Kate Beckinsale has an "intense" relationship with her daughter.

Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale

The 44-year-old actress - who has 18-year-old Lily with former partner Michael Sheen - has had to work hard to give the teenager her own space because they rely so much on one another, but she admits she is just as close to her own mother.

She told HELLO magazine: "I'm my mother's only child and Lily is my only child. It's an intense relationship to have, especially if you're a single parent.

"Then it's very important that the child has her own personality and her own life.

"That's hard for the parent but it's also important. On the other hand, I text my mother 18 times a day..."

Lily is preparing to go off to university and though the 'Only Living Boy in New York' actress will be "very sorry" to see her daughter move out, she knows she'll be back.

She said: "It means I've got an open landscape for the first time since I became a mother.

"Lily is a great, bright, intelligent, interesting, feisty girl. I'll be very sorry for her not to be always in my house but hopefully she'll come back to visit."