Hugh's got it tough?

It's a tough job. But someone's got to do it.

And, after 12 holidays in 18 months, Hugh Grant is becoming something of an expert in the art of taking it easy.

Not bad for a man who once described the privileged life of a movie star as '****'.

The latest stop in the leisurely Grant schedule is the French ski resort of Val D'Isere. He and girlfriend Jemima Khan skimmed down the slopes and canoodled in the snow.

Grant must have needed a break. After all, it had been a full two weeks since the couple had unpacked their cases from their trip to the Caribbean.

Since they began dating in August 2004, Grant, 45, and Mrs Khan, the daughter of late billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, have enjoyed extravagant holidays in Los Angeles, Mar-bella, Paris, New York, the Bahamas and Barbados - twice.

This latest ski break is their third this year - and their second trip to the Alps. The couple saw in the New Year together in the Bahamas and a few days later, 'island-hopped' to Barbados, where they stayed at the £4,500-anight Sandy Lane hotel.

During this trip, Grant is said to have proposed to his girlfriend. But there has been no hint of wedding bells yet.

The 31-year-old mother of two is said to be enjoying her independence after the end of her marriage to cricketer Imran Khan. Grant, whose best-known movies remain Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and the Bridget Jones series, has spoken of his contempt for the movie star life.

After the 2004 premiere of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, he said: 'While I enjoyed being in the film, making it was purgatory. There's not much excitement any more.

'I just lost interest, to tell the truth. I don't return my agent's calls. I don't read scripts very much. I was never a very committed actor.'

When asked to sum up his life in one word, he leaned forward and whispered a four-letter obscenity.

On the slopes, however, life looked like it was being remarkably kind to Grant.

'Hugh and Jemima looked the very picture of contentment,' said an onlooker. 'It was a particularly chilly day so they were well wrapped up.