Beckinsale's family tragedy
Kate Beckinsale's childhood dreams of becoming a big sister were ruined by her father's untimely death.
Richard Beckinsale, beloved star of classic UK TV sitcoms 'Porridge' and 'Rising Damp', died from a heart attack in 1979, when his daughter was just five-years-old.
And now the actress has revealed her parents were planning on having another child together just before her dad passed away, aged just 31.
And the star is proud of the fact she was the reason her actress mum Judy Loe wanted more kids.
The actress, who has a half-sister, called Samantha from her father's first marriage to Margaret Bradley, tells Hollywood Life magazine: "I used to pester my mother for another baby when my father was still alive. She ended up having an eight-hour operation to unblock her tubes and things like that.
"The operation was a success, but my father died while she was having it, so it was really ironic, terrible timing."
The actress, who is a mum to nine-year-old Lily, admits she'd rethink her plans about having more kids if her daughter asked for a sibling.
She adds: "If Lily was begging me for a brother or sister I'd be more inclined (to have another)."
Lily's father is Beckinsale's ex Michael Sheen. The actress is currently married to moviemaker Len Wiseman.
The actress' daughter turns 10 on Saturday.
