Born and raised in London, Beckinsale is the child of actor Richard Beckinsale (1947–1979) and actress Judy Loe.
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Beckinsale decided at a young age that she wanted to be an actress
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After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing (1993) while still a student at Oxford University.
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She then appeared in British costume dramas such as Prince of Jutland (1994), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Emma (1996) and The Golden Bowl (2000), in addition to various stage and radio productions.
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She began to seek film work in the United States in the late 1990s and, after appearing in small-scale dramas The Last Days of Disco (1998) and Brokedown Palace (1999), she had a breakout year in 2001 with starring roles in the war film Pearl Harbor and the romantic comedy Serendipity.
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She built on this success with appearances in the bio-pic The Aviator (2004) and the comedy Click (2006).
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Beckinsale became known as an action star following an appearance as a vampire in 2003's Underworld
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Beckinsale has since starred in many action films, including Van Helsing (2004), Underworld: Evolution (2006), Whiteout (2009), Contraband (2012), Underworld: Awakening (2012) and Total Recall (2012).
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She also makes occasional appearances in smaller dramatic projects such as Snow Angels (2007), Winged Creatures (2008), Nothing but the Truth (for which she earned a Critic's Choice Award nomination in 2008) and Everybody's Fine (2009).
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Beckinsale was named "England's Number One Beauty" by Hello! in 2002 and appeared at number 41 in People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People list in 2008
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She married American film director Len Wiseman in 2004 and they live in Brentwood, Los Angeles
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She had an eight-year relationship with Welsh actor Michael Sheen from 1995 until 2003; they have one daughter.
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Beckinsale returned to work in 2012 with appearances in three action films. Beckinsale first appeared in the action thriller Contraband
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Publications such as Esquire and People Magazine have repeatedly included Beckinsale in their annual rankings of the world's sexiest and most beautiful women.
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Beckinsale has worked occasionally as a model
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Esquire named her the Sexiest Woman Alive in 2009.She was at number 22 in Maxim's Hot 100 2009 list.
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She has frequently appeared in AskMen.com's annual list of the 99 Most Desired Women
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She has worked in television and print campaigns to promote Gap denim, Diet Coke, Absolut Vodka and Lux shampoo.
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She currently apppears in Total Recall (2012) and will next appear in the legal drama The Trials of McCall.
