Early Life and Ancestry
Grant was born at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, London, England, the second son of Fynvola Susan (née MacLean; b. Wickham, Hampshire, 11 October 1933; m. Boxgrove, Sussex, 6 July 1957; d. Hounslow, London, July 2001) and Captain James Murray Grant (b. 1929). Genealogist Antony Adolph has described Grant's family history as "a colourful Anglo-Scottish tapestry of warriors, empire-builders and aristocracy," including William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan and Dr. James Stewart. John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, Rt. Hon. Sir Evan Nepean, and a sister of former British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, are a few of his notable maternal ancestors. Grant's grandfather, Major James Murray Grant, DSO, a native of Inverness in Scotland, was decorated for bravery and leadership at Dunkirk during World War II.
Grant's father, Capt. Grant, was trained at Sandhurst and served with the Seaforth Highlanders for eight years in Malaya, Germany and Scotland. He ran a carpet firm, pursued hobbies such as golf and painting watercolours, and raised his family in Chiswick, west London, where the Grants lived next to Arlington Park Mansions on Sutton Lane. In September 2006, a collection of Capt. Grant's paintings was hosted by the John Martin Gallery in a charity exhibition, organised by his famous son, called "James Grant: 30 Years of Watercolours." His mother worked as a schoolteacher and taught Latin, French and music for more than 30 years in the state schools of west London. She died at the age of 65, 18 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Grant's accent is an inheritance from his mother and, on Inside the Actors Studio in 2002, he credited her with "any acting genes that might have." Both his parents were children of military families, but, despite his parents' backgrounds, Grant has stated that his family was not always affluent while he was growing up. Grant spent his childhood summers shooting and hunting with his grandfather in Scotland. Grant's elder brother, James "Jamie" Grant, is a successful banker as Managing Director, Head of Healthcare, Consumer, & Retail Investment Banking Coverage, at JPMorgan Chase in New York.
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