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Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973 in London, Great-Britain) is an English actress. Her best known films include Pearl Harbor (2001), Serendipity (2001), Underworld (2003-present), Van Helsing (2004), Click (2006), and Nothing But the Truth (2008).

Born in Finsbury Park, London, Beckinsale is the daughter of actor Richard Beckinsale, who died from a heart attack in 1979, and actress Judy Loe. Her paternal great-grandfather was Burmese, and she has said that she was "very oriental-looking" as a child.

Beckinsale attended the Godolphin and Latymer School, in London. In her teens, Beckinsale twice won the W. H. Smith Young Writers' competition — once for three short stories and once for three poems. She won the Youth's Burp for Fame burping contest at age 16. After a rebellious adolescence, including a period of anorexia and starting a smoking habit, she followed in the footsteps of her parents and began her acting career. Her first role was in One Against the Wind, a television film about World War II that was first aired in 1991. Having gained three language A levels, Beckinsale studied French and Russian literature at New College, Oxford University, though she did not finish her degree.

She spent her last year of studies in Paris, after which she decided to leave the university and concentrate on her acting career. In 1994, she had a supporting role in Prince of Jutland. Kate starred in Haunted (1995) and in the 1996 TV film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. She subsequently appeared in a few low-profile films, including Shooting Fish and The Last Days of Disco, both in 1998. During this time, Beckinsale also appeared in television films and in stage roles, including the well-received Cold Comfort Farm, opposite British film and television notables Ian McKellen, Rufus Sewell, Eileen Atkins, Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry.

Beckinsale's first major American film, Brokedown Palace (1999), was not a commercial success. Soon after, Beckinsale was cast in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor as the female lead, after Charlize Theron turned down the part. In the years following, she appeared in a series of american films, including Serendipity (2001), Underworld (2003) and Van Helsing (2004). In 2004, she portrayed Ava Gardner in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.

In 2006, Beckinsale was placed at #23 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World", after being #71 in 2005. She has also been placed at #16 in Maxim's "HOT 100" (2003), #63 in Stuff's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002), and was chosen by the English magazine Hello! as "England’s #1 Beauty", also in 2002.

In January 2006, Beckinsale reprised her role as a vampire in the movie Underworld: Evolution, a sequel to her 2003 film, Underworld, again directed by her husband, Len Wiseman. Also in 2006, Beckinsale appeared in the comedy Click, starring Adam Sandler.

Kate Beckinsale is Esquire Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive 2009. She is signed to Independent Models in London.

Beckinsale and her then-partner Michael Sheen have a daughter, Lily Mo Sheen (born 31 January 1999). Her daughter has acted, portraying a young version of her mother in most roles, including Underworld: Evolution and Everybody's Fine. During the Underworld shoot, Beckinsale split from Sheen, who was also starring in the film. She became involved with the director of the film, Len Wiseman. In June 2003, Beckinsale became engaged to Wiseman, and the two were married on 9 May 2004 in Bel-Air, California.

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