• Jennifer and David Dugan had planned on naming Kai Liam when he was born, but he looked so exotic they chose Kai.
• Kai is the Hawaiian word for ‘ocean’.
• Stellan’s meaning is unknown, possibly related to Old Norse stilling, meaning ‘calm’.
• Named her son Stellan after Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård.
• Stellan’s Godfather is the actor Charlie Condou, Paul’s best friend.
• Cut a single in Japan, which she sang in phonetic Japanese. She says her agent made up the idea that she is semi-fluent in the language.
• Speaks fluent Italian and French.
• Was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine in 2002.
• The character Veronica in Heathers (1989) was originally written with her in mind, but she turned the role down.
• Daughter-in-law of actor Thane Bettany and Anne Kettle.
• Measurements: 34B-22-34
• In three of her movies (Dark City, Requiem for a Dream and House of Sand and Fog), she appears standing at the end of a pier in a striking image. All three directors created the shots for different reasons, and they are not an homage or reference to each other, just an unlikely coincidence.
• She was nearly cast as Diane Court in Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything… (1989). Ione Skye got the part instead.
• Has said she used to use the online username “ecksor”, which is a phonetic spelling of XOR (Exclusive OR) – a tribute to her cousin Jerry who is a computer security expert.
• Ranked #14 in Celebrity Sleuth’s “25 Sexiest Women of 1993″.
• Ranked #53 in Stuff’s “103 Sexiest Women” (2003).
• Ranked #74 in FHM-USA’s “100 Sexiest Women” (2002).
• Ranked #85 in Askmen’s “Most Desirable Woman” (2002).
• Ranked as #88 in FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005″ special supplement (2005).
• Has an interest in mathematics and software.
• Her first feature film role was Once Upon a Time in America.
• Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#54) (2007).
• Auditioned for the title role of Firestarter (1984).
• With A Beautiful Mind and Reservation Road, has now played the wife of Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix who portrayed the hero AND the villain in Gladiator (2000).
• The Day the Earth Stood Still, in which she starred, opened on her 38th birthday (December 12, 2008).
• Returned to work seven months after giving birth to her son Kai in order to begin filming Waking the Dead.
• Returned to work five months after giving birth to her son Stellan in order to begin filming Dark Water.