"I think I like playing the bad girl. I like complicated. I like flawed, messed up complicated. It's more interesting.”
BORN: July 26th, 1973 in Hounslow, Middlesex, England
BIRTH NAME: Kathrin Romany Beckinsale
HEIGHT: 5' 7”
One of my favorite actresses of all time.
- Mother is Judy Loe, who appeared in a number of British dramas and sitcoms and continues to work as an actress in British television. Kate's father was Richard Beckinsale, born in Nottingham, England. He starred in popular British comedies during the 1970s. Most notably acted in Rising Damp (1974), Porridge (1974) and The Lovers (1970) He died of a heart attack in 1979 at the age of 31. Kate was five years old.
Beckinsale has an older half-sister, actress Samantha Beckinsale.
Her widowed mother moved in with director Roy Battersby when Kate was nine. She has a close relationship with her stepfather.
Family friends included Ken Loach and Vanessa Redgrave.
Kate decided to be an actress at a young age: “I grew up immersed in film. My family were in the business, I quickly realized that my parents seemed to have much more fund in their work than any of my friends' parents.”
Beckinsale was educated at Godolphin and Latymer School, a school for girls in Hammersmith, West London. There she became involved with the Orange Tree Youth Theatre. She was a winner twice for the WH Smith Young Writers Award for both fiction and poetry.
At age 15, Kate had a nervous breakdown and developed anorexia. She underwent Freudian psychoanalysis for four years.
At New College, Oxford, Kate read French and Russian literature. She became friends with daughter of Roy Kinnear.
Kate was involved with the Oxford University Dramatic Society and was a part of the production A View from the Bridge at the Oxford Playhouse.
As a language student she was required to spend her third year abroad and studied in Paris. She then quite the university to focus on her acting career. She stated: “It was getting to the point where I wasn't enjoying either thing enough because both were very high pressure.”
In 1992, Kate starred alongside Christopher Eccleston in Rachel's Dream.
In 1993 she appeared in the pilot of the detective series, Anna Lee, starring Imogen Stubbs. She also landed a role in Much Ado About Nothing. It was filmed in Tuscany, Italy during a summer holiday from Oxford University. She attended the film's Cannes Film Festival premiere and remembered it as an overwhelming experience. “Nobody tole me I could bring a friend! I had Doc Martens boots on and I think I put the flower from the breakfast tray in my hair.” Rolling Stone, Peter Travers, was impressed with her performance. The film grossed over $22 million at the box office. While at the university she made three other films.
In 1994, Kate appeared in Prince of Jutland and starred in a murder mystery Uncovered.
In 1995, while studying in Paris, she filmed Marie-Louise ou la Permission. Shortly after leaving Oxford University, Kate starred in Cold Comfort Farm. Kate was initially considered too young for the part, but she was accepted after writing a pleading letter to the director. The film grossed over $5 million at the US box office. Also in 1995, she appeared in Haunted, a ghost story. It was also the year Kate made her first professional stage appearance in The Seagull at Theatre Royal, Bath. It was then she became romantically involved with Michael Sheen after meeting him during play rehearsals.
In 1996, Kate starred in two plays: Sweetheart and Clocks and Whistles at the Bush Theatre. She then starred in an adaptation of Emma.
1997 – Beckinsale appeared opposite Stuart Townsend in the comedy Shooting Fish, a successful British film of that year. She also played Juliet to Romeo portrayed by Michael Sheen in Romeo and Juliet, directed by Sheen.
1998 – Before her move to the United States, Beckinsale starred as Alice in Alice through the Looking-Glass. She sought work in the U.S. because her boyfriend was in a play on Broadway, so “she ended up in New York, and my auditions happened to be for American films.” She starred in The Last Days of Disco. The film grossed $3 million worldwide.
1999 – Beckinsale appeared opposite Claire Danes in Brokedown Palace.
2001 – Beckinsale rose to fame with her performance in a leading role in the war film Pearl Harbor with Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. She said she was drawn to the script and said: “It's so unusual these days to read a script that has those old-fashioned values to it. Not morals, but movie values. It's a big, sweeping epic … You just never get the chance to do that.” Kate got the lead role after Charlize Theron turned it down to do Sweet November.
Kate's second film in 2001 was the romantic comedy Serendipity with John Cusack. It was filmed directly after Pearl Harbor. The film grossed over $77 million at the worldwide box office.
2002 – Beckinsale starred in Laurel Canyon working again with Christian Bale. The film grossed over $4 million worldwide.
2003 – Beckinsale becomes known as an action star after portraying a vampire in Underworld. Kate was grateful for the change of pace after appearing in a bunch of comedies. She said: “It was quite a challenge for me to play an action heroine and pull of all that training when in real life I can't catch a ball if it's coming my way.” While the film received mixed reviews and some negative reviews, it was a box-office hit and soon gained a 'cult' following. In the same year, she starred in Tiptoes with Gary Oldman and Matthew McConaughey.
2004 – Beckinsale starred in another action horror film, Van Helsing opposite Hugh Jackman. Kate had just separated from her long-time boyfriend Michael Sheen and so appreciated the warm atmosphere created on set by director Stephen Sommers and co-star Hugh Jackman. She said: “I really did find that working with people like Stephen and Hugh made it possible to get through what I was going through.” The film grossed over $120 million at the US box-office and over $300 million worldwide, despite not being well reviewed. Beckinsale and Jackman fans proved the critics wrong. Also in 2004, Beckinsale portrayed Ava Gardner in The Aviator. Martin Scorsese said of Kate: “I've always liked her. I've seen all her work, and I was glad that she agreed to audition.” The film grossed over $213 million worldwide.
2006 – Beckinsale once again portrays Selene in the sequel Underworld: Evolution, directed by her husband. Her daughter had a small role as the younger Selene. The film was a box-office success and grossed $111 million worldwide. Her second film in 2006 was opposite Adam Sandler and Christopher Walken in Click. It was a success and grossed $237 million worldwide against a production budget of $82.5 million.
2007 – Beckinsale starred opposite Sam Rockwell in Snow Angels. The film grossed only $414,404 world wide. Also in 2007, Kate appeared with Luke Wilson in Vacancy, a thriller set in an isolated motel. Sarah Jessica Parker was originally cast for the part, but she dropped out before the filming began. Bradshaw stated that “Beckinsale has the chops for scary movies.” New York Times critic Manohla Dargis was not impressed with Beckinsale, referring to her as “the reigning queen of the bland B's” As usual, the New York Times got it all wrong. The film grossed $35 million worldwide against a production budget of $19 million.
2008 – Beckinsale appeared in Winged Creatures with a cast that included Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, and Forest Whitaker. The film received a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles and was released on DVD. Also in 2008, Beckinsale starred in Nothing but the Truth. She co-starred with Vera Farmiga and Matt Dillon. She researched her role: “I spent some time at the L.A. Times with some female reporters and I spoke to Judith Miller about her experience...I really researched the hell out of that one and it was an amazingly fulfilling, brilliant experience.” The film never received a full theatrical release after the distributor filed for bankruptcy. The film grossed $186,702 worldwide.
2009 – Beckinsale starred in Whiteout, filmed in Manitoba, Canada. The film was a box-office failure and failed to recoup its budget. She also made a brief cameo in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Also in 2009, Beckinsale starred in Everybody's Fine alongside Robert De Niro and Drew Barrymore. Unable to find a script she felt passionate about, Beckinsale opted to spend time with her daughter in 2010 and 2011.
2012 – Beckinsale returns to acting with appearances in three action films, the first being Contraband. She reprises her role as Selene in the 4th of the vampire series Underworld: Awakening. Beckinsale did intend to do another Underworld film, but the quality of the script convinced her. Production budget was $70 million and grossed $160 million worldwide. In a third film in 2012, she appears in the action remake of Total Recall, directed by Len Wiseman. The film grossed $198 million against a budget of $125 million. She appeared in The Trials of Cate McCall opposite Nick Nolte and James Cromwell. Kate next appeared in Stonehearst Asylum based loosely on Edgar Allan Poe's short story The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.
2014 – Kate provided the voice for Queen Ayrenn in The Elder Scrolls Online video game. She starred in the psychological thriller The Face of an Angel alongside Daniel Brühl. A fan of Monty Python growing up, Kate appeared in the fourth episode of Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly), where she spoke of her favorite Python comedy sketch.
2015 – Kate starred alongside Simon Pegg in the British comedy Absolutely Anything.
2016 – Beckinsale reunites with Stillman and Sevigny in Love & Friendship. She also starred in The Disappointments Room opposite Mel Raido. In late 2016, Beckinsale returns as Selene in the 5th installment of the Underworld franchise, Underworld: Blood Wars. It grossed $81.1 million worldwide.
2017 – Beckinsale starred opposite Pierce Brosnan, Callum Turner, and Jeff Bridges in The Only Living Boy in New York.
2018 – Beckinsale starred in British film Farming.
2019 – Beckinsale starred in Amazon Prime drama The Widow, her first TV series in 20 years.
2021 - Kate starred in the action-comedy film Jolt, released by Amazon Studios.
Beckinsale has worked occasionally as a model. She appeared in a Diet Coke advertisement in 2004. IN 2009 she advertised Absolut Vodka. She also promoted Lux shampoo in a Japanese television advertisement.
PERSONAL INFORMATION & TRIVIA
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| 2005 - Comic Con |
Beckinsale was in a relationship with Welsh actor Michael Sheen from 1995 to 2003. They met in a touring production of The Seagull. Their daughter, Lily, was born in 1999 in London. In 2021, Beckinsale said she was embarrassed that Sheen never proposed, but she felt as though she was married. They broke up in 2003, after the filming of Underworld. Beckinsale and Sheen remain close friends and in 2016, Beckinsale said: “He's really dear, close family. He's somebody I've known since I was 21 years old. I really love him a lot.”
Beckinsale met American director Len Wiseman while working on Underworld in 2003. She persuaded Wiseman to cast Sheen in the film, but while on the set, Wiseman and Beckinsale fell in love. Wiseman's wife, Dana a kindergarten teacher, claimed infidelity in Budapest. But Beckinsale and Wiseman denied having any sexual relationship while filming Underworld. Kate and Len married on May 9th, 2004 in Bel-Air, California. They separated in November 2015 and Wiseman filed for divorce in 2016, their divorce being finalized in 2019.
In 2019, Beckinsale was reported to be dating American comedian Pete Davidson.
Beckinsale is a smoker, but she is a 'teetotaller', stating in 2003: “I've never been drunk. I've never taken drugs. I've never had a one-night-stand.”
Beckinsale's charity of choice is the British Heart Foundation. She also has donated film memorabilia to the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation. In 2008, she hosted the 4th Annual Pink Party to raise funds for the Women's Cancer Research Institute. In 2012, Beckinsale joined Nestlé's Share the Joy Reading Program.
In 1992, she lost out to Juliette Binoche for a part in Wuthering Heights.
Kate has suffered from stomach ulcers.
She hates wearing knickers.
In 2002, Kate was selected by Hello Magazine as England's Number One Beauty.
When Kate married Len Wiseman in 2004, her daughter received he won “wedding ring” from Wiseman.
Kate spent her teens reading French, Russian and German novels.
In 2002, Kate ranked #63 on Stuff Magazine's “102 Sexiest Women in the World” list.
Normally slender, she gained 20 pounds for roles in Van Helsing (2004), and another ten pounds to portray Ava Gardner in The Aviator (2004).
Ranked #23 on Maxim's “Hot 100” list in 2005.
Kate did not like Physical Education at school. It was also her worst subject.
She lives in Venice, California because it reminds her of London.
Had an emergency appendectomy in January of 2004.
At age six, a school report found she had the reading age of an 11-year-old and an IQ of 152.
Kate had a body double for her nude scenes in Haunted (1995).
Kate's first screen kiss was with Robert Sean Leonard in Much Ado About Nothing (1993).
When she travels, she often brings a pantomime horse costume with her.
Kate is known for her love of jokes and pranks, usually at the expense of her co-stars.
Kate has a cat named Clive and a dog named Myf.
Kate was among over 80 women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault in 2017.
In 2019, she was hospitalized for a ruptured ovarian cyst.
In 1975, Kate appeared in her first role as an 18-month-old child with her mother Judy Loe in the British TV series Couples: Episode #1.1.
Quote: “I try and take lots of vitamins and I don't drink. I do smoke, though, I'd be insufferable if I didn't smoke, you'd have to push me off a balcony I'd be so boring.”
Quote: “I dropped out of Oxford, and now I only speak Russian with the woman who gives me a bikini-wax. See what Hollywood does to you?”
The following are videos of scenes from various films Kate Beckinsale acted in.
Kate Beckinsale in Van Helsing:
Kate Beckinsale in Underworld scene:
Kate Beckinsale in The Aviator (deleted scene) as Ava Gardner:
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