Kate Beckinsale was born July 26, 1973, in London, England, and she is the daughter of the famous British actress Judy Loe and actor Richard Beckinsale.

As the daughter of comic Richard Beckinsale (who died when she was five years old) and actress Judy Loe, it was perhaps inevitable that she would eventually find her way to the limelight. Beckinsale, however, spent a good portion of her teen years struggling with an eating disorder (of which she has spoken frankly in interviews) before she decided to try her hand at acting.

Her first professional performance was a small voice-over as the tormented Alice Mair in a TV adaptation of PD James' "Devices And Desires". Then, there was "Rachel's Dream", a 30 minute serial for TV, where she portrayed a concerned environmentalist. Kate's first big break, was when she appeared in "One Against The Wind", starring Judy Davis and Sam Neil.

Kate Beckinsale played the title role of A&E’s "Emma" from the same producer of their critically acclaimed production of "Pride and Prejudice." Directed by Diarmuid Lawrence, the film featured an all-star British cast, including Mark Strong, Samantha Morton, Prunella Scales, Samantha Bond, Olivia Williams and James Hazeldine.