Glad to be back with my lost love Danielle

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Jan 13, 2002 | by NIKI WALDEGRAVE

HE is the Hollywood hunk who has wooed some of the most beautiful women in the world. But Gladiator star Russell Crowe has now turned his back on glamorous actresses - to return to the arms of the "lost love" he wanted to marry 12 years ago.

He's wooed back his first love, pretty half-British Danielle Spencer, the woman close friends are tipping to soon become Mrs Crowe.

Crowe, 37, who dated film beauty Meg Ryan after her marriage to actor Dennis Quaid broke down, first met singer Danielle Spencer in 1990. But after four happy years together they were forced to split when Crowe moved from Australia to Los Angeles to pursue his film career.

However, having scaled the heights of Hollywood, Russell has realised it is Danielle he wants to share his phenomenal success with.

He threw himself into rekindling their passion and eventually succeeded late last year. To celebrate he bought a pounds 3.7million lovenest with stunning views of Sydney harbour, and Danielle moved in with him in December.

Getting back Danielle, who friends say was his "lost love", wasn't easy. The New Zealand-born actor last summer begged her to leave Australia - where her British-born mother settled when she met Danielle's father - and tour the US with his band 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts.

But Danielle, who used to star in TV soap Home and Away, refused because she had a boyfriend at the time.

A couple of months later she split with her boyfriend and turned to Russell, who earns pounds 20million a movie, for comfort.

Now Crowe and Danielle, 29, appear blissfully happy and friends say Russell won't let Danielle slip through his fingers again.

He has made no secret of the fact that he yearns for marriage and wants to have children before he gets too old.

"I'd love to find the right woman so we could settle down together and have babies," he has said. "Even if I get married and have a baby tomorrow, I'm going to be 57 when the kid is 20."

One friend said: "Although Russell is portrayed as a Casanova, he's actually very family-oriented.

"He wanted to marry Danielle when they first started going out together more than 10 years ago and his feelings never really changed.

"However, his career did and it wouldn't have been practical. But now they are back together again, he's constantly fending off questions of 'when' rather than 'if'."

The LA Confidential star, whose previous girlfriends include Sharon Stone and Jodie Foster, originally met Danielle when they starred together in a 1992 film called The Crossing.

They began dating and remained an item until the mid-Nineties. But when Hollywood beckoned for Crowe, they decided to call it a day.

He said at the time: "Imagine what it's been like for my girlfriend for the past four years. I've done 14 movies and been 14 totally different people. She didn't know who the hell she was sleeping with."

However, he remained close friends with Danielle and always dreamed they would get back together.

Now Crowe is considered one of the film world's best actors, ranked alongside Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise after his starring role as Maximus in the multi-Oscar winner Gladiator.

He is also tipped to pick up another Academy award this year for his role as a maths genius in A Beautiful Mind, which is released in the UK next month.

It's not known whether Danielle will be with him at the British premiere of the movie. But she was at his side at last year's Oscars - sparking a confrontation with another of Crowe's former girlfriends, singer Courtney Love, who hurled abuse at her as the couple walked down the red carpet.

Crowe was furious about the incident. "I always had a lot of time for her before that, so now I see her in a different light," he said.

A close friend added: "Russell can't be doing with people who mess him around and talk about his private life - Courtney overstepped the mark."

The actor has told friends he wants a relationship that mirrors that of his parents, Jocelyn and Alex - and to do that he needs someone strong who knows their own mind. The friend said: "Danielle's head is not turned by fame. She is very grounded and a good match for Russell."

Before moving into their Sydney lovenest Danielle was a regular guest at Crowe's 560-acre ranch Beacon Hill, seven hours away. She stayed there when he needed a shoulder to cry on after splitting from Meg Ryan last year. At the time of their affair, Meg insisted her marriage was over long before she and Crowe became lovers.

It was claimed that their relationship ended after Crowe spent a boozy holiday with friends in Australia while Meg pined for him in Hollywood. But Meg has always refused to discuss what caused the split. She said later: "I think the world of him. I'd rather let him speak for himself."

Danielle has said of her love for Crowe: "Russell and I have a special relationship. He is gentle and kind and very caring. I hope we'll always be close."

Talking about their split in 1994 she says: "It was about life direction. Things were starting to happen for him and I didn't want to be in LA."