Kate Beckinsale

Kathryn Bailey Beckinsale

26 July 1973 (1973-07-26) (age 37)

London, England, UK

Occupation Actress

Years active 1991–present

Spouse Len Wiseman (m. 2004–present) «start: (2004)»"Marriage: Len Wiseman to Kate Beckinsale"

Partner Michael Sheen (1992-2003)

Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress. She first gained notice, while a student at Oxford University, for making her debut in the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Throughout the 1990s, she worked on both film and television, most notably by portraying the title character in the 1996 ITV television series Emma. In 2001, Beckinsale garnered international recognition when she was cast as the romantic lead opposite Ben Affleck in her breakthrough film, Pearl Harbor (2001). Since then, she has portrayed a variety of characters in projects such as Underworld (2003), The Aviator (2004), and Van Helsing (2004). In 2008, she earned a Critic's Choice Award nomination for her performance in Nothing But the Truth.

Early lifeBorn in West London, to 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. Her paternal grandfather was half Burmese, and she 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. She won the Youths Burp for Fame burping contest at age 16. 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.