Actors Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen were one of Hollywood's A-list couples in the late '90s and early '00s. While they ended their eight-year relationship in 2003, they are still in each other's lives, thanks to their daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, who turned 22 this past January. And now, Lily has been bitten by the acting bug and is following in her parents' footsteps. To see what the former couple's daughter is up to now and to hear more about the Beckinsale-Sheen family, read on.
Lily is an actor and college student.
Lily had her first film role when she was six, appearing in 2006’s Underworld: Evolution, which Beckinsale starred in. She then appeared in Click that same year and in Everybody’s Fine in 2009, two films that also featured her mom.
But now, as an adult, Lily, who is studying at New York University, is taking on her first movie role sans-mom. She has a part in an upcoming Nicolas Cage film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which is set to be released later this year.
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Beckinsale and Sheen aren't thrilled about their daughter becoming an actor.
Dave M. Benett/Getty Images for BurberryWhile some parents love to see their kids follow in their footsteps, the same can't be said for Lily's mom and dad. "Michael and I have accepted our failure in not producing a nice doctor, but acting is what she wants to do," Beckinsale told The Daily Mail in April 2019.
The actor also discussed her concern about the kind of attention Lily would receive by choosing a career in Hollywood, due to the scrutiny of being a celebrity.
"She's very good at it [acting], but it's a different decision now than when I went into the profession," Beckinsale said. "I naively thought being an actor meant you would just be, well, acting."
Beckinsale recalled that when she went to the premiere of one of her early films in 1993, Much Ado About Nothing, the red carpet experience wasn't what it was today. She wasn't asked about why she didn't have plus one or if she was wearing makeup at the event, she said. "There's something I sort of miss about those days because the point of being an actor is acting after all, and the rest of the stuff is a very different animal that some of us aren't very comfortable with, so I do worry about that for Lily," Beckinsale explained.
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Beckinsale and her daughter have a very close relationship.
ShutterstockBeckinsale was also the only child of her mother, actor Judy Loe, who raised her as a single parent after her husband, actor Richard Beckinsale, passed away in 1979. "I am my mother's only child and Lily is my only child, and that's a very intense relationship," Beckinsale told The Daily Mail. "I'm quite similar to my mother and Lily is quite similar to me, and in those circumstances, it's important the child is able to have her own personality and her own life."
While Lily has been off living her life at college, Beckinsale, who lives in Los Angeles, communicates with her frequently. Earlier this year, Beckinsale even shared a screenshot of one of their text message exchanges on Instagram, where Lily said that she had a dream that her mom got pregnant with twins after a one-night stand with 80-year-old actor Nick Nolte.
While Beckinsale told Lily that this was "by far the meanest text" she ever received from her daughter, she still joked in the caption of the post that "it's just nice to know you're on your child's mind really."
Lily's dad has also made his relationship with her a priority.
In a Feb. 2010 interview with The Guardian, Michael explained how important it's been for him to not only be a part of Lily's life, but also be a positive influence on her.
"When I'm filming, I try to speak to Lily every day and let her know that I'm thinking of her and hopefully stay a presence in her life," he said. "I want Lily to have as an example a parent who is enjoying their work and is passionate about their work but at the same time I don't want it to be something that takes me away from her too much."
More recently, Lily's dad added another daughter to the family. He and partner Anna Lundberg, who's also an actor, welcomed Lyra in Sept. 2019.
Lily's famous parents have worked together to co-parent.
George Pimentel/WireImageBeckinsale has said that she and Michael not only get along very well, but they hang out as a family often. While speaking to Entertainment Tonight in Dec. 2016, she said that he will always be a big part of her life, for both her and Lily's sake.
"We really agreed on what would be the right thing for Lily," Beckinsale said. "Fighting and all that would be awful for her. I think we've also really got a similar sense of humor...I just really like him, he's family. I've known him since I was 21."
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