About Kate

Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale was born on July 26th, 1973 in London to Judy Loe, a stage and television actress, and Richard Beckinsale, a television actor who died in 1979 at the age of 31, and has spent most of her life in London. She has a half-sister who's also an actress; they only met briefly when Kate was very young and didn't cross paths again until 1995.

Beckinsale attended the private Godolphin and Latymer School, and in her teens twice won the W. H. Smith Young Writers' competition—once for three short stories and once for three poems. 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 thought that having an academic background studying foreign language and literature would broaden her range of acting roles.