ACTOR
Kate Beckinsale
- Known for
- Underworld: Blood Wars (2016), Everybody's Fine (2009), Stonehearst Asylum (2014), Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
50 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Kate Beckinsale is an actor best known for Underworld: Blood Wars, Everybody's Fine and Stonehearst Asylum.
All facts (50)
- #001
According to a school report from when she was six years old, Kate Beckinsale had a reading age of eleven and an IQ of 152.
- #002
She spent her youth reading French, Russian and German novels for her education, completed A-levels in Russian, German and French, and as a result was accepted into Oxford University.
- #003
She is generally known for her love of jokes and pranks, often at the expense of her co-stars.
- #004
Director Stephen Sommers wanted Kate for the role of "Anna Valerious" in Van Helsing (2004). However, Stephen feared it was too similar in tone to Underworld (2003), which Kate had initiated and was shooting at the time. In the end she got her manager to send Sommers the script, and Kate signed on immediately.
- #005
Normally slim, she gained twenty pounds in 2004 for her roles: ten pounds for Van Helsing (2004) and another ten to play the sultry Ava Gardner in The Aviator (2004).
- #006
With her former boyfriend Michael Sheen (they were together from 1995 to 2003), she has a daughter, Lily Mo Sheen (b. 31 January 1999).
- #007
Before dropping out in her third year to act, she studied French and Russian Literature at New College, Oxford, England.
- #008
She married Len Wiseman on 9 May 2004 at the Bel-Air Hotel. Her daughter Lily received her own "wedding ring" from Wiseman.
- #009
In October 2017 she was among more than 80 women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault.
- #010
She had a body double for her nude scenes in Haunted (1995).
- #011
In 1986 she won the prestigious WH Smith Young Writers competition with her poetry.
- #012
She took the female lead in Pearl Harbor (2001) after Charlize Theron dropped out of Sweet November (2001).
- #013
Her mother, Judy Loe, was a well-known actress and her father, Richard Beckinsale, was a well-known comedy actor.
- #014
She has played both a vampire (Underworld (2003)) and a vampire hunter (Van Helsing (2004)).
- #015
She met Len Wiseman while he was directing her in Underworld (2003).
- #016
She became a comic book fan because her ex-husband and her daughter were big fans.
- #017
She was anorexic as a teenager.
- #018
She attended primary school at Flexlands Private School in London, England, where she trained in ballet, and her father died of a heart attack at that young age.
- #019
She suffers from a stomach ulcer.
- #020
According to an interview she gave on the UK programme The Big Breakfast (1992) (December 2001), she hates wearing knickers.
- #021
In January 2019, it emerged that Kate Beckinsale had been hospitalized due to a ruptured ovarian cyst.
- #022
One of Kate's paternal great-great-grandmothers, Mary Mitchell, was born in Burma to Thomas Mitchell, a white father, and Ma Ninhe, a Burmese (Asian) mother.
- #023
She lives in Venice, California, because it reminds her of London.
- #024
When she travels, she usually brings a pantomime horse costume with her.
- #025
She replaced Sarah Jessica Parker after Parker left the film Vacancy (2007).
- #026
She was named Esquire magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive" in 2009.
- #027
She was in close contention for the role of Rachel Keller in The Ring (2002) but lost out because the producers thought she looked too young.
- #028
She underwent an emergency appendectomy in January 2004.
- #029
She supports various charities, including the British Heart Foundation and Habitat for Humanity.
- #030
On Larry King's show, she demonstrated a hidden talent for imitating sneezes, which King called "extraordinary."
- #031
She disliked Physical Education at school, and it was also her worst subject.
- #032
Her first on-screen kiss was with Robert Sean Leonard in Much Ado About Nothing (1993).
- #033
When Kate was five years old, her father, Richard Beckinsale, died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 31. Her mother, Judy Loe, however, remarried Roy Battersby and remained with him until his death in 2024.
- #034
She lost the role in Wuthering Heights (1992) to Juliette Binoche.
- #035
In her first role, Kate appeared as an 18-month-old baby alongside her mother, Judy Loe, in the pilot episode of the British series, Episode #1.1 (1975).
- #036
She has a cat named Clive and a dog named Myf.
- #037
She was named Britain's Number 1 Beauty by Hello Magazine in 2002.
- #038
She is the younger half-sister of Samantha Beckinsale.
- #039
In 2011, she ranked 14th on AskMen's "Top 99 Women" list.
- #040
In 2014, she ranked 43rd on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
- #041
In 2010, Kate Beckinsale ranked third on AskMen's "Top 99 Women" list.
- #042
In 2012, Kate Beckinsale ranked 22nd on AskMen's "Top 99 Women" list.
- #043
In 2007, Kate Beckinsale ranked 21st on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
- #044
In 2005, Kate Beckinsale ranked 23rd on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
- #045
In 2013, Kate Beckinsale ranked 12th on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
- #046
In 2009, Kate Beckinsale ranked 22nd on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
- #047
In 2012, Kate Beckinsale ranked 12th on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
- #048
In 2000, Kate Beckinsale ranked 85th on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
- #049
In 2001, Kate Beckinsale ranked 39th on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
- #050
In 2003, Kate Beckinsale ranked 16th on Maxim's "Hot 100" list.
Continue through the archive
- Absolutely Anythingas Catherine
- Much Ado About Nothingas Hero
- Underworld: Blood Warsas Selene
- Hauntedas Christina Mariell
- Stonehearst Asylumas Eliza Graves
- The Only Living Boy in New Yorkas Johanna
- Nothing But the Truthas Rachel Armstrong
- Canary Blackas Avery Graves
- Everybody's Fineas Amy
- Laurel Canyonas Alex
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