Kate Beckinsale

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Kate Beckinsale
Beckinsale in the "54th Festival de Cine de San Sebastián".
Birth name	Kathryn Bailey Beckinsale
Born	July 26, 1973 (age 33) London, England
Spouse(s)	Len Wiseman (9 May 2004 - present)
Notable roles	Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson in Pearl Harbor (2001) Selene in Underworld (2003) Anna Valerious in Van Helsing (2004) Donna Newman in Click (2006)

Kate Beckinsale (born July 26, 1973 in London, England) is an English actress.

1 Biography
2 Selected filmography
3 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Kathryn Bailey Beckinsale was born in London to Judy Loe, a stage and television actress, and Richard Beckinsale, a television actor who died in 1979 at the age of 31. She has a paternal half-sister, Samantha, who is also an actress. Beckinsale's paternal great-grandfather was Burmese, and Beckinsale claims that she was "very oriental-looking" as a child.^[1]

Beckinsale attended the private Godolphin and Latymer School, and in her teens twice won the W. H. Smith Young Writers' competition — once for three short stories and once for three poems. After a rebellious adolescence, including a period of anorexia and starting a smoking habit, she followed in the footsteps of her parents and began her acting career. Her first role was in One Against the Wind, a television film about World War II that was first aired in 1991. Having gained three language A levels, Beckinsale studied French and Russian literature at New College, Oxford University, though she did not finish her degree. She thought that having an academic background studying foreign language and literature would broaden her range of acting roles.

[edit] Career

During her first year at Oxford, Beckinsale was offered a part in Kenneth Branagh's big-screen film, Much Ado About Nothing, adapted from the Shakespeare play. She spent her last year of studies in Paris, after which she decided to quit the university and concentrate on her acting career. Kate starred in a 1996 TV film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. She subsequently appeared in a few low-profile films, including Shooting Fish and The Last Days of Disco (both in 1998). During this time, Beckinsale also appeared in television films and in stage roles, including the well-received Cold Comfort Farm, opposite British silver and small screen notables Rufus Sewell, Eileen Atkins, and Joanna Lumley.

Her first major American film, Brokedown Palace (1999), was not a commercial success. Soon after, Beckinsale was cast in the 2001 film, Pearl Harbor as the female lead, after actress Charlize Theron turned down the part. The film was one of the highest grossing films of its year. In the years following, she appeared in a series of American films that were high-profile, but were given a somewhat poor critical reception, including Serendipity (2001), Underworld (2003) and Van Helsing (2004). Notably, she appeared as Ava Gardner in The Aviator, a role for which she gained 20 pounds.

In 2006, Beckinsale was placed at #78 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World", after being #71 in 2005. She has also been placed at #16 in Maxim's "HOT 100" (2003), #63 in Stuff's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002), and was chosen by the English magazine Hello! as "England’s #1 Beauty", also in 2002.

In January 2006, Beckinsale reprised her role as a vampire in the movie Underworld: Evolution, a sequel to her 2003 film, Underworld, again directed by her husband, Len Wiseman. The film opened at the #1 spot at the box office, grossing over $26 million in its first weekend of release.^[2] On January 24, 2006, Beckinsale was featured on the MTV series, Punk'd. The set-up for the segment took place at the Avalon Hotel in Los Angeles.

Beckinsale's most recent role was in the Adam Sandler starring comedy-drama, Click, which opened on June 23, 2006. Her next film will be Snow Angels, which is currently in post-production and will be released in 2007. A September 2006 article in the Hollywood Reporter announced that Beckinsale has signed on to replace Sarah Jessica Parker in the film Vacancy.[1]

[edit] Personal life

Beckinsale and Michael Sheen have a daughter, Lily Mo Sheen (born January 31, 1999). Sheen would later star with her in Underworld. She reported in interviews that during her pregnancy with Lily was the only time she's ever stopped smoking. In June 2003, Beckinsale became engaged to the director of Underworld, Len Wiseman, and the two were married on 9 May 2004 in Bel-Air, California.

[edit] Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Much Ado About Nothing	Hero
1994	Uncovered	Julia
1995	Cold Comfort Farm	Flora Poste
1995	Haunted
1998	The Last Days of Disco	Charlotte Pingress
	Shooting Fish	Georgie
	Alice Through the Looking Glass	Alice	made-for-television
1999	Brokedown Palace	Darlene Davis
2001	Serendipity	Sara Thomas
	Pearl Harbor	Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson	Nominated for Best Female Performance by MTV Movie Awards Nominated for Worst Screen Couple (with Ben Affleck) by Razzie Awards Nominated for Best Film Chemistry (with Ben Affleck) by Teen Choice Award
	The Golden Bowl	Maggie Verver
2002	Laurel Canyon	Alex
2003	Underworld	Selene	Nominated for Best Actress by Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
2003	Tiptoes	Carol	direct-to-video
2004	The Aviator	Ava Gardner
2004	Van Helsing	Anna Valerious
2006	Click	Donna Newman
2006	Underworld: Evolution	Selene
2007	Vacancy	Amy Fox	post-production
2007	Snow Angels	Annie Marchand
2008	Winged Creatures		pre-production
	Whiteout	U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko	pre-production
	April 23	Melinda	In Talks

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Kate Beckinsale

[edit] Footnotes

^ The Age.com. Beast in the beauty. Retrieved on July 5, 2006.
^ Box Office Mojo. WEEKEND BOX OFFICE January 20–22, 2006. Retrieved on July 5, 2006.