Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in
Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a 1993 British/American romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play. It was adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played the role of Benedick....
(1993) while still a student at
Oxford UniversityThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. She then appeared in British
costume dramaA costume drama or period drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambiance of a particular era.The term is usually used in the context of film and television...
s such as
Prince of JutlandPrince of Jutland is a 1994 film adaptation of the Danish legend of prince Amleth, drawing upon the 11th century works of Saxo Grammaticus, which was also the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet....
(1994), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Emma (1996) and
The Golden BowlThe Golden Bowl is a 2000 American/British/French drama film directed by James Ivory. The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is based on the 1904 novel of the same title by Henry James, who considered the work his masterpiece.-Plot:...
(2000), in addition to various stage and radio productions. She began to seek film work in the United States in the late 1990s and, after appearing in small-scale dramas
The Last Days of DiscoThe Last Days of Disco is a 1998 sardonic comedy-drama film written and directed by Whit Stillman and loosely based on his travels and experiences in various nightclubs in Manhattan, including Studio 54. The film concerns a group of Ivy League and Hampshire graduates falling in and out of love in...
(1998) and
Brokedown PalaceBrokedown Palace is an American film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. It deals with two American friends imprisoned in Thailand for drug smuggling. Because it presents a critical view of the Thai legal system, most scenes were filmed in the Philippines;...
(1999), she had a breakout year in 2001 with starring roles in war epic
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
and romantic comedy
SerendipitySerendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom...
. She built on this success with appearances in The Aviator (2004) and Click (2006).
She garnered a reputation as an action star following an appearance as a vampire in 2003's
UnderworldUnderworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and Lycans . It is the first installment in the Underworld series. The main plot revolves around Selene , a vampire who is a Death Dealer hunting Lycans...
and has since starred in
Van HelsingVan Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
(2004),
Underworld: EvolutionUnderworld: Evolution is the second installment in the Underworld series, following Underworld in 2003...
(2006) and Whiteout (2009). She has also continued to work on smaller dramatic projects such as
Snow AngelsSnow Angels is a 2007 drama film starring Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It was directed by David Gordon Green, who also wrote the screenplay adapted from Stewart O'Nan's 1994 novel of the same title. The film premiered in the dramatic competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...
(2007), Winged Creatures (2008),
Nothing but the TruthNothing but the Truth is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Rod Lurie. According to comments made by Lurie in The Truth Hurts, a bonus feature on the DVD release, his inspiration for the screenplay was the case of journalist Judith Miller, who in July 2005 was jailed for contempt of...
(for which she earned a Critic's Choice Award nomination in 2008) and Everybody's Fine (2009). She has three films set for release in 2012: the fourth installment of vampire franchise Underworld: Awakening, crime thriller
ContrabandContraband is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Baltasar Kormákur, starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale. The film is a remake of the Icelandic 2009 film Reykjavík-Rotterdam which Kormákur starred in...
and sci-fi remake
Total RecallTotal Recall is an upcoming science-fiction action film based on the 1990 film of the same name and the 1966 novelette We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick. It is directed by Len Wiseman and written by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt and Kurt Wimmer. It was first announced in 2009...
.
She is the only child of actors
Richard BeckinsaleRichard Arthur Beckinsale was an English actor, best known for his roles as Lennie Godber in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the British sitcom Rising Damp....
(1947–1979) and
Judy LoeJudith M. "Judy" Loe is an English actress. She was the widow of actor Richard Beckinsale and is now married to director Roy Battersby...
and was brought up in London. She had an eight-year relationship with
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
actor
Michael SheenMichael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
from 1995 until 2003. Their daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, was born in London in 1999. She married American film director
Len WisemanLen Ryan Wiseman is an American film director best known for his work on the Underworld series and Live Free or Die Hard. His latest project, Total Recall, is set for release in summer 2012...
in 2004 and they live in Los Angeles, California. Publications such as Esquire and People Magazine have repeatedly included her in their annual rankings of the world's sexiest and most beautiful women. She has worked occasionally as a model in television and print campaigns to promote
GapThe Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
denim,
Diet CokeDiet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
,
Absolut VodkaAbsolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Skåne, in southern Sweden. Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard who bought V&S Group from the Swedish government....
and
LuxLux is a global brand developed by Unilever. The range of products includes beauty soaps, shower gels, bath additives, hair shampoos and conditioners. Lux started as “Sunlight Flakes” laundry soap in 1899....
shampoo.
Early life
Beckinsale was born in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, the youngest child of actor
Richard BeckinsaleRichard Arthur Beckinsale was an English actor, best known for his roles as Lennie Godber in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the British sitcom Rising Damp....
and actress
Judy LoeJudith M. "Judy" Loe is an English actress. She was the widow of actor Richard Beckinsale and is now married to director Roy Battersby...
. She made her first television appearance at the age of four in an episode of
This is Your LifeThis Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
dedicated to her father. When she was six years old, her 31-year old father died suddenly of a heart attack. Beckinsale was deeply traumatised by the loss and "started expecting bad things to happen". While she has seen her father "more on television than I have in life," "there are certainly enough memories for me not to feel that it's somebody I didn't know." Her widowed mother moved in with director
Roy BattersbyRoy Battersby is a British TV director, noted for his work in drama productions such as Between The Lines, Inspector Morse, Cracker and A Touch of Frost. Early in his career he made documentary features for the BBC programmes Tomorrow's World and Towards Tomorrow...
when Beckinsale was nine and she was raised alongside his four sons and daughter. She has a close relationship with her step-father: "I couldn't have knitted a better one ... He wasn't pushy, he let me come to him." She has a paternal half-sister, actress
Samantha BeckinsaleSamantha Jane Beckinsale is an English actress best known for her role as firefighter, Kate Stevens, in London's Burning and her role as Lesley in the sitcom Shelley from 1989–1992...
, but they have never had regular contact.
Beckinsale was educated at
Godolphin and Latymer SchoolThe Godolphin and Latymer School is an independent school for 700 girls aged eleven to eighteen in London. Ms Margaret Rudland was the head mistress of the school for over 20 years before being succeeded by Ms Ruth Mercer.-History:...
in
West LondonThe West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. The sub region was established in 2004 and was adjusted in 2008 to include Kensington and Chelsea. The west has a population of 1.6 million and...
and was involved with the
Orange Tree Youth TheatreThe Orange Tree Theatre is a 172-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south west London, built specifically as a theatre in the round....
. In her teens, she twice won the W. H. Smith Young Writers' competition—once for short stories and once for poetry. 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 grown-up stuff." "I loathed being a teenager." She had a nervous breakdown and developed
anorexiaAnorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
at the age of fifteen and underwent Freudian
psychoanalysisPsychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
for four years.
She read
FrenchFrench literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...
and
Russian literatureRussian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
at
New CollegeNew College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
,
Oxford UniversityThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and was later described by a contemporary, journalist
Victoria CorenVictoria Elizabeth Coren is a British writer, presenter and champion poker player. Coren writes weekly columns for The Observer and The Guardian newspapers and hosts the BBC Four television quiz show Only Connect....
, as "whip-clever, slightly nuts and very charming". She was involved with the
Oxford University Dramatic SocietyThe Oxford University Dramatic Society is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England...
, most notably being directed by fellow student
Tom HooperThomas George "Tom" Hooper is a British film and television director of English and Australian background. Hooper began making short films at the age of 13, and had his first professional short, Painted Faces, broadcast on Channel 4 in 1992. At Oxford University Hooper directed plays and...
in a production of
A View from the BridgeA View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller that was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to contain two acts; this...
at the Oxford Playhouse. She spent her third year in
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
as part of Oxford's study-abroad programme, after which she decided to leave university to concentrate 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. I was burning out and I knew I had to make a decision."
Early roles
Beckinsale decided at a young age that 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." She made her television debut in 1991 with a small part in an
ITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
adaptation of
P. D. JamesPhyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL , commonly known as P. D. James, is an English crime writer and Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, most famous for a series of detective novels starring policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.-Life and career:James...
’
Devices and DesiresDevices and Desires is a 1989 detective novel in the Adam Dalgliesh series by P. D. James. It takes place on Larksoken, an isolated headland in Norfolk.-Plot overview:...
. Also that year, she appeared as a young woman engaging in a forbidden affair with a Nazi officer in the
HallmarkHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
film One Against The Wind. In 1992, she starred alongside
Christopher EcclestonChristopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
in Rachel’s Dream, a 30-minute
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
short, and in 1993, she appeared in the pilot of the
ITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
detective series,
Anna LeeAnna Lee, MBE was an English actress.-Career:Lee studied at the Royal Albert Hall, then debuted with a bit part in the film His Lordship...
, starring
Imogen StubbsImogen Stubbs, Lady Nunn is an English actress and playwright.-Early life:Imogen Stubbs was born in Northumberland, lived briefly in Portsmouth, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they lived on an elderly river barge on the Thames...
.
In 1993, she landed the role of Hero in
Kenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
's big-screen adaptation of
Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a 1993 British/American romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play. It was adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played the role of Benedick....
. It was filmed in
TuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during a summer holiday from Oxford University. She attended the film's
Cannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
premiere and later remembered it as an overwhelming experience. "Nobody even told me I could bring a friend!" "I had Doc Martens boots on, and I think I put the flower from the breakfast tray in my hair".
Peter TraversPeter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
was won over by her "lovely" performance while
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted that she and
Robert Sean LeonardRobert Sean Leonard is an American actor, who has regularly starred in Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Since 2004 he has played the role of Dr. James Wilson on the TV series House...
"look right and behave with a certain naive sincerity, although they often seem numb with surprise at hearing the complex locutions they speak." She filmed three other movies while at university. In 1994, she appeared as
Christian BaleChristian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
's love interest in
Prince of JutlandPrince of Jutland is a 1994 film adaptation of the Danish legend of prince Amleth, drawing upon the 11th century works of Saxo Grammaticus, which was also the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet....
, a film based on the Danish
legendHamlet is a figure in Scandinavian romance and the hero of Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.The chief authority for the legend of Hamlet is Saxo Grammaticus, who devotes to it parts of the third and fourth books of his Gesta Danorum, completed at the beginning of the 13th century...
which inspired Shakespeare's
HamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, and starred in the murder mystery
UncoveredUncovered is a 1994 film based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Flanders Panel. It was directed by Jim McBride. The leading actress was Kate Beckinsale as the main character Julia.-Plot:...
. In 1995, while studying in Paris, she filmed the French-language Marie-Louise Ou La Permission.
Shortly after leaving Oxford University in 1995, Beckinsale starred in
Cold Comfort FarmCold Comfort Farm is a 1995 British romantic comedy film directed by John Schlesinger and produced by the BBC and Thames Television, an adaptation of Stella Gibbons' 1932 book of the same name, the film stars Kate Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley, Ian McKellen, and Rufus Sewell...
as Flora Poste, a newly orphaned 1930s socialite sent to live with distant family members in rural England. The
John SchlesingerJohn Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
-directed film was an adaptation of
Stella GibbonsStella Dorothea Gibbons was an English novelist, journalist, poet, and short-story writer.Her first novel, Cold Comfort Farm, won the Femina Vie Heureuse Prize for 1933...
's
novelCold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb...
and also featured
Joanna LumleyJoanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
,
Ian McKellenSir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
,
Rufus SewellRufus Frederik Sewell is an English actor. In film, he has appeared in The Woodlanders, Dangerous Beauty, Dark City, A Knight's Tale, The Illusionist, Tristan and Isolde, and Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence. On television, he starred in the 2010 mini-series The Pillars of the Earth...
and
Stephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
. Beckinsale was initially considered too young, but was cast after she wrote a pleading letter to the director. She received rave reviews for her performance.
Emanuel LevyEmanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor.-Life:Emanuel Levy began his studies at Tel Aviv University, where he received B.A. in sociology, anthropology and political science. He did graduate work in sociology, film, and culture studies at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D...
of
VarietyVariety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
was reminded of "the strength of a young
Glenda JacksonGlenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
and the charm of a young
Julie ChristieJulie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
. "It takes a deft actress to walk this line between condescension and caring", noted Ryan Gilbey of
The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, "but Beckinsale is a luminously confident performer, whose brightness lights up the screen". Kevin Thomas of the
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
classed the actress as "yet another of those effortlessly skilled British beauties who light up the screen. Her Flora has such charm and poise and such utter fearlessness that no do-gooder could be more disarming."
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the
Chicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
said that she "finds a nice balance between Flora Poste's native spunk and her instinctive snobbishness" while
Janet MaslinJanet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
of The New York Times felt she played the role "with the perfect snippy aplomb". 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".
1995 also saw her first professional stage appearance as Nina in
The SeagullThe Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
at
Theatre Royal, BathThe Theatre Royal in Bath, England, is over 200 years old. It is one of the more important theatres in the United Kingdom outside London, with capacity for an audience of around 900....
. She became romantically involved with co-star
Michael SheenMichael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
after meeting during play rehearsals. "He was the young lion of the theatre". "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."
Irving WardleJohn Irving Wardle is an English writer and theatre critic.He was born on 20 July 1929 in Manchester, Lancashire, the son of John Wardle and his wife Nellie . His father was drama critic on the Bolton Evening News, and a regular performer at the Bolton Little Theatre...
of The Independent felt that "the casting, including Michael Sheen's volcanic Kostya and Kate Beckinsale's steadily freezing Nina, is mainly spot-on." In early 1996, she starred in two further plays; Sweetheart at the
Royal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
and Clocks and Whistles at The Bush Theatre.
She next starred in an
ITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, playing Emma to
Mark StrongMark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
's Mr Knightley and
Samantha MortonSamantha Jane Morton is an English actress and film director. She began her performing career with guest roles in television shows such as Soldier Soldier and Boon before making her film debut in the 1997 drama film This Is the Sea, playing the character of Hazel Stokes...
'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 teenage girl could be exasperated by her outrageous behavior and still love her." The programme was aired in autumn 1996, just months after
Gwyneth PaltrowGwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
had starred in a
movie adaptationEmma is a 1996 period film based on the novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Directed by Douglas McGrath, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, and Ewan McGregor.- Synopsis :...
of the same story. 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." Jonathan Brown of The Independent has described Beckinsale's interpretation as "the most enduring modern performance" as Emma.
In 1997, she appeared opposite
Stuart TownsendStuart Townsend is an Irish actor and director. His most notable portrayals are of the characters Lestat de Lioncourt in the 2002 film adaptation of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned, and Dorian Gray in the 2003 film adaptation of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.-Early life and...
in the comedy
Shooting FishShooting Fish is a 1997 British film co-written by Richard Holmes and Stefan Schwartz. Holmes produced and Schwartz directed. It co-starred Dan Futterman and Stuart Townsend as two con men with Kate Beckinsale as their unwilling assistant. It was produced by Winchester Films and partly funded by...
, one of the most commercially successful British films of that year. "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." Elley wrote of "an incredibly laid-back performance" while Thomas felt she "just glows as an aristocrat facing disaster with considerable aplomb". She narrated Austen's
EmmaEmma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners' among...
for
Hodder & Stoughton AudioBooksHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
and Diana Hendry's The Proposal for
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. Also in 1997, she played Juliet to
Michael SheenMichael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
's Romeo in a radio production of
Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, directed by Sheen.
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 movies". She starred opposite
Chloe SevignyChloë Stevens Sevigny is an American film actress, fashion designer and former model. Sevigny gained reputation for her eclectic fashion sense and developed a broad career in the fashion industry in the mid 1990s, both for modeling and for her work at New York's Sassy magazine, which labeled her...
in 1998's
The Last Days of DiscoThe Last Days of Disco is a 1998 sardonic comedy-drama film written and directed by Whit Stillman and loosely based on his travels and experiences in various nightclubs in Manhattan, including Studio 54. The film concerns a group of Ivy League and Hampshire graduates falling in and out of love in...
. The
Whit StillmanWhit Stillman is an American writer-director known for his sly depictions of the "urban haute bourgeoisie" Whit Stillman (born John Whitney Stillman on January 25, 1952) is an American writer-director known for his sly depictions of the "urban haute bourgeoisie" Whit Stillman (born John Whitney...
film focused on a group of
Ivy LeagueThe Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
graduates socialising in the Manhattan disco scene of the early 1980s. Beckinsale's attempt at an American accent was widely praised.
Kenneth TuranKenneth Turan is an American film critic and Lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.-Background:...
of the Los Angeles Times felt her role as the bossy Charlotte was "beautifully played without the hint of an accent" while Travers praised a "first-rate" cast, "notably the tart-tongued Eigemen and Beckinsale."
Todd McCarthyTodd McCarthy is an American film critic. He wrote for Variety for 31 years as its chief film critic before being fired in 2010. He is currently a critic for The Hollywood Reporter....
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." Her performance earned her a London Critics Circle Film Award. Also that year, she starred as Alice in a
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
production of
Through the Looking-GlassThrough the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
.
In 1999, she appeared opposite
Claire DanesClaire Catherine Danes is an American actress of television, stage and film. She has appeared in roles as diverse as Angela Chase in My So-Called Life, as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, as Kate Brewster in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as Yvaine in Stardust and as Temple Grandin in...
in
Brokedown PalaceBrokedown Palace is an American film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. It deals with two American friends imprisoned in Thailand for drug smuggling. Because it presents a critical view of the Thai legal system, most scenes were filmed in the Philippines;...
, a drama about two teenage Americans forced to deal with the Thai justice system on a post-graduation trip abroad. A then-23 year old Beckinsale played a teenager but joked that, "I don't think I was ever a typical 18-year-old, so whether I was 18 or not 18, it would be a character part." Danes had hoped to become friends with Beckinsale during the shoot but found her "complicated" and "prickly". 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." "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." Ebert felt that "the heart of the film is in the performances of Danes and Beckinsale after they're sent to prison". However, Stephen Holden of The New York Times felt that Beckinsale's character "never comes into focus".
2000's
The Golden BowlThe Golden Bowl is a 2000 American/British/French drama film directed by James Ivory. The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is based on the 1904 novel of the same title by Henry James, who considered the work his masterpiece.-Plot:...
marked Beckinsale's first role following the birth of her daughter. The
Merchant/ IvoryMerchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often...
production was based on the
novelThe Golden Bowl is a 1904 novel by Henry James. Set in England, this complex, intense study of marriage and adultery completes what some critics have called the "major phase" of James' career...
by
Henry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
and also starred
Uma ThurmanUma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
and
Jeremy NorthamJeremy Philip Northam is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Ivor Novello in the 2001 film Gosford Park, as Dean Martin in the 2002 television movie Martin and Lewis, and as Thomas More on the Showtime series The Tudors...
. 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. Beckinsale has said that he had "never hit anyone before in his life and it was kind of shocking, but in a weird way it really broke the ice and it was all OK after that. I actually had a good time making the film." Holden noted that "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 that each beat of Beckinsale's performance "registers precisely". Thomas felt her performance would take her to "a new career level".
Andrew SarrisAndrew Sarris is an American film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism.-Career:Sarris is generally credited with popularizing the auteur theory in the U.S...
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."
She rose to fame in 2001 with a leading role in war epic Pearl Harbor as a nurse torn between two pilots, played by
Ben AffleckBenjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
and
Josh HartnettJoshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
. 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." Director
Michael BayMichael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
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". He eventually decided to hire her because she wasn't "too beautiful. Women feel disturbed when they see someone’s too pretty." He asked her to lose weight during filming. In a 2004 interview, the actress noted that his comments were "upsetting" and said she wore leather trousers because "it was snowing out. It wasn't exactly like I had my nipple rings in." 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." However, speaking in 2011, she said was "very fond" of Bay.
Pearl Harbor received very mixed reviews.
Stephen HunterStephen Hunter is an American novelist, essayist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic.-Life and career:Stephen Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, a Northwestern University speech professor who was killed in 1975....
of
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
felt she had "the classic face of a '40s screen goddess" while
Owen GleibermanOwen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
praised "the avid eyed, ruby lipped Kate Beckinsale, the rare actress whose intelligence gives her a sensual bloom; she's like
Parker PoseyParker Christian Posey is an American actress. She became known during the 1990s after a series of roles in several well-received independent films. As a result, she has often been referred to as the "Queen of the Indies"....
without irony."
A. O. ScottAnthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
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." However, McCarthy said that "Beckinsale is all fancy coiffures and thick lipstick in a role that is startlingly undefined" while Mike Clark of
USA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
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."
Her second movie appearance of 2001 was in romantic comedy
SerendipitySerendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom...
as the love interest of
John CusackJohn Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
. It was filmed directly after Pearl Harbour and Beckinsale found it "a real relief to return to something slightly more familiar." 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. Claudia Puig of USA Today felt that "Beckinsale's talents haven't been mined as effectively in any other film since Cold Comfort Farm". McCarthy found her "energetic and appealing" while
Elvis MitchellElvis Mitchell is an American film critic, host of the public radio show The Treatment, and visiting lecturer at Harvard University. He has served as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the LA Weekly, The Detroit Free Press, and The New York Times...
of The New York Times described her as "luminous but determined".
Lisa SchwarzbaumLisa Schwarzbaum is an American film critic. She joined Entertainment Weekly as film critic in the 1990s. She has been featured on CNN, co-host on Siskel & Ebert At the Movies as well as a cultural, theater and television reviewer....
of Entertainment Weekly was won over by the chemistry between the two leads: "Cusack's spicy wry charm is refreshed by Beckinsale's forthright intelligence." In an uncomplimentary review of the film, Ebert described her as "a good actress, but not good enough to play this dumb".
In 2002, she starred in
Lisa CholodenkoLisa Cholodenko is an American film and television writer/director. She is best known for her highly acclaimed 2010 comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right which was nominated for a number of awards including four Academy Awards, Best Picture among them.- Career :Having grown up in a Jewish family ,...
's
Laurel CanyonLaurel Canyon is a 2002 American drama film written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko. The film stars Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone, and Alessandro Nivola.-Plot:...
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 BaleChristian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
, her Prince of Jutland co-star. She found their sex scene awkward because she had known Bale "since I was 17. If it was a stranger, it would have been easier." While Frances MacDormand'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, colorless Alex conveys no inner life". Schwarzbaum was unimpressed by the "tedious" characters and criticised "the fussy performances of Bale and Beckinsale" in particular.
Action heroine roles
She became known as an action star following an appearance as a vampire in 2003's
UnderworldUnderworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and Lycans . It is the first installment in the Underworld series. The main plot revolves around Selene , a vampire who is a Death Dealer hunting Lycans...
. It was markedly different to her previous work and Beckinsale has said she was grateful for the change of pace after appearing in "a bunch of period stuff and then a bunch of romantic comedies." "It was quite a challenge for me to play an action heroine and pull off all that training when [in real life] I can’t catch a ball if it’s coming my way." The film received negative to mixed reviews but was a surprise box office hit and has gained a cult following. Also that year, she starred in the little-seen
TiptoesTiptoes is a 2003 film starring Kate Beckinsale, Matthew McConaughey, and Gary Oldman. The film was screened at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:...
with
Gary OldmanGary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
and
Matthew McConaugheyMatthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
.
In 2004, she starred in action
horror filmHorror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
Van HelsingVan Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
. Beckinsale was "so surprised" to be appearing in her second action movie in two years. "It just seemed like a very good role." Beckinsale had just separated from her long-term partner Michael Sheen at the time of filming and appreciated the warm atmosphere created on set by director
Stephen SommersStephen Sommers is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns. He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the action/horror film Van Helsing, and the 2009 film G.I...
and co-star
Hugh JackmanHugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
: "I really did find that working with people like Stephen and Hugh made it possible to get through what I was going through." The film grossed over $120 million at the United States box office and over $300 million worldwide, but it was not well-reviewed.
Mick LaSalleMick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
of the
San Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
described her as "a pretty actress doing her best to maintain dignity, vainly trying to craft a feminist statement from a filmmaker's whimsy" while
Rex ReedRex Taylor Reed is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.-Life and career:...
of The New York Observer felt she was "desperately in need of a new agent".
Also in 2004, she portrayed
Ava GardnerAva Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
in
Martin ScorseseMartin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's
Howard HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
biopic The Aviator. Scorsese decided to cast Beckinsale because "she’s a beautiful woman, a very good actress. Excellent actress. I’ve always liked her. I’ve seen all her work, and I was glad that she agreed to audition." Beckinsale's performance received mixed reviews.
Ken TuckerKen Tucker was an English footballer who played as a left winger....
of New York Magazine said she played the part "in full va-va-voom blossom" while LaSalle felt that she manages "to convince us that Ava was one of the great broads of all time." However, Clark described it as "the one performance that doesn't come off (though Beckinsale has the requisite beauty)." Hunter said that "though quite beautiful, she never looks enough like La Gardner to register as such".
Peter BradshawPeter Bradshaw is a British writer and film critic. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he was President of Footlights.Bradshaw is a film critic for The Guardian...
of
The GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
stated that "Gardner's rich, voluptuous sexiness is completely absent as Beckinsale sleepwalks through the role as if she was advertising perfume." Travers felt "an underwritten part stalls sassy Kate Beckinsale".
In 2006, Beckinsale reprised her role as Selene in the successful vampire sequel
Underworld: EvolutionUnderworld: Evolution is the second installment in the Underworld series, following Underworld in 2003...
, directed by her husband. It was the first time she had "been involved with a movie from the moment it’s a germ of an idea right through the whole editing process." Her daughter had a small role as the younger Selene, and took direction well: "I didn’t think she would take either of us that seriously. We both envisaged a situation where it would be kind of like trying to get her into a snow suit. She suddenly became highly professional ... She said, “Could you call me Selene?” I certainly don’t insist on being called Selene, so she didn’t get that from me."
Her second movie appearance of 2006 was opposite
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
in Click, a comedy about an overworked family man who discovers a magical remote control that allows him to control time. The opportunity to play a mother "was one of the things that was attractive to me" about the part. The film was also a chance to work with
Christopher WalkenChristopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
: "I remember my daughter running into him in his costume and running back with like the whites of her eyes showing, saying, 'I've seen a man that I don't like.' She actually really warmed up to him though." When asked what moment she would rewind to in her own life, Beckinsale said she would return to her daughter's infant years and know "in advance that I wasn't going to accidentally sit on her and bust her; it would be nice to go back through that in a relaxed frame of mind because she was a great baby."
Return to small-scale drama
Beckinsale then made a return to smaller-scale projects: "My experience is that I sort of stepped away from the independent movies and did a couple of big movies. But that's not necessarily how it's perceived by everybody else, which I do understand." "I enjoy an action movie as much as the next person [but] it’s not something that I would like to do solely." She explained that she had originally decided to appear in Underworld because she felt typecast in classical roles - it was "assumed that I use a chamber pot and wear bloomers" - but that her action career "kind of took off a little too much".
In 2007, she starred opposite
Sam RockwellSam Rockwell is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of...
in the independent drama
Snow AngelsSnow Angels is a 2007 drama film starring Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It was directed by David Gordon Green, who also wrote the screenplay adapted from Stewart O'Nan's 1994 novel of the same title. The film premiered in the dramatic competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...
, based on the novel by
Stewart O'Nan- Life and work :Born on February 4, 1961 to John Lee O'Nan and Mary Ann O'Nan, née Smith. He and his brother were raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
. The harrowing film, in which she played an overwhelmed single mother, put Beckinsale "in kind of a tough place". "I did have my kid, my husband and, in fact, my ex was around a lot, so it was very nice to come home to my people whom I love." Puig felt "Beckinsale gives her best performance in years" while
Richard CorlissRichard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
of
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
described it as "her sharpest work yet". Justin Chang of Variety said she "firmly holds the screen" and noted that her "emotional register expands rewardingly as Annie's rejections of Glenn become angrier and more pronounced." While many critics were initially skeptical of the decision to cast Beckinsale as a working-class single mother, most were won over by her performance. Gleiberman said "Beckinsale, at first, seems miscast (you have to get past her cosmopolitan aura), but she gives a searing and wide-awake performance."
David EdelsteinDavid Edelstein is the chief film critic for New York Magazine, as well as the film critic for NPR's Fresh Air and CBS Sunday Morning. He lives in Brooklyn, New York....
of New York Magazine found her "touchingly unaffected" but noted that her "lissome body and unlined face don’t even suggest the pain of doing badly on her “O” levels, let alone trying to get by as a single mom with an unstable ex-husband". Scott felt that "her skill and discipline cannot overcome the sense that she is an exotic species transplanted into this grim ecosystem. Hard as she works to convince us otherwise, it’s a stretch to believe that a woman with the kind of poised confidence in her own beauty she manifests would wind up with an underachieving mouth breather like Glenn."
Also in 2007, she appeared alongside
Luke WilsonLuke Cunningham Wilson is an American film actor known for his roles in Old School, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde, Idiocracy and Death at a Funeral.-Early life:...
in
VacancyVacancy is a 2007 American horror film, starring Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale. It was distributed by Screen Gems and was released on April 20, 2007. Production was scheduled to commence in August 2006 with Nimród Antal signing on to direct it....
, a thriller set in an isolated motel.
Sarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
was originally cast in the part, but dropped out before filming began. Bradshaw felt that "Wilson and Beckinsale have the chops for scary movies" while Gleiberman noted that "Luke Wilson, with his hangdog defensive mopiness, and Kate Beckinsale, all sexy severity, are ideally matched as a couple who hate each other." However,
Manohla DargisManohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
of The New York Times was unimpressed, referring to Beckinsale as "the reigning queen of the bland
BA B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
's".
In 2008, she appeared in Winged Creatures, a film about how six different witnesses cope with the aftermath of a shooting. Beckinsale played a waitressing single mother in an ensemble cast that included
Dakota FanningHannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
,
Jennifer HudsonJennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
and
Forest WhitakerForest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
. "It was a really, really nice experience but it was quick," said Beckinsale of the filming process. "I just felt a bit like I was shot through a cannon." Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times felt she played the role "with a white-trash verve" and found that her character's "raw ache for that someone with money and respectability is palpable." However, Dargis felt that Beckinsale and her cast mates have "a tough time filling out characters that are at best abstractions of grief and often just clichés".
Also in 2008, she starred in
Nothing but the TruthNothing but the Truth is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Rod Lurie. According to comments made by Lurie in The Truth Hurts, a bonus feature on the DVD release, his inspiration for the screenplay was the case of journalist Judith Miller, who in July 2005 was jailed for contempt of...
as a journalist who refuses to reveal her source. The film, co-starring
Vera FarmigaVera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
and
Matt DillonMatthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
, was inspired by the case of
Judith MillerJudith Miller is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, formerly of the New York Times Washington bureau. Her coverage of Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction program both before and after the 2003 invasion generated much controversy...
. As part of her research for the role, "I spent some time at The L.A. Times with some female reporters, and I spoke to Judith Miller about her experience ... I really researched the hell out of that one and it was an amazingly fulfilling, brilliant experience." Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post asserted that Beckinsale and Farmiga played "two of the most fascinating female movie characters to hit screens in a long while, and they've been brought to life by two gifted actresses, each working at the top of her game". Beckinsale received a Critic's Choice Award nomination for her performance. However, despite strong award season buzz for both Beckinsale and co-star
Vera FarmigaVera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
, the film never received a full theatrical release after the distributor filed for bankruptcy. "I have prayed - prayed - for film companies to go bankrupt on films I've made, and then this happens on the one I love," said Beckinsale. "Usually it's the ones you're most embarrassed about that are on the side of every bus."
In 2009, she starred in the adaption of comic-book Whiteout as a
US MarshalThe United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
tasked with investigating a murder in Antarctica. It was filmed in
ManitobaManitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada which she described as "a beautiful place." She found the action scenes less physically demanding than those in Underworld because "three pairs of trousers and a parka gives you a bit more protection than the latex suit." The film was critically panned and a box office flop, failing to recoup its budget. She also made a brief cameo in prequel
Underworld: Rise of the LycansUnderworld: Rise of the Lycans is a 2009 American film directed by Patrick Tatopoulos. It is the third installment in the Underworld series, focusing primarily on the origins of some characters and the events leading to the Vampire-Lycan war, depicted in the previous films Underworld and...
; she appeared in flashforwards composed of footage from 2003's Underworld.
Also in 2009, she starred in family drama Everybody's Fine alongside
Robert De NiroRobert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
,
Drew BarrymoreDrew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
and Rockwell, her Snow Angels co-star. Beckinsale was excited for the opportunity to work with De Niro whom she had first encountered "years and years ago when I just had Lily and he was putting together a reading of
The Good ShepherdThe Good Shepherd is a 2006 spy film directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, with an extensive supporting cast. Although it is a fictional film loosely based on real events, it is advertised as telling the untold story of the birth of counter-intelligence in the...
. I was in New York because Michael [Sheen] was doing
AmadeusAmadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
. They said, 'Can you do three different accents by tomorrow?' And so I figured out the accents and showed up and De Niro said, 'Yeah, I’m going to invite a few friends.' The friends were like Marty Scorsese and
Chazz PalminteriCalogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri is an American actor and writer, best known for his performances in The Usual Suspects, A Bronx Tale, and his Academy Award nominated role for Best Supporting Actor in Bullets Over Broadway....
. And I thought, 'F--k, I've got this Brooklyn accent to do and all these people from Goodfellas are sitting here.' ... I was sweating, 'Oh my god, I'm from Chiswick, West London. I've got no business being here doing a Brooklyn accent in front of Martin Scorsese. I just want to die.'"
Upcoming projects
After a quiet 2010 and 2011, Beckinsale has three films set for release in 2012. She will reprise her role as Selene in the fourth installment of the vampire franchise Underworld: Awakening. She "wasn’t intending to do another one" but was convinced by the quality of the script: "You really want to see stakes that mean something in these kind of movies. Otherwise, it really is just lots of explosions and people running around in tight clothes."
In crime thriller
ContrabandContraband is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Baltasar Kormákur, starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale. The film is a remake of the Icelandic 2009 film Reykjavík-Rotterdam which Kormákur starred in...
, Beckinsale will play the wife of
Mark WahlbergMark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
, a former criminal who gets forced back into a life of crime after his family are threatened. It is a remake of Icelandic film
Reykjavík-RotterdamReykjavík-Rotterdam is an Icelandic film directed by Óskar Jónasson and starring Baltasar Kormákur.-Plot synopsis:Like a fish on a dry land, Kristofer is stuck in a dull everyday routine, working as a security guard. He got fired from the freight ship he worked on, when he was caught smuggling...
and is directed by the star of the original film,
Baltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
.
Her final appearance of 2012 will be in a remake of sci-fi
action filmAction film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
Total RecallTotal Recall is an upcoming science-fiction action film based on the 1990 film of the same name and the 1966 novelette We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick. It is directed by Len Wiseman and written by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt and Kurt Wimmer. It was first announced in 2009...
, directed by her husband and co-starring
Colin FarrellColin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
and
Jessica BielJessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...
. Beckinsale will star as Lori, a character originally played by
Sharon StoneSharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
.
Modelling work
In addition to acting, Beckinsale has also worked occasionally as a model. In 1997, she appeared in the music video for
George MichaelGeorge Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
's Waltz Away Dreaming. She starred opposite
Orlando BloomOrlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
in a 2002
GapThe Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
television advert, directed by
Cameron CroweCameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
. She appeared in a
Diet CokeDiet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
television advert in 2004, directed by Michael Gondry. She advertised
Absolut VodkaAbsolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Skåne, in southern Sweden. Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard who bought V&S Group from the Swedish government....
in a 2009 print campaign photographed by
Ellen von UnwerthEllen von Unwerth is a photographer and director, specializing in erotic femininity. She worked as a fashion model for ten years herself before moving behind the camera, and now makes fashion, editorial, and advertising photographs.Ellen von Unwerth found fame when she first photographed Claudia...
. She has also promoted
LuxLux is a global brand developed by Unilever. The range of products includes beauty soaps, shower gels, bath additives, hair shampoos and conditioners. Lux started as “Sunlight Flakes” laundry soap in 1899....
shampoo in an Asian television advert.
She was named "England's Number One Beauty" by
Hello!Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
in 2002 and appeared at number 41 in People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People list in 2008. Many publications have included her in their rankings of the world's sexiest women. Esquire named her the Sexiest Woman Alive in 2009. She was at number 22 in
MaximMaxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
's Hot 100 2009 list. She came in at number 41 on
FHMFHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...
s Sexiest Women of 2010 list, having previously appeared at number 15 in their 2009 list and at number 12 in their 2008 list. She has frequently appeared in
AskMen.comAskMen.com is a free online men’s web portal, with international versions in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia.-History:...
's annual list of the 99 Most Desired Women: she was at number 14 in 2011, at number 3 in 2010, at number 10 in 2009 and at number 3 in 2008.
Personal life
Beckinsale had an eight-year relationship with Welsh actor
Michael SheenMichael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
from 1995 until 2003. They met when cast in a touring production of The Seagull in early 1995 and moved in together shortly afterwards. She has said it was "love at first sight" and that he saved her from "a hospital for the criminally insane". In 1997, they appeared in a radio production of Romeo and Juliet. Their daughter, Lily Mo, was born in London, England on 31 January 1999. The actress has said she was "embarrassed" that Sheen never proposed but remarked, "If you keep a library book out long enough, you feel it's yours."
Their relationship ended in early 2003, after the filming of Underworld. Beckinsale had persuaded director
Len WisemanLen Ryan Wiseman is an American film director best known for his work on the Underworld series and Live Free or Die Hard. His latest project, Total Recall, is set for release in summer 2012...
to cast Sheen in the film but, while on set, she and Wiseman (who was married) fell in love. All parties have maintained there was no infidelity and Beckinsale and Wiseman both remain friends with Sheen. "We were very lucky in that we didn't have an acrimonious split. We are still very close and [our daughter] sees us around each other." "I love him dearly – I would miss him dreadfully if he wasn't in my life."
She relocated with her daughter from London to Los Angeles in 2003 to live with Wiseman. She has said she is "a fish out of water" in LA but that residing in London would be impractical for Wiseman's career. They married in 2004 at the Hotel Bel-Air in California, choosing a passage from
Philip PullmanPhilip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer from Norwich. He is the best-selling author of several books, most notably his trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, and his fictionalised biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ...
's
The Amber SpyglassThe Amber Spyglass is the third and final novel in the His Dark Materials series, written by English author Philip Pullman, and published in 2000....
as their first reading. While she is not religious, she has said it was "very nice to be asked [to get married], which I wasn't in my previous relationship". Since their marriage, Wiseman has directed her in two further films: an Underworld sequel and Total Recall. She has no plans for more children: "Maybe I will at some point but I feel I have everything I want. Lily is the perfect child ... I am my mum and dad’s only child so I don’t really have the mindset for more children."
She does not drink alcohol, "not because I’m an alcoholic, I just don’t really like it": "If I drank a whole glass of red wine I would have Chekhovian despair the next day." She has smoked since the age of sixteen, but stopped for three years after becoming pregnant with her daughter. She has since said, "I’d be insufferable if I didn’t smoke. You’d have to push me off a balcony I’d be so boring.”
The
British Heart FoundationThe British Heart Foundation is a charity organisation in Britain that funds research, education, care and awareness campaigns aimed to prevent heart diseases in humans.-Foundation:...
has been her charity of choice "ever since I was six years old". She is also a supporter of the
Epidermolysis BullosaEpidermolysis bullosa is an inherited connective tissue disease causing blisters in the skin and mucosal membranes, with an incidence of 1/50,000. Its severity ranges from mild to lethal. It is caused by a mutation in the keratin or collagen gene....
Medical Research Foundation, MediCinema, Habitat For Humanity and the
Entertainment Industry FoundationThe Entertainment Industry Foundation , based in Los Angeles, is a 501 non-profit and the leading charitable organization of the entertainment industry...
. In 2008, she hosted the 4th Annual Pink Party to raise funds for the Women’s Cancer Research Institute at
Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterOriginally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
and organised a screening of
All About EveAll About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
for
FilmAid InternationalFilmAid International is a non-profit humanitarian organization that uses the power of film to address the needs of displaced people around the world. The organization was founded in 1999 to help people in Macedonia who had fled from their homes in Kosovo. With the encouragement of the United...
.
Filmography
Film
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1993 |
Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a 1993 British/American romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play. It was adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played the role of Benedick....
|
Hero |
|
| 1994 |
Uncovered Uncovered is a 1994 film based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Flanders Panel. It was directed by Jim McBride. The leading actress was Kate Beckinsale as the main character Julia.-Plot:...
|
Julia |
|
| 1994 |
Prince of Jutland Prince of Jutland is a 1994 film adaptation of the Danish legend of prince Amleth, drawing upon the 11th century works of Saxo Grammaticus, which was also the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet....
|
Ethel |
|
| 1995 |
Marie-Louise Ou La Permission |
Marie-Louise |
|
| 1995 |
Cold Comfort Farm |
Flora Poste |
|
| 1995 |
Haunted |
Christina Mariell |
|
| 1997 |
Shooting Fish Shooting Fish is a 1997 British film co-written by Richard Holmes and Stefan Schwartz. Holmes produced and Schwartz directed. It co-starred Dan Futterman and Stuart Townsend as two con men with Kate Beckinsale as their unwilling assistant. It was produced by Winchester Films and partly funded by...
|
Georgie |
|
| 1998 |
The Last Days of Disco The Last Days of Disco is a 1998 sardonic comedy-drama film written and directed by Whit Stillman and loosely based on his travels and experiences in various nightclubs in Manhattan, including Studio 54. The film concerns a group of Ivy League and Hampshire graduates falling in and out of love in...
|
Charlotte Pingress |
|
| 1998 |
Alice Through the Looking Glass |
Alice |
|
| 1999 |
Brokedown Palace Brokedown Palace is an American film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. It deals with two American friends imprisoned in Thailand for drug smuggling. Because it presents a critical view of the Thai legal system, most scenes were filmed in the Philippines;...
|
Darlene Davis |
|
| 2001 |
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
|
Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson |
|
| 2001 |
Serendipity Serendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom...
|
Sara Thomas |
|
| 2001 |
The Golden Bowl The Golden Bowl is a 2000 American/British/French drama film directed by James Ivory. The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is based on the 1904 novel of the same title by Henry James, who considered the work his masterpiece.-Plot:...
|
Maggie Verver |
|
| 2002 |
Laurel CanyonLaurel Canyon is a 2002 American drama film written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko. The film stars Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone, and Alessandro Nivola.-Plot:...
|
Alex Elliot |
|
| 2003 |
UnderworldUnderworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and Lycans . It is the first installment in the Underworld series. The main plot revolves around Selene , a vampire who is a Death Dealer hunting Lycans...
|
SeleneSelene is a fictional character from the Underworld film series. She is the main protagonist in both Underworld and Underworld: Evolution, portrayed by Kate Beckinsale and also by Beckinsale's daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, in Underworld: Evolution in flashback scenes as a child. Selene was created by...
|
|
| 2003 |
Tiptoes Tiptoes is a 2003 film starring Kate Beckinsale, Matthew McConaughey, and Gary Oldman. The film was screened at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:...
|
Carol |
|
| 2004 |
The Aviator |
Ava GardnerAva Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
|
|
| 2004 |
Van Helsing Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
|
Anna Valerious |
|
| 2006 |
Click |
Donna Newman |
|
| 2006 |
Underworld: EvolutionUnderworld: Evolution is the second installment in the Underworld series, following Underworld in 2003...
|
Selene |
|
| 2007 |
VacancyVacancy is a 2007 American horror film, starring Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale. It was distributed by Screen Gems and was released on April 20, 2007. Production was scheduled to commence in August 2006 with Nimród Antal signing on to direct it....
|
Amy Fox |
|
| 2007 |
Snow Angels Snow Angels is a 2007 drama film starring Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It was directed by David Gordon Green, who also wrote the screenplay adapted from Stewart O'Nan's 1994 novel of the same title. The film premiered in the dramatic competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...
|
Annie Marchand |
|
| 2008 |
Nothing but the Truth Nothing but the Truth is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Rod Lurie. According to comments made by Lurie in The Truth Hurts, a bonus feature on the DVD release, his inspiration for the screenplay was the case of journalist Judith Miller, who in July 2005 was jailed for contempt of...
|
Rachel Armstrong |
|
| 2008 |
Fragments |
Carla Davenport |
|
| 2009 |
Whiteout |
Carrie Stetko |
|
| 2009 |
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is a 2009 American film directed by Patrick Tatopoulos. It is the third installment in the Underworld series, focusing primarily on the origins of some characters and the events leading to the Vampire-Lycan war, depicted in the previous films Underworld and...
|
SeleneSelene is a fictional character from the Underworld film series. She is the main protagonist in both Underworld and Underworld: Evolution, portrayed by Kate Beckinsale and also by Beckinsale's daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, in Underworld: Evolution in flashback scenes as a child. Selene was created by...
|
Previously recorded flashforwards only |
| 2009 |
Everybody's Fine |
Amy |
|
| 2012 |
Contraband Contraband is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Baltasar Kormákur, starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale. The film is a remake of the Icelandic 2009 film Reykjavík-Rotterdam which Kormákur starred in...
|
Kate Farraday |
Post-production |
| 2012 |
Underworld: Awakening |
SeleneSelene is a fictional character from the Underworld film series. She is the main protagonist in both Underworld and Underworld: Evolution, portrayed by Kate Beckinsale and also by Beckinsale's daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, in Underworld: Evolution in flashback scenes as a child. Selene was created by...
|
Post-production |
| 2012 |
Total Recall Total Recall is an upcoming science-fiction action film based on the 1990 film of the same name and the 1966 novelette We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick. It is directed by Len Wiseman and written by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt and Kurt Wimmer. It was first announced in 2009...
|
Lori |
Post-production |
Television
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1991 |
Devices and Desires Devices and Desires is a 1989 detective novel in the Adam Dalgliesh series by P. D. James. It takes place on Larksoken, an isolated headland in Norfolk.-Plot overview:...
|
Young Alice Mair |
ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
One episode |
| 1991 |
One Against the Wind |
Barbe Lindell |
Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
/CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Film |
| 1992 |
Rachel's Dream |
Rachel |
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
|
| 1993 |
Anna Lee: Headcase |
Thea Hahn |
ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
|
| 1996 |
Emma |
Emma Woodhouse |
ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Film |
| 1998 |
Alice Through the Looking Glass |
Alice |
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
Film |
Stage
- The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
(as Nina), Theatre Royal, BathThe Theatre Royal in Bath, England, is over 200 years old. It is one of the more important theatres in the United Kingdom outside London, with capacity for an audience of around 900....
and Tour, 1995
- Sweetheart (as Toni), Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, 1996
- Clocks and Whistles (as Anne), The Bush
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
, 1996
Radio
- Narrated Emma
Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners' among...
(1997) for Hodder & Stoughton AudioBooksHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
- Narrated Diana Hendry's The Proposal (1997) for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
- Appeared as Juliet in the Naxos AudioBooks
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
's production of Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
(1997)
Awards and nominations
| Year |
Award |
Award ceremony |
Film |
Result |
| 1997 |
Best Actress |
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival |
Shooting Fish Shooting Fish is a 1997 British film co-written by Richard Holmes and Stefan Schwartz. Holmes produced and Schwartz directed. It co-starred Dan Futterman and Stuart Townsend as two con men with Kate Beckinsale as their unwilling assistant. It was produced by Winchester Films and partly funded by...
|
Won |
| 1999 |
British Supporting Actress of the Year (tied with Minnie DriverMinnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life...
for Good Will HuntingGood Will Hunting is a 1997 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård...
) |
London Critics Circle Film Awards |
The Last Days of Disco The Last Days of Disco is a 1998 sardonic comedy-drama film written and directed by Whit Stillman and loosely based on his travels and experiences in various nightclubs in Manhattan, including Studio 54. The film concerns a group of Ivy League and Hampshire graduates falling in and out of love in...
|
Won |
| 2002 |
Best Actress |
Saturn Award The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
|
Serendipity Serendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom...
|
Nominated |
| 2004 |
Best Actress |
Saturn Award The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
|
UnderworldUnderworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and Lycans . It is the first installment in the Underworld series. The main plot revolves around Selene , a vampire who is a Death Dealer hunting Lycans...
|
Nominated |
| 2004 |
Best Trans-Atlantic Breakthrough Performer |
MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general...
|
|
Nominated |
| 2005 |
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with the cast) |
Screen Actors Guild Awards A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
|
The Aviator |
Nominated |
| 2005 |
Favorite Female Action Movie Star |
People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is voted on by the general public. The People's Choice Awards air on CBS and are produced by Procter & Gamble and Survivor magnate Mark Burnett...
|
|
Nominated |
| 2006 |
Best Hero |
MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general...
|
Underworld: EvolutionUnderworld: Evolution is the second installment in the Underworld series, following Underworld in 2003...
|
Nominated |
| 2006 |
Favorite Female Action Star |
People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is voted on by the general public. The People's Choice Awards air on CBS and are produced by Procter & Gamble and Survivor magnate Mark Burnett...
|
|
Nominated |
| 2008 |
Best Actress |
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award |
Nothing But the Truth Nothing but the Truth is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Rod Lurie. According to comments made by Lurie in The Truth Hurts, a bonus feature on the DVD release, his inspiration for the screenplay was the case of journalist Judith Miller, who in July 2005 was jailed for contempt of...
|
Nominated |
External links