Profile of the Day: Cary Elwes

Are you a fan of The Princess Bride? On this day in 1962, star Cary Elwes was born in Westminster, London, England.

Image: Cary Elwes / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Elwes was born Ivan Simon Cary Elwes on October 26, 1962 to Dominic Elwes, a portrait painter, and Tessa Kennedy, an interior designer. His paternal grandfather, Simon Elwes, was a prominent portrait painter who counted presidents and members of the British Royal Family as patrons. He’s also a distant relative of John Elwes, who is said to be the inspiration for the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

With over 130 credits so far, Elwes has starred in a wide variety of projects, including the comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights, the drama Glory, and the horror film Saw. However, he is perhaps still best known as the farm boy-turned-swashbuckler Westley in the cult classic The Princess Bride.

Explore Cary Elwes’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re connected to the star.

View Cary Elwes’s Geni Profile