Early life and education

Laurie was born in Oxford, England.[1] The youngest of four children, Laurie has a brother (six years older) and two sisters.[2] He had a somewhat strained relationship with his mother.[1][3] His father, W.G.R.M. "Ran" Laurie, was a medical doctor who also won an Olympic gold medal in the coxless pairs (rowing) at the 1948 London Games.[1][4] Laurie was raised in the Scottish Presbyterian church,[1][5] though he has declared: "I don't believe in God, but I have this idea that if there were a God, or destiny of some kind looking down on us, that if he saw you taking anything for granted he'd take it away."[6] He was brought up in Oxford and attended the Dragon School. He later went on to Eton and then to Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he achieved a Third-Class Honours degree in archaeology and anthropology and was a member of the prestigious Hawks' Club.[1] Like his father, Laurie was an oarsman at school and university;[1] in 1977, he was a member of the junior coxed pair that won the British national title before representing Britain's Youth Team at the 1977 Junior World Rowing Championships.