Samantha Beckinsale

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Samantha Beckinsale
Born
Samantha-Jane Beckinsale

(1966-07-23) 23 July 1966 (age 57)
OccupationActress
Years active1986–present
Parents
Relatives Kate Beckinsale (half-sister)
Judy Loe (stepmother)

Samantha-Jane Beckinsale (born 23 July 1966),[ citation needed ] known professionally as Samantha Beckinsale and Sam Beckinsale, is a British actress. She played firefighter Kate Stevens in London's Burning .

Contents

Early life

Beckinsale is the only daughter of actor Richard Beckinsale and his first wife, Margaret ( née Bradley). They divorced when Beckinsale was a young child and she did not see her father for years. Samantha was unaware that her father was Richard Beckinsale until she was 11 the same year he married actress Judy Loe. [1] Beckinsale and her father reconnected and spent time together, before his death in 1979. [2] She is half-sister of Kate Beckinsale, her father's daughter with Loe. [3] She studied drama at Clarendon College, Nottingham.

Television

In 1990, Beckinsale was chosen by LWT to play firefighter Kate Stevens in ITV's drama series London's Burning , which ran from 1986 to 2002. [4] In 1989, Beckinsale guest-starred as WPC Martin in an episode of Thames Television's Never the Twain . Shortly after this, she was given the role of Lesley in the final three series of Thames Television's Shelley. In 1994, she was chosen by LWT to play the role of Gillian in the sitcom Time After Time which lasted two series.

In 1997, Beckinsale starred as Jilly Howell in the short-lived sitcom Get Well Soon and in 1998 she was chosen by LWT to play the role of Gillian Monroe in the short-lived sitcom Duck Patrol with Richard Wilson.

Personal life

In 2022, Beckinsale came forward as a survivor of domestic abuse. [5] She is a patron of the Broxtowe Women's Project, which offers support for women suffering from domestic abuse. [6] She wrote and produced a docudrama titled Love? which deals with coercive control in relationships. [7] [ better source needed ]

Television and film roles

YearTitleRole
1989Agatha Christie's Poirot – The Adventure of Johnny WaverlyBarmaid
1989 to 1992 Shelley Lesley
1990 to 1992London's BurningFirefighter Kate Stevens
1994 to 1995 Time After Time Gillian
1995Jake's ProgressBlue Eyes
1996BugsPascal
1996Coronation StreetLorraine Mason
1997 Get Well Soon Jilly Howell
1998Duck PatrolGillian Marilyn Monroe
1999 Nancherrow Nesta Carew
1999Dangerfield DS Katie Webb
2000The Blind DatePatty
2001Out of the AshesSarah
2002Murder in MindChristine
2004 Lighthouse Hill Sally
2004DoctorsSusan Marshall
2004 to 2005Holby CityMaggie Thornton
2005HeartbeatElsa Jenner
2005 Marian, Again Josie Bevan
2006The Penalty KingMaddie Vaughan
2014 Katherine of Alexandria Vita

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References

  1. Brennan, Zoe (16 March 1995). "Samantha has a burning need to be secretive about her life". Daily Express.
  2. Clayton, David (2008). The Richard Beckinsale Story. Stroud: History Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN   978-0-7509-5061-9.
  3. "Kate Beckinsale: English pearl". BBC News. 1 June 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  4. "Profile – Kate Stevens (Samantha Beckinsale)". Londons-burning.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  5. Roberts, Yvonne (24 April 2022). "A TV star, a chief inspector: abuse survivors look the world in the eye in remarkable project". The Guardian . Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  6. "Actor Sam Beckinsale Becomes Nottinghamshire Charity's Inaugural Patron". BroxtoweWomensProject.org.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  7. "Love?". IMDb .