Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress. She first gained notice, while a student at Oxford University, for making her debut in the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Throughout the 1990s, she worked on both film and television, most notably by portraying the title character in the 1996 ITV television series Emma. In 2001, Beckinsale garnered international recognition when she was cast as the romantic lead opposite Ben Affleck in her breakthrough film, Pearl Harbor (2001). Since then, she has portrayed a variety of characters in projects such as Underworld (2003), The Aviator (2004), and Van Helsing (2004). In 2008, she earned a Critic's Choice Award nomination for her performance in Nothing But the Truth. 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 opposite Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. The film was one of the highest-grossing films of its year. In the years following, she appeared in a series of American films that, while high-profile, were given mixed reviews, including Serendipity (2001), Underworld (2003) and Van Helsing (2004). In 2004, she portrayed Ava Gardner in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, a role for which she gained 20 pounds. 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. The film opened in the #1 spot at the box office, grossing over $26 million in its first weekend of release. Also in 2006, Beckinsale appeared in the comedy Click, starring Adam Sandler, which opened on 23 June. Next, Beckinsale replaced Sarah Jessica Parker in the film Vacancy, released in 2007. She also appeared in a diet coke advertisement in 2007. Her next role was in Snow Angels, which was released in 2008. At Comic-Con 2007, Beckinsale expressed interest in playing Catwoman in the current Christopher Nolan-directed Batman films. Beckinsale is Esquire magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive 2009. She is signed to Independent Models in London. As of 2009, Beckinsale's movies have grossed a total of $801,678,915 in the US. Beckinsale is also scheduled to appear in Underworld 4 in 2012. Askmen.com ranked Beckinsale 3rd in their annual list of the "Top 99 Women of 2010". Beckinsale and her former partner Michael Sheen have a daughter, Lily Mo Sheen (born 31 January 1999). Beckinsale does smoke but she has reported in interviews that the only time she stopped smoking was while she was pregnant with her daughter Lily. Her daughter already has acting experience portraying a young version of her mother in Underworld: Evolution and Everybody's Fine. During the Underworld shoot, Beckinsale left Sheen, who was also starring in the film, for the director of the film, Len Wiseman. Beckinsale became engaged to Wiseman on 14 June 2003, and the two were married on 9 May 2004 in Bel-Air, California.
