Kate Beckinsale – biography, photos, facts, family, kids, affairs, height and weight 2020

Kate Beckinsale’s biography

Kate Beckinsale, British intellectual diva, who played as beautiful Selene in Underworld and fearless Anna Valerious in Van Helsing, more than once got the top of the list of the most beautiful women in the world. The actress is considered the model of English refinement, and every year her filmography is replenished with new films, in which Kate embodies very different characters, preferring character roles.

Tragic childhood

Kate Beckinsale was born and spent most of her life in London. Her mother, actress Judy Loe, starred in many melodramas and sitcoms, but played mostly bit parts. Her father, Richard Beckinsale, on the contrary, was the star of many comedy series of the 70s; the most notable of them were The Lovers (1970), Porridge (1974).

Kate Beckinsale as a child with her parents

Happy and proud parents gladly used any opportunity to present their daughter to the audience, so Kate’s creative debut in the television series Harriet Comes Back to the City took place when the baby was only three weeks old.

In March 1979, at the age of 31, Richard Beckinsale died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving not only his wife and daughter smashed with grief, but also British showbiz shocked by the tragedy.

When the misfortune occurred, Kate was not even six years old, but she was already aware of the severity of the loss. She preserved the brightest memories of her father for the rest of her life. The actress still remembers how they played together and how her dad gently pulled her earlobe.

Kate later said: “The actors who knew him didn’t stop telling me how keenly they felt my dad’s death. I even had to console them ... When you are three times taller than the person you are talking to, it is easy to assume that she is unable to realize what is happening. But I knew exactly what had happened, and I was beside myself with grief.” Judy did everything that depended on her to calm her daughter, but it seemed to Kate that the whole world had collapsed.

With the loss of her father, the whole world collapsed for Kate

Kate was nine when Judy married again. Her chosen one was Roy Battersby, father of four sons and a daughter. The madcap-girl Kate, who was accustomed to hold away undividedly her mother’s attention, suddenly became a member of a huge family. There is no need to say that this didn’t cause her any delight.

At first, she hated her stepbrothers and stepsister with all her heart, but as she grew older, she calmed down. According to the actress, then it seemed to her as if invaders had invaded her world. Kate especially did not like stepbrothers who paid the quarrelsome haughty girl with the same coin.

Kate Beckinsale in the days of her youth

Battersby turned out to be a perfect stepfather. He had the patience to give Kate time to accept him. The turning-point came when Kate was going to a costume party in the image of Carmen Miranda, and her stepfather got the hat of this famous singer for her stepdaughter. The girl appreciated this gesture.

Kate graduated from Godolphin and Latymer Private School in London. As a teenager, she twice won the prestigious contest for young writers in the UK. After an eventful growing up with bouts of anorexia and continuous smoking (the actress has not managed to get rid of this habit to this day), Kate gradually joined the acting world. Artists, actors and filmmakers were regular guests in the big house. Judy and Roy were friends especially with Vanessa Redgrave and Ken Loach.

In 1991, Kate entered Oxford in the course of French and Russian literature, and in the same year she appeared with small roles in the films Devices and Desires, in which Roy Marsden played, and One Against the Wind, where she starred as the daughter of Judy Davis character.

Early career

In 1994, the young actress left studies, making the final choice in favor of cinema. During the three years spent in Oxford, she took part in the productions of the Drama Society troupe, as well as starred in several films. Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of Much Ado About Nothing is considered the beginning of Kate’s creative career. Her partner was Keanu Reeves; Michael Sheen also starred in the film.

Kate Beckinsale in the movie Much Ado About Nothing

The actress worked with Gabriel Byrne, Brian Cox and Christian Bale in the drama Prince of Jutland, in which she played as the young daughter of Duke Etelvina.

From 1995 to 2000, Kate played in ten films. Among them the thriller Uncovered stands out, where she performed the part of restorer Julia, who accidentally solved the crime secret, and the mystical detective film Haunted, in which her partner was Aidan Quinn.

In 1998, the actress performed Alice in the family fantasy film Alice Through the Looking Glass, earning the approving reviews of film critics who called this screen adaptation the closest to the original source, and said that Beckinsale’s acting was great.

The following year, the actress received an award from the London Society of Critics for the role of Charlotte in the musical melodrama The Last Days of Disco.

The best roles

Having already become a star of the British cinema, Kate gained worldwide recognition in 2001 after the release of the military drama Pearl Harbor, in which she performed Evelyn, who became the subject of love by Capt. McCawley, performed by Ben Affleck and Capt. Walker performed by Josh Hartnett.

Pearl Harbor ‒ trailer

The role of the beautiful nurse was originally meant for Gwyneth Paltrow, but seeing Kate at audition, Michael Bay gave the role to her. Jon Voight, Alec Baldwin, Ewen Bremner and Cuba Gooding Jr. also starred in the film, recognized as one of the best films of modern cinema.

In 2003, the first film of the horror franchise Underworld was released, in which Kate played as Selene, turned into the vampire by Viktor, the elder of the clan, performed by Bill Nighy. The part of werewolf, who became Selene’s lover, was performed by Scott Speedman. Michael Sheen, Wentworth Miller and Shane Brolly participated in the film too.

Kate, who amazed the viewers with a combination of appearance and acting skills, played in all parts of the saga, each of which invariably beat the popularity record of the previous one.

In the mystical thriller of 2004, Van Helsing, the actress appeared as the beautiful Anna Valerious, a fearless vampire hunter, and her partner was Hugh Jackman. The film was recognized as one of the best in its genre.

Van Helsing ‒ trailer

In the same year, Kate joined Martin Scorsese star team of the biographical film The Aviator, keeping company Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as Alec Baldwin and Cate Blanchett.

In the political detective film Nothing but the Truth, released in 2008, Kate played as a journalist who became a key element in investigating the leakage of secret data. The role of the FBI agent was performed by Matt Dillon.

Kate Beckinsale in the film Nothing but the Truth

A year later, in the thriller Whiteout Kate performed the role of police detective Stetko, investigating a series of terrible crimes at the polar base in Antarctica.

In 2012, the actress met Colin Farrell and Jessica Biel on the set of the thriller Toatal Recall, appearing already in the usual role of a female agent. And in the film Stonehearst Asylum Kate showed the gift of a dramatic actress, playing as a woman imprisoned in a psychiatric clinic. With her profound acting, she astonished even the inveterate skeptics among critics who noted that it was thanks to Beckinsale that the film acquired a subtle aftertaste of danger, felt by a person on the verge, after which there is nothing but hatred. Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess and David Thewlis starred in the film.

Infrequently pleasing her fans with her participation in comedies, Kate played the part of Catherine in the comedy movie of 2015 Absolutely Anything proving that she really can do everything ‒ even drive the audience to tears of laughter. In the story about a loser, who was endowed with supernormal abilities by aliens, Simon Pegg, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam played.

Absolutely Anything ‒ trailer

In 2016, Beckinsale continued to star in the fifth part of Underworld, and in 2017, she played a lead role in the drama The Only Living Boy in New York, making an ensemble with Callum Turner and Pierce Brosnan. In this fascinating story, the actress performed the role of separating Johanna, who both father and son were in love.

Kate in the movie The Only Living Boy in New York

In 2017, the actress also completed acting in the film Farming, in which she played as a mother, trying to get her adopted son back from Nigeria, since he came under the influence of skinheads. However, the guy became the black leader of the racist group. Damson Idris, Ann Mitchell, Jaime Winstone and Gugu Mbatha-Raw starred in the film.

Kate Beckinsale’s personal life

On the account of the actress there are much less love-affairs than lead roles, but they were all as bright.

The first choice of the English beauty was the actor Edmund Moriarty, whom she dated while studying at Oxford.

The actress began relationship with Michael Sheen on the set of the film Much Ado About Nothing. Their daughter Lily Mo Sheen was born in 1999, but the actors never married. In 2002, Kate and Michael broke up, while maintaining warm friendly relations. In an interview, Kate said that she was not ready for official marriage, but a year later she married the filmmaker Len Wiseman. Their marriage lasted until 2015.

The film star was alone not very long: in 2016, Kate began dating the young stand-up comic Matt Raff, who was more than 20 years younger than her, and after parting with him, she started a love-affair with Jack Whitehall. The new lover was fifteen years younger than the actress, but this relationship also ended before the fans managed to get used to Beckinsale’s new toy-boy.

In 2019, the paparazzi took a series of shots, in which Beckinsale enjoyed the company of Stephen Simbari, a young cinematographer. Stephen is also almost twenty years younger than Kate.

In an interview, the actress asserts that age does not matter when it comes to feelings. Kate states that she is happy, and everything else is not important to her. As proof, she often pleases fans with photos in which she looks the same age as her lovers.

Kate Beckinsale now

Since 2018 Kate has been taking part in the crime series The Widow, the release of premiere series of which is expected in the spring of 2019. The series also stars Charles Dance, Alex Kingston and Jacky Ido.

In the comedy El Tonto, the name of which can be translated as The fool, the actress stars with John Malkovich, Adrien Brody and Ray Liotta. Nothing is reported on the plot and the date of the premiere.

In January 2019, Beckinsale posted photos from the hospital ward on instagram and reported that she had come to be in the clinic because of gynecological problems. A few days later, the representative of the actress assured the fans that nothing threatened her life.