Why Kate Beckinsale sends her daughter naked pics of her father

Actress Kate Beckinsale. Photo / Getty Images

Kate Beckinsale has revealed she often sends her 17-year-old daughter Lily Mo naked photos of her father Michael Sheen.

Speaking on Conan, the 42-year-old actress revealed she uses the pictures as an unusual way of cheering her daughter up.

"Apparently your daughter, as we know is now 17, likes to occasionally go on the internet and Google 'Michael Sheen naked' " host Conan O'Brien said.

To which Beckinsale responded: "See you've made that sound creepy, and I remember when [Michael] was on [this show] and he said that, he made it sound creepy," Beckinsale responded.

O'Brien added, "Yes, it's creepy for a daughter to say, 'I'm going to Google pictures of my father naked.'"

Beckinsale clarified the situation saying there is one particular photo of Sheen without a single piece of clothing on standing up in a bath that they often send each other.

"My daughter and I are both from the school where we think a naked man is very funny in the right circumstances, not as a subtle surprise jumping out at you in a dark alley, but it's a funny thing," she said. "...sometimes in a low moment she'll text me that picture or I'll text it to her ... If I sense that she's feeling low, I think, 'You know what, she could use Mike in the bath.' It works very well most times."

Sheen and Beckinsale were in a relationship for eight years. Lily Mo, Beckinsale's only child was born in 1999.

They separated in 2003.

Last month, Beckinsale, Sheen and her daughter Lily recreated a photo taken after Lily's birth.

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Always a baby to me #Lily -- See more tonight on the @latelateshow ✨

A post shared by Kate Beckinsale (@katebeckinsale) on May 17, 2016 at 4:22pm PDT