Kate Beckinsale is Mensa-level smart.
The actress appeared on The Howard Stern Show to discuss her IQ, telling hosts Howard Stern and Robin Quivers that being so intellectual “might have been a handicap” in her acting career. When Stern asked Beckinsale if she ever had her IQ tested, she said her mother did when she was a kid but she didn’t remember the score.
“It was very high. I think she had me tested because very bright children are nearly unbearable. I’m sure that’s why she had it done,” she said, laughing. Beckinsale eventually got her mother on the phone, who said that the actress had an IQ of 152 when she was a kid.
“That’s like almost Einstein level,” Stern said. “Oh, I wish I had an IQ of 152.” Mensa—the biggest and oldest high IQ society—extends memberships to those who score 132 or above.
“You don’t,” Beckinsale responded. “Every single doctor, every single person I’ve ever come across has said, ’You’d be so much happier if you were 30% less smart,′ and I’m sure that’s true.” She continued, “It’s no good to me, though. It’s really not helpful in my career. I just think it might have been a handicap actually.”
She didn’t expound on how or why her IQ has been an obstacle for her. In his line of questioning, Stern also asked how her intelligence impacts her dating life. “I’ve always found I can forgive an awful lot if somebody’s funny,” she said. “So, there’s a certain degree of intelligence in somebody being funny that I’m able to mess with.”
