Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale
Beckinsale at the Nothing But the Truth Toronto showing, September 2008
Born	Kathryn Bailey Beckinsale
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991 - present
Spouse	Len Wiseman (2004-present)

Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale (born 26 July, 1973) is an English actress, known for her roles in the films Pearl Harbor (2001), Underworld (2003), Van Helsing (2004), and The Aviator (2004).

Biography

Early life

Born in Finsbury Park, London, Beckinsale is the daughter of actor Richard Beckinsale, who died from a heart attack in 1979, and actress Judy Loe. She has a paternal half-sister, Samantha, who is also an actress. Beckinsale's paternal great-grandfather was Burmese, and Beckinsale has said that she was "very oriental-looking" as a child.

Beckinsale attended the Godolphin and Latymer School, an all-girls independent school in London. In her teens, Beckinsale 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, 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.

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 leave 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 film and television notables Rufus Sewell, Eileen Atkins, Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry.

Beckinsale in the "54th Festival de Cine de San Sebastián"

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). In 2005, she portrayed Ava Gardner in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, a role for which she gained 20 pounds.

In 2006, Beckinsale was placed at #23 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. On 24 January, 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.

Also in 2006, Beckinsale appeared in the comedy Click, starring Adam Sandler, which opened on June 23. Next, Beckinsale replaced Sarah Jessica Parker in the film Vacancy, released in 2007. Her next role was in Snow Angels, which was released in 2008.

At Comic-Con 2007, she expressed interest in playing Catwoman in the current Christopher Nolan-directed Batman films. In April 2007, during an interview promoting Vacancy, Beckinsale claimed no knowledge of the rumors linking her to a remake of Barbarella. "I was told on the set yesterday, someone said, 'Oh I hear you're doing Barbarella,' one of the grips. So that's the most official it's become. Every woman would consider Barbarella for a moment, but I don't know."

Beckinsale is signed to Independent Models in London.

Personal life

Beckinsale and her ex-boyfriend Michael Sheen have a daughter, Lily Mo Sheen (born 31 January, 1999). She reported in interviews that during her pregnancy with Lily was the only time she has ever stopped smoking. During the Underworld shoot, Beckinsale split from Sheen, who was also starring in the film. She became involved with the director of the film, Len Wiseman. In June 2003, Beckinsale became engaged to Wiseman, and the two were married on 9 May, 2004 in Bel-Air, California.

She is close friends with Victoria Beckham.

Filmography

Year(s)	Title	Role
1991	One Against The Wind	Barbe Lindell
1993	Much Ado About Nothing	Hero
1994	Uncovered	Julia
1994	Prince of Jutland/ Royal Deceit	Ethel
1995	Cold Comfort Farm	Flora Poste
	Haunted	Christina Mariell
1996	Emma	Emma Woodhouse
1998	The Last Days of Disco	Charlotte Pingress
	Shooting Fish	Georgie
	Alice Through the Looking Glass	Alice
1999	Brokedown Palace	Darlene Davis
2001	Serendipity	Sara Thomas
	Pearl Harbor	Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson
	The Golden Bowl	Maggie Verver
2002	Laurel Canyon	Alex Elliot
2003	Underworld	Selene
	Tiptoes	Carol
2004	The Aviator	Ava Gardner
	Van Helsing	Anna Valerious
2006	Click	Donna Newman
	Underworld: Evolution	Selene
2007	Vacancy	Amy Fox
2008	Snow Angels	Annie Marchand
	Winged Creatures	Carla Davenport
	Nothing But the Truth	Rachel Armstrong (inspired by Judith Miller)
2009	Whiteout	Carrie Stetko
	Everybody's Fine	Daughter

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Award ceremony	Film	Result
1997	Best Actress	Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival	Shooting Fish	Won
1999	British Supporting Actress of the Year (tied with Minnie Driver for Good Will Hunting)	London Critics Circle Film Awards	The Last Days of Disco	Won
2001	Film - Choice Chemistry (shared with Ben Affleck)	Teen Choice Awards	Pearl Harbor	Nominated
2002	Best Actress	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA	Serendipity	Nominated
	Best Female Performance	MTV Movie Awards	Pearl Harbor	Nominated
	Worst Screen Couple (shared with Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett)	Razzie Awards	Pearl Harbor	Nominated
2004	Best Actress	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA	Underworld	Nominated
	Best Trans-Atlantic Breakthrough Performer	MTV Movie Awards		Nominated
	Choice Movie Actress - Drama/Action Adventure	Teen Choice Awards	Van Helsing (also for Underworld)	Nominated
	Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Hugh Jackman)	Teen Choice Awards	Van Helsing	Nominated
2005	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with the cast)	Screen Actors Guild Awards	The Aviator	Nominated
	Favorite Female Action Movie Star	People's Choice Awards		Nominated
2006	Best Hero	MTV Movie Awards	Underworld: Evolution	Nominated
	Movies - Choice Chemistry (shared with Adam Sandler)	Teen Choice Awards	Click	Nominated
2007	Choice Movie: Scream	Teen Choice Awards	Vacancy	Nominated
	Favorite Female Action Star	People's Choice Awards		Nominated
2008	OU Insider Babe Tourney	OUInsider.com		Won

References

Kate Beckinsale wallpaper

External links

• Kate Beckinsale at IMDb
• Template:Tvtome person
• Kate Beckinsale at People.com

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