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.

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.