O.J. and Liz Hurley get in with the Top People

THE model and actress Elizabeth Hurley joins her partner, the actor Hugh Grant, in the latest International Who's Who, to be …

THE model and actress Elizabeth Hurley joins her partner, the actor Hugh Grant, in the latest International Who's Who, to be published on July 11th.

Ms Hurley, who came to world prominence after she wore a revealing black dress held together by outsize safety pins to a film premiere, is there entirely on her own merit, publishers Europa Publications said yesterday.

"The volume now contains the world's most glamorous couple," said editor Mr Richard Fitzwilliams, responsible for the selection of new entrants each year. Mr Fitzwilliams said Ms Hurley was included in the 1996-97 edition as one of the most sophisticated women of the 20th century, after her selection as the advertising face of cosmetics company Estee Lauder.

Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona, who could not win a place in the French national team for the Euro `96 soccer championships, makes it into International Who's Who. So does Terry Venables, who coached England in the soccer championship.

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Other sporting entries include South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar and United States basketball hero Shaquille O'Neal.

Actor and former American football star O.J. Simpson entered the list for combined celebrity and notoriety, after the highly publicised trial last year in which he was acquitted of the murder of his estranged wife, Nicole, and her friend Ron Goldman.

The new wave of British pop groups received recognition with the inclusion of Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, who gained notoriety for jumping on stage during a performance by Michael Jackson.

Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher and rival band Blur's front man Damon Albarn were also included, along with former Take That songwriter Gary Barlow, currently trying to establish a solo career.

"But if he doesn't make it on his own, we will cut him out," said Mr Fitzwilliams.

Louis Farrakhan, the black campaigner who led the "million man march" in Washington earlier this year, was another new entry, as was Thilo Bode, executive director of the environmental group Greenpeace.

From the world of film, actresses Sophie Marceau, Sandra Bullock and Uma Thurman and actors Jim Carrey and Val Kilmer are new entries.