Kate Beckinsale
Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973)[1][2][3] is an English actress. She has gained acclaim for her roles in action films, romance films, and period dramas. Beckinsale made her film debut in Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She gained prominence taking leading roles in numerous British costume dramas such as Prince of Jutland (1994), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Emma (1996), and The Golden Bowl (2000). She challenged herself taking roles in films such as The Last Days of Disco (1998), Brokedown Palace (1999), Pearl Harbor (2001), Serendipity (2001), Tiptoes (2003), The Aviator (2004) and Click (2006).
Kate Beckinsale
26 July 1973
Actress
1991–present
Michael Sheen (1995–2003)
1
- Richard Beckinsale (father)
- Judy Loe (mother)
- Samantha Beckinsale (half-sister)
- Roy Battersby (stepfather)
Since playing the role of Selene in the Underworld film series (2003–2016), Beckinsale has become known for her work in action films, including Van Helsing (2004), Whiteout (2009), Contraband (2012), Total Recall (2012), and Jolt (2021). She earned acclaim for her roles in Snow Angels (2007), Nothing but the Truth (2008), Everybody's Fine (2009), Love & Friendship (2016), and The Only Living Boy in New York (2017). She then took roles in the TV series The Widow (2019) and the streaming TV series Guilty Party (2021), in the latter also serving as an executive producer.
Early life and education
Kathrin Romany Beckinsale was born on 26 July 1973 in the Chiswick district of London,[4][5] the only child of actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe.[6] She has a half-sister from her father's earlier marriage, actress Samantha Beckinsale.[6] Her father was partly of Burmese descent.[7][8] Her parents did not marry until 1977, prior to Beckinsale starting nursery school,[9] when she made her first television appearance at age four, in an episode of This Is Your Life dedicated to her father.[10] When she was five, her father died suddenly of a heart attack aged 31; she was deeply traumatised by the loss and "started expecting bad things to happen."[11][6] Her widowed mother moved in with director Roy Battersby when Beckinsale was nine, and she was brought up alongside his four sons and daughter.[12] She had a close relationship with her stepfather,[6] who was a member of the Workers Revolutionary Party during her youth.[13] She helped to sell The News Line, a Trotskyist newspaper, as a little girl and has said the household phone was tapped following Battersby's blacklisting by the BBC.[13] Family friends included Ken Loach and Vanessa Redgrave.[13]
Beckinsale was educated at Godolphin and Latymer School, an independent school for girls in Hammersmith, West London, and was involved with the Orange Tree Youth Theatre.[14] She was twice a winner of the WH Smith Young Writers Award for both fiction and poetry.[15] She has described herself as a "late bloomer": "All of my friends were kissing boys and drinking cider way before me. I found it really depressing that we weren't making camp fires and everyone was doing stuff like that."[16] She had a nervous breakdown and developed anorexia at age fifteen,[17] and underwent Freudian psychoanalysis for four years.[6]
Beckinsale studied Russian at school[18] and read French and Russian literature at New College, Oxford, and was later described by her contemporary Victoria Coren Mitchell, as "whip-clever, slightly nuts, and very charming".[19] She became friends with
Roy Kinnear's daughter Kirsty.[20] She was involved with the Oxford University Dramatic Society, most notably being directed by fellow student Tom Hooper in a production of A View from the Bridge at the Oxford Playhouse.[21] As a Modern Languages student, she was required to spend her third year abroad, and studied in Paris. She then quit university to focus on her burgeoning acting career: "It was getting to the point where I wasn't enjoying either thing enough because both were very high pressure."[6] Beckinsale has stated she would like to complete her studies at Oxford University.[22][23]
Career
1991–1997: Early acting roles
Beckinsale decided at a young age she wanted to be an actress: "I grew up immersed in film. My family were in the business. I quickly realised that my parents seemed to have much more fun in their work than any of my friends' parents."[24] She was inspired by the performances of Jeanne Moreau.[25] She made her television debut in 1991 with a small part in an ITV adaptation of P. D. James' Devices and Desires.[26] In 1992, she starred alongside Christopher Eccleston in Rachel's Dream, a 30‑minute Channel 4 short,[27] and in 1993, she appeared in the pilot of the ITV detective series, Anna Lee, starring Imogen Stubbs.[28]
In 1993, Beckinsale landed the role of Hero in Kenneth Branagh's big-screen adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. It was filmed in Tuscany, Italy, during a summer holiday from Oxford University.[29] She attended the film's Cannes Film Festival premiere and remembered it as an overwhelming experience. "Nobody even told me I could bring a friend!"[16] "I had Doc Martens boots on, and I think I put the flower from the breakfast tray in my hair."[30] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone was won over by her "lovely" performance[31] while Vincent Canby of The New York Times noted that she and Robert Sean Leonard "look right and behave with a certain naive sincerity, although they often seem numb with surprise at hearing the complex locutions they speak."[32] The film grossed over $22 million at the box office.[33] She made three other films while at university. In 1994, she appeared as Christian Bale's love interest in Prince of Jutland, a film based on the Danish legend which inspired Shakespeare's Hamlet,[34] and starred in the murder mystery Uncovered.[35] In 1995, while studying in Paris, she filmed the French language Marie-Louise ou la Permission.[36]
Shortly after leaving Oxford University in 1995, Beckinsale starred in Cold Comfort Farm, as Flora Poste, a newly orphaned 1930s socialite sent to live with distant family members in rural England. The John Schlesinger-directed film was an adaptation of Stella Gibbons's novel and also featured Joanna Lumley, Eileen Atkins, Ian McKellen, Rufus Sewell and Stephen Fry. Beckinsale was initially considered too young, but was cast after she wrote a pleading letter to the director.[37] Emanuel Levy of Variety was reminded of "the strength of a young Glenda Jackson and the charm of a young Julie Christie."[38] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times classed the actress as "yet another of those effortlessly skilled British beauties who light up the screen."[39] Janet Maslin of The New York Times felt she played the role "with the perfect snippy aplomb."[40] The film grossed over $5 million at the US box office.[41] Also in 1995, she appeared in Haunted, a ghost story in which Derek Elley of Variety felt she "holds the screen, with both physical looks and verbal poise."[42] 1995 also saw Beckinsale's first professional stage appearance as Nina in The Seagull at Theatre Royal, Bath. She became romantically involved with co-star Michael Sheen after meeting during play rehearsals.[43] She later said: "I was all revved up to feel very intimidated. It was my first-ever play and my mother had cut out reviews of him in previous productions. And then he walked in ... It was almost like, 'God, well, I'm finished now. That's it, then.'... He's the most outrageously talented person I've ever met."[44] Irving Wardle of The Independent felt that "the casting, including Michael Sheen's volcanic Kostya and Kate Beckinsale's steadily freezing Nina, is mainly spot-on."[45] In early 1996, she starred in two further plays; Sweetheart at the Royal Court Theatre[46] and Clocks and Whistles at the Bush Theatre.[47]
Beckinsale next starred in an ITV adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, playing Emma to Mark Strong's Mr Knightley and Samantha Morton's Harriet Smith. "You shouldn't necessarily like Emma," Beckinsale has said of her character. "You do love her, but in the way the family of a young girl could be exasperated by her outrageous behaviour and still love her."[37] The programme was aired in autumn 1996, just months after Gwyneth Paltrow had starred in a film adaptation of the same story.[37] Caryn James of The New York Times felt that while "Ms. Beckinsale's Emma is plainer looking than Ms. Paltrow's," she is "altogether more believable and funnier."[48] Jonathan Brown of The Independent has described Beckinsale's interpretation as "the most enduring modern performance" as Emma.[49] In 1997, Beckinsale appeared opposite Stuart Townsend in the comedy Shooting Fish, one of the most commercially successful British films of that year.[50][51] "I'd just had my wisdom teeth out," Beckinsale later recalled of the initial audition. "I was also on very strong painkillers, so it was not the most conventional of meetings."[52] Elley wrote of "an incredibly laid-back performance"[53] while Thomas felt she "just glows as an aristocrat facing disaster with considerable aplomb."[54] She narrated Austen's Emma for Hodder & Stoughton AudioBooks[55] and Diana Hendry's The Proposal for BBC Radio 4.[56][57] Also in 1997, she played Juliet to Michael Sheen's Romeo in an AudioBook production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Sheen.[58]
In Beckinsale's last film before her move to the US, she starred as Alice in Channel 4's Alice through the Looking-Glass, released in July 1998.[59]
1998–2002: Move to Hollywood
At this point in her career, Beckinsale began to seek work in the United States, something she has said wasn't "a conscious decision... My boyfriend was in a play on Broadway so that's why we ended up in New York, and my auditions happened to be for American films."[60] She starred opposite Chloë Sevigny in 1998's The Last Days of Disco. The Whit Stillman film focused on a group of mostly Ivy League and Hampshire College graduates socialising in the Manhattan disco scene of the early 1980s. Beckinsale's American accent was widely praised.[61][62][63] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times felt her role as the bossy Charlotte was "beautifully played."[64] Todd McCarthy of Variety was unimpressed by the film but noted that "compensations include Beckinsale, looking incredible in a succession of black dresses, whose character can get on your nerves even if the actress doesn't."[65] Her performance earned her a London Critics' Circle Film Award.[66] The film grossed $3 million worldwide.[67]
In 1999, Beckinsale appeared opposite Claire Danes in Brokedown Palace, a drama about two young Americans forced to deal with the Thai justice system on a post-graduation trip abroad. A then 26-year-old Beckinsale played a young girl.[68] Danes had hoped to become friends with Beckinsale during the shoot but found her "complicated" and "prickly."[69] McCarthy said the leads "confirm their status as two of the young actresses on the scene today most worth watching," finding Beckinsale "very effective at getting across layered character traits and emotions."[70] "Danes and Beckinsale are exceptionally talented young actresses," said Thomas, but "unfortunately, the script's seriously underdeveloped context defeats their considerable efforts at every turn."[71] Stephen Holden of The New York Times felt that Beckinsale's character "never comes into focus."[72] The film was a box office failure.[73]
2000's The Golden Bowl marked Beckinsale's first role following the birth of her daughter. The Merchant/Ivory production was based on the novel by Henry James and also starred Uma Thurman and Jeremy Northam. Beckinsale's partner, Michael Sheen, hit Northam on the film set after he followed Beckinsale to her trailer to scold her for forgetting a line.[74] Holden noted "the most satisfying of the four-lead performances belong to the British cast members, Ms. Beckinsale and Mr. Northam, who are better than their American counterparts at layers of emotional concealment," adding each beat of Beckinsale's performance "registers precisely."[75] Thomas felt her performance would take her to "a new career level."[76] Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer asserted that she "comes close to capturing the sublimity of Maggie, despite the obvious fact that no movie can capture the elegant copiousness of James' prose."[77] The film grossed over $5 million worldwide.[78]
Beckinsale rose to fame in 2001 with a leading role in the war film Pearl Harbor, as a nurse torn between two pilots (played by Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett). She was drawn to the project by the script: "It's so unusual these days to read a script that has those old-fashioned values to it. Not morals, but movie values. It's a big, sweeping epic....You just never get the chance to do that."[79] Director Michael Bay initially had doubts about casting the actress: "I wasn't sure about her at first...she wore black leather trousers in her screen test and I thought she was a little nasty...it was easy to think of this woman as a slut."[80] He eventually decided to hire her because she wasn't "too beautiful. Women feel disturbed when they see someone's too pretty."[81] He asked her to lose weight during filming.[82] In a 2004 interview, the actress noted that his comments were "upsetting"[83] and said she wore leather trousers because "it was snowing out. It wasn't exactly like I had my nipple rings in."[84] She felt grateful that she had not had to deal with such criticism at a younger age: "If I had come on to a movie set at [a younger] age and someone had said, 'You're a bit funny-looking, can you go on a diet?' – I might have jumped off a building. I just didn't have the confidence to put that into perspective at the time."[80] However, speaking in 2011, she said she was "very fond" of Bay.[85]
Pearl Harbor received negative reviews. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised "the avid eyed, ruby lipped Kate Beckinsale, the rare actress whose intelligence gives her a sensual bloom; she's like Parker Posey without irony."[86] A. O. Scott of The New York Times noted that "Mr. Affleck and Ms. Beckinsale do what they can with their lines, and glow with the satiny shine of real movie stars."[87] However, Mike Clark of USA Today felt that the "usually appealing Kate Beckinsale" is "inexplicably submerged – like her hospital colleagues – under heaps of tarty makeup that even actresses of the era didn't wear."[88] The film was a commercial success, grossing $449 million worldwide.[89]
Beckinsale's second film appearance of 2001 was in the romantic comedy Serendipity, as the love interest of John Cusack. It was filmed directly after Pearl Harbor and Beckinsale found it "a real relief to return to something slightly more familiar."[60] Turan praised the "appealing and believable" leads, adding that Beckinsale "reinforces the strong impression she made in Cold Comfort Farm, The Golden Bowl, and The Last Days of Disco" after "recovering nicely" from her appearance in the much-maligned Pearl Harbor.[90] Claudia Puig of USA Today felt that "Beckinsale's talents haven't been mined as effectively in any other film since Cold Comfort Farm."[91] McCarthy found her "energetic and appealing"[92] while Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times described her as "luminous but determined."[93] In an uncomplimentary review of the film, Roger Ebert described her as "a good actress, but not good enough to play this dumb."[94] The film has grossed over $77 million at the worldwide box office.[95]
In 2002, Beckinsale starred in Lisa Cholodenko's Laurel Canyon, as a strait-laced academic who finds herself increasingly attracted to her free-spirited future mother-in-law. The independent film was another opportunity for Beckinsale to work with Christian Bale, her Prince of Jutland co‑star. She found their sex scene awkward because she knew Bale well: "If it was a stranger, it would have been easier."[96] While Frances McDormand's performance as Bale's mother was widely praised, Beckinsale received negative reviews. Holden found the film "superbly acted, with the exception of Ms. Beckinsale, whose tense, colourless Alex conveys no inner life."[97] Critic Lisa Schwarzbaum was unimpressed by the "tedious" characters and criticised "the fussy performances of Bale and Beckinsale" in particular.[98] The film has grossed over $4 million worldwide.[99]
Personal life
Relationships
Beckinsale was in a relationship with Welsh actor Michael Sheen from 1995 to 2003. They met when cast in a touring production of The Seagull in early 1995 and moved in together shortly afterwards.[207][208][209] In 1997, they voiced an audiobook production of Romeo and Juliet.[58] Their daughter Lily Mo Sheen was born in 1999.[210][211] In 2001, Beckinsale said she was "embarrassed" that Sheen never proposed,[44][212] but felt as though she was married.[213] They broke up in early 2003, after the filming of Underworld.[214] Beckinsale and Sheen remain close friends.
She remarked in 2016, "He's really dear, close family. He's somebody I've known since I was 21 years old. I really love him a lot."[215]
Beckinsale met American director Len Wiseman while working together on 2003's Underworld.[216] She persuaded Wiseman to cast Sheen in the film,[217] but while on set, Beckinsale and Wiseman fell in love. Wiseman's then-wife Dana, a kindergarten teacher, accused her husband of infidelity with Beckinsale.[218] Beckinsale and Wiseman married on 9 May 2004 in Bel-Air, California.[219] They separated in November 2015. Wiseman filed for divorce in 2016, citing "irreconcilable differences";[220][221] their divorce was finalised in November 2019.[222]
In January 2019, Beckinsale was reported to be dating American comedian Pete Davidson, but by April they had "called time on their romance".[223]
Personal and political beliefs
Beckinsale is a smoker.[224] When she was nine, her mother moved in with Roy Battersby, and his sons introduced her to cigarettes.[17]
She is a teetotaller, stating in 2003, "I've never been drunk even. I've never taken drugs. I've never had a one-night-stand."[225]
In 2007, she appeared alongside David Schwimmer in the sixth of the Writers Guild of America member-conceived Internet videos for Project "Speechless", in support of the WGA labour strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.[226][227]
In 2012, she appeared alongside Judy Greer and Andrea Savage in the Funny or Die video "Republicans, Get in My Vagina", a satire of the Republican Party's policies concerning abortion and prenatal care.[228]
Legal issues
In July 2003, the Press Complaints Commission dismissed a complaint filed by Beckinsale. She alleged that the tabloid Daily Mail had invaded her and her daughter's privacy by publishing photographs of the actress embracing and kissing her then-boyfriend Len Wiseman.[229] The article in question was headlined, "Mummy's latest love scene leaves Lily unimpressed" and included a picture in which her then-four-year-old daughter appeared to be ignoring her mother's romantic actions.[229] The Commission found that "the photographs had been taken in a public place and did not reveal any private details about Lily—such as her health or schooling—but were restricted to general observations about her apparent reaction to her surroundings."[229]
In August 2003, Beckinsale received a published apology from the Daily Mail after it claimed that she had "spent time in a clinic" following her break-up with Michael Sheen.[230] The apology was issued after she filed a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission.[230] In 2009, Beckinsale was awarded £20,000 in damages by the British High Court after taking legal action against Express Newspapers.[231] The Daily Express had falsely reported that she was "facing heartbreak" after losing out on a role in a remake of Barbarella.[231]
Philanthropy
The British Heart Foundation has been Beckinsale's charity of choice "ever since [she] was six years old"[232][233] when her father, who had coronary artery disease, died of a massive heart attack. She has also donated film memorabilia to the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation,[234][235] MediCinema,[236] Habitat For Humanity[237] and the Entertainment Industry Foundation.[238] In 2008, she hosted the 4th Annual Pink Party to raise funds for the Women's Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center[239] and organised a screening of All About Eve for FilmAid International.[240] In 2012, Beckinsale joined Nestlé's Share the Joy of Reading Program to raise awareness about the importance of people's literacy.[241]