Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale was born on July 26, 1973, in London, United Kingdom. Her parents, Judy Loe and the late Richard Beckinsale, were both in the industry as well. As a child, Beckinsale won first prizes in writing competitions. Beckinsale went to New College, Oxford University majoring in French and Russian literature, but failed to complete her degree. Her first film role was in a television movie, "One Against the Wind" in 1991. She followed this up with Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing, the critically acclaimed Cold Comfort Farm, and Shooting Fish as well as Whit Stillman’s The Last Days of Disco.

The film that garnered her the most attention and made her a star was Pearl Harbor. Other notable films include Serendipity, Underworld, and Van Helsing. The majority of Beckinsale’s latter films were hugely successful but not well received by the critics. The exception was Martin Scorcese’s The Aviator, in which she played legendary actress Ava Gardner. She can be seen most recently in Click alongside Adam Sandler.

Beckinsale has a child by former boyfriend Michael Sheen. She married her Underworld director, Leon Wiseman,in 2004.