Jemima Khan

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Jemima Marcelle Khan (born 30 January 1974) is an English socialite who is recognized as Hugh Grant's ex-girlfriend, the former wife of Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, and one of late billionaire James Goldsmith's eight children. She is a charity worker.

Contents 1 Family and Image 2 Years in Pakistan 2.1 Conversion and controversy 3 Relationship with Hugh Grant 4 Charity and other works 5 References 6 Further Reading

[edit] Family and Image

Born out of wedlock in London as Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith, Khan is the eldest of Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart and the late Anglo-French financier James Goldsmith's three children. She has two younger brothers, Zac and Ben Goldsmith, and five paternal half-siblings, including Isabel Goldsmith, the granddaughter of Antenor Patiño.^[1] Through her mother's first marriage, Khan is also half-sister to the deceased Rupert, businessman Robin Birley, and the artist India Jane.

Khan grew up at Ormeley Lodge while attending the Old Vicarage preparatory school and Francis Holland School in Graham Terrace. She enrolled at the University of Bristol in 1993 and studied English for two years before dropping out to get married.^[2] Khan eventually submitted her dissertation in March 2002 and earned a 2:1 bachelor's degree from Bristol.^[3] In 2003, she started working towards a master's degree.^[2]

Between 2004 and 2007, as Hugh Grant's companion, Khan accompanied him on the red carpet at the London and New York premieres of his movie Music and Lyrics and to other social events. Khan is reported by friends and the British media to be shy,^[4][5] modest, stylish,^[6] and generous,^[7] while also being gossipy and "prone to exaggeration."^[2] She has been called "very shy" by her ex-husband,^[8] while her uncle, the 9th Marquess of Londonderry, once described her as "very levelheaded."^{[9] [2]}

Khan lives in Fulham, London, with two sons from her first marriage. Her first child, Sulaiman Isa, was born on 18 November 1996, and his brother, Kasim, arrived on 10 April 1999.^[2] Khan has reasoned that because she wants to have the same name as her children, who inherited their father Imran Khan's last name, she currently goes by Jemima Khan.^[10]

[edit] Years in Pakistan

Jemima Goldsmith and Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan, were married on 16 May 1995 in a two-minute Islamic ceremony in Paris. The religious ceremony was followed a month later, on June 21, by a civil ceremony at the Richmond Register Office and a reception at the Goldsmiths' house in Surrey.^[11] The couple settled in Lahore, Pakistan, where Khan learned to speak Urdu and wore traditional Pakistani dress. She later recalled that, "I now think, my God, I mean, how did I live five years with Imran’s whole family, who I was very close to? I mean, I really liked and respected them, but obviously, they lived very, very differently... I think the fact that I was very young made it easier to adjust and fit in. Certainly, I couldn’t make a change like that now."^[12]

While married to Imran, Khan lived in England for a few months each year, referred to her mother's residence as the place she considered home, and spent her pregnancies as well as gave birth to her sons in London.^[4] On 22 June 2004, Imran Khan announced that he and his wife had divorced. In a statement released by his political party, PTI, he said:

I sadly announce that Jemima and I are divorced. Whilst Jemima tried her best to settle here, my political life made it difficult for her to adapt to life in Pakistan. This was a mutual decision and is clearly very sad for both of us. My home and my future is in Pakistan.^[13]

[edit] Conversion and controversy

Khan converted to Islam a few months before tying the knot with Imran.^[3] She revealed, "[I] didn't have any particular religion but felt an affinity to all religions and had a more or less non-religious upbringing."^[3] Writing about her conversion at the time, Khan claimed that she studied and had been influenced by scholars such as Muhammad Asad, Gai Eaton, and the Bosnian president Alija Izetbegović.^[14]

In 1999, in an accusation widely believed to be politically motivated, Khan was charged in Pakistan with the non-bailable crime of illegally exporting hundreds of tiles claimed to be centuries-old antiques of the Islamic era. The case was dropped a year later, after General Pervez Musharraf's military coup and the Ministry of Culture and Archaeology verified that the tiles were not antiques.^[15][16]

[edit] Relationship with Hugh Grant

Starting in 2004, Khan was involved in a high-profile relationship with movie star Hugh Grant, gaining a new level of fame as his girlfriend. A 2005 article in the Evening Standard magazine noted that while "Jemima's profile" was high since she married a Muslim man and moved to Pakistan, it was "soaring since she became involved with Hugh Grant."^[17]

Grant is followed relentlessly by the paparazzi and featured in print and television media worldwide, and Khan remains best known for her romance with him.^[12] A survey of visitors to London in 2005 showed that Grant and Khan were the couple with whom a majority of visitors wanted to travel the city.^[18]

Grant refused to talk about the relationship in interviews and did not respond to tabloid and other media speculation. Khan was repeatedly questioned about the possibility of their rumoured marriage during the launch of a UNICEF campaign to support children affected by HIV/Aids in 2005. She cautiously replied, "If I say yes, I’m going to get married, or no, I’m not, then that gets picked up and becomes the story and it overshadows the Unicef campaign that is so important."^[12] She later explained, "I don't think I am any good at interviews and I am particularly hopeless when I am asked personal questions."^[19]

After three years together, in February 2007, Grant's publicist announced that the couple had "decided to split amicably."^[20] Since then, there have been many unsubstantiated reports - because they have been spotted together - about the two getting married but the status of their relationship remains private and unknown.^[21]

[edit] Charity and other works

Khan became a UK Ambassador for UNICEF in September 2001 and concentrated her advocacy efforts on children's issues, especially global poverty. To raise awareness about UNICEF's End Child Exploitation campaign, she appeared on the BBC Breakfast TV show to discuss child trafficking^[22] and child labour.^[23]

Khan told the Daily Telegraph that being UNICEF's representative required her to do her three least favorite things: "One is having my photograph taken, two is doing interviews and three is flying."^[19] Khan has been on field trips to poverty-stricken areas such as Nairobi (Kenya), Kabul (Afghanistan), Abbottabad and Balakot (Pakistan). She has also supported UNICEF's Breastfeeding Manifesto^[24] and Make Child Poverty History campaign.^[25]

In 1998, Khan launched Jemima Khan Ltd., a clothing company that employed poor Pakistani women to embroider western clothes with delicate eastern handiwork.^[26] These clothes were sold under the label of Jemima Khan Designs in London and New York at outlets such as Henri Bendel, Harrods, Browns and A la Mode. Khan stated that all profits were donated to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in Lahore. In 2001, due to cancellation of orders, the fashion label was closed.^[27]

Khan has written columns about her experience in Pakistan for newspapers such as The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.

[edit] References

[edit] Further Reading

• Biography: Jemima Khan, UNICEF UK Ambassador. UNICEF UK. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
• Jemima Khan visits Kenya for Unicef. BBC (2005-10-25). Retrieved on 2007-10-05.