UNDERWORLD - BECKINSALE SHUNS HOLLYWOOD FOR HIPPIE NEIGHBOURHOOD

UNDERWORLD star KATE BECKINSALE has shunned life in the Hollywood Hills, preferring the "hippie-vibe" of eclectic Venice Beach, California.

The actress visited a hotel on the beach five years ago while attending a PEARL HARBOR press junket, and she hasn't ventured far from the location since.

Beckinsale, husband LEN WISEMAN, and her daughter LILY prefer the down-to-earth feel of the Los Angles beach suburb.

She says, "I can't imagine living in a fancy, glass, architecturally-designed thing in the Hollywood Hills, and he's (Wiseman) scummy, just like me.

"(Venice) feels like a slightly sunnier, cleaner London or New York to me.

"You still get crazy people wandering about and shouting at the sky. That makes me feel at home. I can go down and get a pint of milk, I can function like anywhere else."