Kate Beckinsale

July 26, 1973.

London, England.

Beckinsale has married her "Underworld" director Len Wiseman in Las Vegas on May 8, 2004 after her film "Van Helsing" opened in the number one spot in the U.S. box office. She has a five year old daugher fathered by former partner on nine years, actor Michael Sheen. Her father is famed English television actor Richard Beckinsale.

For more of Kate Beckinsale, see our photo gallery.

English actress Kate Beckinsale has caught the attention of audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. The talented actress is equally at home in independent film and blockbuster action films. Becksinale is the daughter of a BBC casting director and famed television actor Richard Beckinsale (known for roles on Porridge and Rising Damp). In 1993, while still a student at Oxford, Beckinsale was cast in Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado About Nothing." She followed the film with a starring role in John Schlesinger's farce "Cold Comfort Farm." and quirky romantic comedy "Shooting Fish." Beckinsale then graced American movie screens in Whit Stillman's indie drama "The Last Days of Disco."

The following year, Beckinsale, in addition to giving birth to a daughter (fathered by Michael Sheen), starred in her first big-budget film "Brokedown Palace." She became a true Hollywood star after she was cast opposite Ben Affleck in "Pearl Harbor." She co-starred with John Cusack in the hit romantic comedy "Serendipity." But soon after, Beckinsale went back to independents with a key, but supporting role in Lisa Cholendenko's "Laurel Canyon" as a PhD candidate who gets seduced by rock n roll producer Franced McDorman and her young lover Allesandro Nivola.

Beckinsale portrayed Ava Garndner in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" co-starring with Leonardo Di Caprio and Cate Blanchett. She is currently best known for her erotic portrayal of Selene, an aristrocratic, leather clad vampire in Les Wiseman's "Underworld." The film was a major hit; the sequel "Underworld" Evolution" opened in the number one spot.

Beckisnale will next be seen in "Click," starring opposite Adam Sandler.