Jude Law was born in London on December 29, 1972. His parents, Peter and Maggie, reportedly named him after the Beatles' song, "Hey Jude," or maybe the title character in Thomas Hardy's "Jude The Obscure" - a title not destined to describe him well. It all sounds like a typical press release, especially in light of recent reports (unconfirmed) that Jude's real first name is actually David (Jude being his middle name). There is also a report that Jude's full name is Jude Peter Law. Jude grew up in Blackhealth, South London and started working at the National Youth Music Theatre between 1987 and 1990 (one of his roles while there was the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). After landing a role on a television soap opera (the popular British daytime serial, Families), Law quit high school just short of graduation at age 17.