Beckinsale great-grandfather was a native of Burma, and Kate says that as a child she had a "very Asian appearance". Beckinsale’s stepfather, who came from a working-class family, thought it was pretty funny to hear the curses of the smart girl and he encouraged her for that.

Counselor to King Louis XIV named Bertrand Vernet de Marqueyssac back in the 17th century built a huge castle in the Aquitaine region in southwest France. Around the castle they grew ordinary garden in classical style, which did not stand out among the rest.