Cary Elwes was born in Westminster, London, England, to Tessa Georgina Kennedy, an interior designer and shipping heiress, and the late Bede Evelyn Dominick Elwes, a portrait painter. He is the third son and the brother of producer/agent Cassian Elwes and artist Damian Elwes.
Raised in London, Cary attended Harrow, a prestigious school, before moving to the US to study drama at Sarah Lawrence College. However, he left college after two years to pursue a career in film.
As a highly respected actor, Cary has gained recognition for his roles in various period pieces, which he deliberately selects due to his interest in history. He is also known for his activism, advocating for causes such as environmental protection and supporting Native American communities.
Cary is married to Lisa Marie Kurbikoff, a stills photographer, and comes from a long-established recusant English family on his father's side. His relatives include several prominent Catholic clerics, including Fr. Luke Cary-Elwes, Dom Columba Cary-Elwes, and Dom Cuthbert Cary-Elwes.
His grandfather, Simon Elwes, was a society painter and war artist. Cary was an altar boy at London's Brompton Oratory, although he did not attend a Catholic high school. Through his maternal grandmother, Daska Marija Ivanovic-Banac, who was born in Osijek in the Austra-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia),Cary has Croatian Jewish and Serbian ancestry.
Additionally, Cary's lineage includes English, Irish, and Scottish heritage.
