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Kate Beckinsale - Biography |
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Kate Beckinsale is poised for major
stardom. Already a huge hit in Britain, her role in what looks to be
2001's summer blockbuster, Pearl Harbor, has her set to be Hollywood's
next big thing. The road to stardom, however, hasn't been easy.
Kate had acting in her blood; her mother Judy Loe is a casting director
for the BBC and has appeared in numerous British sitcoms, and father
Richard Beckinsale rose to comedic fame in Britain. Growing up in a famous
household had its perks.
Kate was able to attend exclusive schools growing up, enrolling at
Flexlands Private School in London. Kate started flexing her creative
muscle early, beginning ballet lessons and getting involved in numerous
creative writing avenues. She went on to win the W.H. Smith Young Writer's
competition twice in her teens.
But in 1979, tragedy struck. Her father died of a heart attack, leaving
Kate's mother to raise the 6 year old alone. This coupled with normal
teenage growth and development saw Kate battle through anorexia and
eventually develop a fairly chronic smoking habit, which she currently
maintains. She was able to fight off the anorexia, but the disorder caused
her teenage years to be tumultuous ones.
In 1991, however, life took a positive turn, as Kate nailed a role in the
television film Once Against the Wind. Kate had decided that she might
want to follow in her parents' footsteps and become an actress on her own
accord, and this role was perfect for her. However, it didn't fully
convince her, so she decided to pursue a career via college. She applied
and matriculated at New College Oxford, where she studied French and
Russian literature.
It was during her third year that she made the decision to leave school to
pursue acting full time. She had been studying abroad in Paris, and the
time away from the crunch of schoolwork and demands of college life gave
her some space to evaluate the direction her life was taking. She decided
that her heart lie in acting, so she abandoned her education and chose to
focus solely on her passion.
Her choice turned out to be a good one. She finally hit the big time in
her role as hero in Kenneth Branagh's 1993 Much Ado About Nothing. The
film was Kate's first to receive international appeal, and exposured her
to the critical American audience. She continued working on a number of
films in Britain, but two subsequent Hollywood releases would prove
pivotal stepping stones. The Last Days of Disco, an odd film that received
reviews across the board was important, but her role in the Claire Dane's
film Brokedown Palace, although not a box office success, nor critical
success for that matter, simply offered up the exposure this British lass
was searching for.
After that, all it took was a little fate. For some reason, Charlize
Theron, an actress who seems to be unable to refuse any role pushed her
way (she admits disappointment over being passed over in favor of
Elizabeth Berkely for Showgirls) pulled out of Pearl Harbor. Her decision
to pull out in favor of Sweet Novemeber ranks right up there with Janeane
Garofalo's decision to pass on the role of Gail Weathers in the Scream
trilogy in favor of a film that eventually went straight to video.
Nonetheless, the producers scrambled to replace Theron and chose Kate. The
film promises to expand Kate's audience and showcase her talent.
Off the screen, Kate formally dated aviation legend Eugene Pascual, and
the two were engaged but never married. Kate and actor Michael Sheen have
a daughter together, Lily Mo Sheen (born January 31, 1999). In June 2003,
she became engaged to the director of Underworld, Len Wiseman, and the two
were married on May 9, 2004 in Bel-Air, California. |
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Kate Beckinsale - Personal Quotes |
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"If someone had told me years
ago that sharing a sense of humour was so vital to partnerships, I
could have avoided a lot of sex!"
"No one is more enslaved than a slave who doesn't think they're
enslaved."
"Everybody likes the underdog, because everybody feels like the
underdog. No matter how successful you are, you always think, No
one's being nice enough to me!"
"I try and take lots of vitamins and I don't drink. I do smoke,
though, I'd be insufferable if I didn't smoke, you'd have to push me
off a balcony I'd be so boring",
"With every project you do, you bring out a part of yourself, and it
seems to be quite a good way of expanding a person."
"Apparently, I get facials and manicures all the time. I read this
and think, 'Oh, I wish I did that!' I don't think I've had a facial
since I was 19. When I shave my legs, I use my child's shampoo and a
razor - if I can find one. If I did everything they said I did, I
would never see Lily."
"I dropped out of Oxford, and now I only speak Russian with the
woman who gives me a bikini-wax. See what Hollywood does to you?"
"I think, at 19, I was very grown-up in certain ways and extremely
not so in others. If I had come on to a movie set at that 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."
"I look at how Keira Knightley is coiffed when she attends events. I
remember going to Cannes with Much Ado About Nothing (1993) when I
was 18, and nobody told me, 'Oh, here's a make-up artist or, 'This
person wants to dress you, what clothes are you wearing?' It just
wasn't like that when I started. Nobody even told me I could bring a
friend! I just sort of showed up in a very expensive pair of
trousers I bought in Harvey Nichols, and something I bought in the
Sock Shop at the airport. But Keira Knightley has like full hair and
make- up and a proper outfit and I think, 'Wow, she's not going to
have the before photos I had to endure!' She's really lucky".
"I don't think he liked being in a cage and wouldn't stop
masturbating and humping his bowl." about her daughter's pet rabbit
"It's the only time my education has come in remotely handy." -on
using her Russian literature studies for copying her "Van Helsing"
script into Russian to acquire a Slavic accent. |
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Kate Beckinsale - Filmography |
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Whiteout (2008/II) .... Carrie
Stetko
Winged Creatures (2008)
Vacancy (2007) .... Amy Fox
Snow Angels (2007) .... Annie
Click (2006/I) .... Donna Newman
Underworld: Evolution (2006) .... Selene
The Aviator (2004) .... Ava Gardner
Van Helsing (2004) .... Anna Valerious
Tiptoes (2003) .... Carol
... aka Tiny Tiptoes (France)
Underworld (2003) .... Selene
... aka Underworld (Germany)
Laurel Canyon (2002) .... Alex
Serendipity (2001) .... Sara Thomas
Pearl Harbor (2001) .... Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson
... aka Pearl Harbour (UK: promotional title)
The Golden Bowl (2000) .... Maggie Verver
... aka Coupe d'or, La (France)
Brokedown Palace (1999) .... Darlene Davis
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998) (TV) .... Alice
The Last Days of Disco (1998) .... Charlotte Pingress
Shooting Fish (1997) .... Georgie
Emma (1996) (TV) .... Emma Woodhouse
Haunted (1995) .... Christina Mariell
Marie-Louise ou la permission (1995) .... Marie-Louise
Cold Comfort Farm (1995) (TV) .... Flora Poste
Prince of Jutland (1994) .... Ethel
... aka Amled, prinsen af Jylland (Denmark)
... aka Prinsen af Jylland (Denmark: video title)
... aka Royal Deceit (USA)
Uncovered (1994) .... Julia
... aka Tabla de Flandes, La (Spain)
Much Ado About Nothing (1993) .... Hero
Anna Lee: Headcase (1993) (TV) .... Thea Hahn
Rachel's Dream (1992) (TV) .... Rachel
One Against the Wind (1991) (TV) .... Barbe Lindell
"Devices and Desires" (1991) (mini) TV Series (voice) .... Young
Alice Mair |
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Kate Beckinsale - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Kate Beckinsale
YouTube: Kate Beckinsale
Kate Beckinsale at Celebs, Inc.
Kate Beckinsale at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
Cafe |
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