When people go looking for the actress from Van Helsing, they’re usually divided into two camps. You’ve either got the 2004 movie fans who can’t get Kate Beckinsale’s corset-and-boots look out of their heads, or you’re a Syfy devotee wondering why Kelly Overton basically vanished from her own show for a while.
Honestly, it’s kinda wild how two completely different eras of monster hunting are defined by these women.
In the early 2000s, Kate Beckinsale was the undisputed queen of the leather-clad action genre. While she was already kicking werewolf butt in Underworld, her role as Anna Valerious in Stephen Sommers’ Van Helsing was something else entirely. She wasn't playing a vampire this time. She was the one hunting them.
The Kate Beckinsale Era: Anna Valerious and Those Impossible Boots
Let's be real for a second. Most of us remember the 2004 film for Hugh Jackman’s hat and the CGI werewolves, but Beckinsale’s Anna Valerious was the emotional heart of that chaotic, loud, beautiful mess of a movie. She played the last of a Romanian royal bloodline. If she didn't kill Dracula, her entire family tree would stay stuck in Purgatory. No pressure, right?
Beckinsale has gone on record saying she wasn't even a fan of vampire movies before this. She almost turned down Underworld, and then suddenly she was the face of the genre.
The physicality was grueling.
She once mentioned in an interview that the boots she wore—those iconic, knee-high lace-up things—took about 25 minutes just to put on. Every. Single. Day. Imagine trying to do stunts in those. Speaking of stunts, Jackman actually praised her for being tougher than most of the guys on set. There’s a scene where they land from a 50-foot wire drop, and she had to land perfectly astride him. She nailed it every time like a pro, despite being 50 feet in the air on thin wires.
The Brides: More Than Just Side Characters
While Beckinsale was the lead, we can't ignore the "Brides." They were a massive part of the movie's DNA.
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- Silvia Colloca (Verona): The "first" bride. She brought this weird, regal confidence to the role.
- Elena Anaya (Aleera): You might recognize her later as Doctor Poison in Wonder Woman. She was the youngest, most jealous bride.
- Josie Maran (Marishka): Most people know her as the model from those Maybelline ads or her skincare line now, but she was the first bride Van Helsing actually took out with the holy-water-dipped crossbow.
It’s interesting because the actresses had to spend three to four hours in makeup to get that "undead but gorgeous" look. Silvia Colloca actually ended up marrying the guy who played Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) in real life. Talk about taking your work home with you.
Kelly Overton: A Different Kind of Van Helsing
Fast forward to 2016. Syfy decides to reboot the lore, but they flip the script. Instead of Abraham, we get Vanessa Van Helsing, played by Kelly Overton.
If Beckinsale was gothic romance and "English rose" grit, Overton was pure, unadulterated muscle. She played Vanessa as a survivor. The show starts with her waking up from a three-year coma to a world where vampires have won because a volcano blocked out the sun.
Overton brought an athleticism to the actress from Van Helsing title that felt very "2010s prestige TV." She did as many of her own stunts as the insurance lawyers would allow. She was a collegiate-level athlete before acting, and you can tell by the way she moves in the fight scenes.
What Happened During Season 4 and 5?
If you watched the show, you probably noticed Vanessa was missing for huge chunks of the final seasons. People were confused. Was she leaving? Did she get bored?
Actually, Kelly Overton was pregnant.
The showrunners had to get creative. They introduced new "Van Helsings"—Jack (Nicole Muñoz) and Violet (Keeya King)—to carry the load while Kelly took time off. It changed the dynamic of the show entirely, turning it into a family ensemble rather than a solo journey. When she did come back, she had to play "Dark Vanessa," which she said was one of the hardest things she’d done because she didn't want it to feel like a caricature. She just used red eyeliner and a shift in her body language to show the character had changed.
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Why These Roles Still Matter in 2026
The actress from Van Helsing (whichever one you're thinking of) represents a shift in how women are portrayed in horror. In the old 1930s movies, the women were just there to scream and get rescued.
In the 2004 movie, Anna Valerious is arguably more competent than Van Helsing himself for half the runtime. In the TV show, Vanessa is the literal "cure" for the apocalypse. Her blood turns vampires back into humans. She isn't just a hunter; she’s a savior.
Nuance and Misconceptions
People often think Beckinsale’s career was "stuck" in these roles. That's not really true. She used the clout from these big blockbusters to do projects like The Aviator with Martin Scorsese. She actually said that the intensity of the Van Helsing set prepared her for the high-stakes environment of a Scorsese film.
On the flip side, Kelly Overton didn't just "check out" of her series. She was balancing motherhood with a show that required her to be covered in sticky, cold, fake blood for 12 hours a day. It’s a lot harder than it looks on your 4K TV.
How to Follow Their Careers Now
If you want to see what the actress from Van Helsing is up to lately, here is the best way to track them:
- Check Social Media: Kate Beckinsale is famously hilarious on Instagram. She shares a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff and her very eccentric life with her cats. It’s a complete 180 from the dark, brooding characters she plays.
- Streaming Deep Dives: If you liked Kelly Overton in the Syfy series, go back and watch her in True Blood. She played a werewolf named Rikki, and you can see the early stages of the "action star" energy she brought to Vanessa.
- Physical Media: The 2004 Van Helsing has a cult following now. Look for the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases. The special features include deep-dive interviews with the Brides (Elena Anaya and Silvia Colloca) where they talk about the nightmare of hanging upside down in harnesses for hours.
These women transformed a dusty 19th-century name into a symbol of modern action. Whether it's the gothic Transylvanian forests or a post-apocalyptic wasteland, they proved that a Van Helsing doesn't need a beard and a PhD to get the job done. They just need a bit of grit and the ability to look cool while the world is ending.