English actress Kate Beckinsale (Katherine Beckinsale) was born in London on July 26, 1973. Her mother, Judy Law, was a popular theater and television actress, and her father, the famous television comedian Richard Beckinsale, was considered the favorite of all of England. When Keith was only 6 years old, he died, and soon director Roy Battersby became Judy Law’s new husband and Keith’s stepfather. So the future star had 4 half-brothers and a sister. The large Beckinsale-Battersby family was friendly, and Kate still maintains a warm relationship with her brothers and sister.
However, at a young age, the girl’s delicate nature was the cause of numerous stresses and an unstable state, which even became the cause of anorexia. However, teenage problems did not prevent Miss Beckinsale from receiving an excellent education at the private schools of Godolphin and Latymer. Then Keith studied French and Russian literature at Oxford University. Deciding to follow in the footsteps of her parents and start an acting career, she never graduated from the university and did not receive an academic degree, however, knowledge of foreign languages and literature was more than once useful to her in acting.
Kate Beckinsale – the beginning of a stellar career
Kate’s first role was in the television movie “One Against the Wind” about World War II (1991). In his freshman year at University, Beckinsale was invited to film the adaptation of Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Kenneth Branagh. Then, when she left school and focused on acting, she played several roles in several low-budget films, while continuing to play in the theater and work on television.
Kate Beckinsale – Gaining Popularity
Kate’s first major American film, Ruined Palace (1999), was not successful for her. But then, having played in the film “Pearl Harbor” (2001), she, as they say, woke up famous and began to receive invitations to work in many films, which later became very successful. Kate was also named Hello! the most beautiful woman in England in 2002. The following year, she was included in the HOT 100 rating by Maxim magazine, in which she was ranked 16th. In 2005, Kate was ranked 71st in the ranking of the world’s 100 sexiest women by FHM magazine, and in 2009 by Esquire magazine, she was named the sexiest living woman.
Kate Beckinsale – Most Notable Roles
After Pearl Harbor, Kate had several high-budget films, which, however, did not receive critical acclaim, for example, Intuition (2001), Van Helsing (2004), etc. Then came the work in the film Aviator (2004), which was awarded several Golden Globes and five Oscars. To play this role, Kate put on 9 kg. In 2003, Beckinsale played the vampire Celina in Underworld, and in 2006 she worked on the sequel to Underworld: Evolution. The film was a huge commercial success and grossed $ 26 million at the box office on its first weekend. This was followed by the films “Click: Remote for Life” (2006), “Vacancy for a Sacrifice” (2007), “And Snow Angels” (2008), which also became very successful, as well as the sequels to the film “Underworld” and other films.
Kate Beckinsale – personal life
Kate has a daughter from the English actor Michael Sheen, whom the actress gave birth to in 1999. It was Lily who played the role of young Selina in the film Underworld: Evolution. In 2003, she and Sheen parted ways, and a few months later, Beckinsale became engaged to director Len Wiseman, who directed Underworld, and in May 2004 they got married.
Kate Beckinsale – interesting facts
- Since she studied Russian literature while at university, she knows Russian.
- The actress’s great-grandfather has Burmese roots, so Kate herself loves to talk about her Asian appearance, which she allegedly had as a child.
- They say that Kate loves to put strong words in her speech. However, friends and colleagues believe that this does not spoil her in the least.
