Ross Kemp was famous as the womaniser and hard man Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap EastEnders. The star and presenter of Bridge of Lies host was born in Barking in Essex to a hairdresser mother and Met Police detective father.
Ross said his parents’ jobs have helped him in his presenting career, stepping inside the world’s toughest prisons, wars and disaster zones. “I take after both my parents – I can grill you then I can ask where you’re going on your holiday”, he once said.
The actor has crafted a respectable acting career consisting of his time as soap hard man Grant Mitchell, Staff Sgt. Henry ‘Henno’ Garvie in Ultimate Force and Eddie Scoorage in A Christmas Carol. Many people will remember him for his documentaries into the world’s most dangerous places and organisations including investigating gangs, pirates, Afghanistan and armed police.
Now aged 60, Ross is enjoying his time presenting the quiz show Bridge of Lies on BBC, which sees contestants gradually walk across a digital floor, navigate correct and incorrect answers and contribute toward a final cash prize.
But what do we know about his life off-screen including his wife and relationships? We find out below.
Who is Ross Kemp married to?
(Image: GC Images)
Ross Kemp is currently married to Australian Renee O’Brien after the pair tied the knot in 2012. The pair went on to have three children, Leo, 11, and eight-year-old twins, Ava and Kitty.
Ross and Renee have chosen to keep their relationship largely private, with little known about his other half bar her being a lawyer. Kemp revealed that he loves being zen and going to yoga classes with his wife Renee O’Brien, picking up a quick Japanese meal together on the way home.
The couple also recently went on a beautiful cruise cruise in Italy and Spain. Although, the dad-of-four previously revealed Renee didn’t know him from his soap days playing Grant, and thought he was just ‘some kind of grumpy old bald bloke’.
He told the Metro in 2019: “My wife didn’t really know me from my soap days… So when we first got together, she just thought I was some kind of grumpy old bald bloke like in a bar – and she’s probably right about that today, I’m still a grumpy old bald bloke in a bar.”
(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Warner Bros)
Speaking about his home life, he told MailOnline: “I’m very happy I’ve got my children and wouldn’t have it any other way. I could have done it about a decade earlier though, I should’ve done,”
“I was old, I was in my 40s, I was quite selfish before, in terms of you put yourself first, you look at what’s going to be best for you and that totally goes out the window when you have children, you put your children way in front of everything you do.”
Ross is settled and happy at home, fathering four children, and has said he takes after both of his own parents.
Who was Ross Kemp previously married to?
(Image: Getty Images)
In the late nineties, Ross began dating journalist Rebekah Wade, who was working for News of the World at the time. The couple got engaged in 1996 and married in 2002, while Ross was playing Grant in EastEnders and Rebekah was the editor of The Sun.
But just one year later, their relationship became rocky. Rebekah has since revealed their marriage was a ‘rollercoaster’, with her admitting to having an affair before they separated in 2006 and divorced in 2009.
After their split, Ross welcomed his first child, a son called Oliver, with his then-partner, make-up artist Nicole Coleman.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
