated in 2001, the same year he landed his first feature film role.

That was in The Hole – a psychological thriller starring a young Keira Knightley and Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank. Laurence's character Geoff is killed in the film after he's discovered hoarding fizzy drinks.

Laurence went on to have other acting roles, but his biggest was as DS James Hathaway in ITV drama Lewis. It ran for nine series between 2006 and 2015.

The sometimes-actor's most recent role was as US President Joe Biden's son Hunter in the 2022 political film My Son Hunter. But by then, Laurence was getting much more attention for his opinions.

Controversies

In 2019, Laurence claimed to The Times he had been "totally radicalised" against so-called "woke culture". And he appears to have made it his mission to go against any form of political correctness ever since.

He slammed the government's response to the Covid pandemic and protested against lockdowns in 2021. He also refused to take the vaccine, despite eventually getting Covid in 2022.

He attempted to get into politics with the Reclaim party, becoming the leader in October 2020. In July of this year, he won just 2.3% of the vote in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.

And in 2021 Laurence launched a campaign to became Mayor of London to "fight against extreme political correctness" and "end the Met's obsession with diversity and inclusivity". He came sixth in the race with 1.9% of the votes.

Laurence has been involved in a number of racism rows, with one centring around Meghan Markle, another around Sikh soldiers, the "All Lives Matter" counter-movement, and taking the knee. Similarly, he has taken issue with aspects of the LGBTQ+ community, including burning Progress Pride flags.

His latest outburst has seen him get suspended from GB News, after he went on a vile misogynistic rant about a female journalist he believed had made light of suicide among men. He said: "We need powerful, strong amazing women who make great points for themselves. We don’t need these sort of feminist 4.0. They’re pathetic and embarrassing. Who’d want to s**g that?”

GB News eventually apologised and confirmed Laurence had been suspended while they investigated. Show host Dan Wootton, who was seen to laugh during Laurence's rant, also apologised.

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