Titanic star Kate Winslet has opened up about the challenges she faced as a young actress, including body image issues and a comment from a drama teacher about her weight
Kate Winslet has reflected on the moment she realised her acting dreams might come with conditions, revealing how a comment from a drama teacher about her weight stayed with her for years – and shaped the way she saw herself as a young performer.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs , the Oscar winner recalled being told early on that she could have a career “if you’re happy to settle for the fat girl parts”. But with trademark honesty, she added what many will now be thinking: “Look at me now.”
Kate, now 49, admitted the words landed hard. “I didn’t aspire to play leading roles ever,” she said. “I was just Kate from Reading. I didn’t get film scripts.”
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Born in Reading in 1975, the second of four children, Kate grew up in what she describes as a “good, chaotic, happy” household. There was lots of dressing up, playing and noise, all centred around a busy family kitchen. It was there, she believes, that she unknowingly taught herself how to act.
“I remember thinking if someone put a camera on us, they’d think it was acting,” she said. “Because that’s what people do on television – they’re just being.”
At 11, she won a place at Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead and began working almost immediately, landing Sugar Puffs commercials and voiceover jobs that paid £65 a day – “a lot of money when you’re 11”. But success came with challenges. She faced jealousy at school and learned, she says, to develop a thick skin early on.
Kate’s first breakthrough came with Heavenly Creatures in 1994, where her performance earned critical acclaim and put her firmly on the acting map. But it was just two years later, in 1997, that she became a global superstar with Titanic, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. The epic romance not only cemented her status as one of Hollywood’s brightest talents but also made her a household name around the world.
She also spoke candidly about struggling with her body image as a teenager. From 15 to 19, she was on and off diets, admitting that by the end she was barely eating. “It wasn’t healthy,” she said. “I’d wake up panicking about whether I looked fat. It’s the only thing in my life I really regret.”
Now firmly at peace with herself, Kate says she’s drawn to projects that reflect real people and recognisable family dynamics – including her latest film Goodbye June , written by her 21-year-old son Joe. She says the story reminded her of the people she grew up around and the warmth of familiar family life. “I care deeply about people feeling seen and heard,” she explained.
Family remains at the heart of everything. Married to husband Ned Rocknroll since 2012, Kate laughs that life with him is full of joy and spontaneity. The couple share son Bear Blaze, and Christmas in the Winslet household is all about togetherness – brining the turkey, preparing a carefully crafted vegan dish for Ned, long walks, pub visits and “lots of silly games”.
Goodbye June has just arrived in cinemas and represents Oscar-winning Kate Winslet ‘s first venture into directing. The picture presents a moving story about four grown-up siblings who reunite over Christmas when their mum’s condition worsens and they must care for their dad, reports the Express.
The film, enjoying a limited theatrical run, will debut worldwide on Netflix on Christmas Eve and features a stellar ensemble cast including Winslet, Helen Mirren, Timothy Spall, Andrea Riseborough, Toni Collette, and Johnny Flynn.
Anders crafted the script after being assigned to create a screenplay during his studies at the National Film and Television School. Students were instructed to pen “something from the heart” and Anders chose to explore a touching episode from his personal experience.
He revealed: “I lost my grandmother when I was 13 and I could never forget how wonderful and also odd it was that all the family were around her and together in sending her off in a peaceful way, at the end of her life.”
Joe Anders is the offspring of Winslet from her second marriage to Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, known for his work on American Beauty, Skyfall, and Empire of Light. Born Joe Alfie Winslet Mendes, he chose to go professionally by Joe Anders, a decision he made in 2022.
This British-American actor and writer, now 21, was born in New York City. He spent his childhood between America and the UK, but relocated to England in 2010 with his mother and older half-sister Mia Threapleton, following his parents’ split that same year.
Anders shares three half-siblings, including Threapleton, Bear Blaze from Winslet’s third marriage to businessman Edward Abel Smith, and a younger sister from his father’s second marriage to trumpet player Alison Balsom.
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