40 Reasons Why We Love Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet (FilmMagic)
Titanic might be easy to mock (though you know you still watch it when it’s on TV), but Kate Winslet is most certainly not. From independent movies to international blockbusters, the British beauty has dominated the silver screen for the better part of two decades. Still, she’s more than just a talented thesp — she’s an advocate for self-esteem, a mother of three, and once she saved Richard Branson’s mother from a burning building. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
So, in honor of Winslet’s 40th circle ‘round the sun on Oct. 5, we’ve rounded up 40 reasons (of varying importance) that we adore this movie star.
1. She embraces her curves.
Unlike so many of her contemporaries, Winslet has (rather miraculously) retained a positive body image while under the glare of Hollywood’s spotlight. “I still dip in and out of feeling confident as much as the next person, but I can genuinely say, now more than ever, that I really do love the fact that I’m curvy,” she told InStyle in April 2015, just one year after giving birth to her third child. “I’ve got boobs and a bum and a man who loves me. When you go through the sort of scrutiny that I have, you have to choose a means of dealing with that level of judgment.” It seems like her means of dealing is to pretty much ignore it. Bravo, Kate. Bravo.
(Getty Images)
2. And her wrinkles.
Also unlike so many of her contemporaries, Winslet isn’t still trying to be 20. "I have the kind of wrinkles that are here to stay now,” she confessed to People magazine. “You know, not just the ones where you wake up in the morning and you go, 'Oh that will go away in two hours time.’ No, they’re there. That’s the way it is.”
3. But she doesn’t (really) have any.
In a recent photo shoot for the Wall Street Journal to promote Steve Jobs, the 40-year-old star looked fresh-faced and absolutely flawless — and, perhaps even more impressively, she looked like herself. Look — we’re not making any projections about how much Photoshop was used to create her soft-focus skin, but even if some was, the results are impressive. The only way to look this good in print is to look stunning in real life.
Kate with her Oscar at the 2009 Academy Awards (Getty Images)
4. She keeps her Oscar in her bathroom.
Why? So her guests can practice their Oscar speeches, of course. "The whole point is for everybody to pick it up and go, 'I’d like to thank my son and my dad’ — and you can always tell when someone has, because they’re in there a little bit longer after they flushed,” Winslet said. “They’ll come out looking slightly pink-cheeked. It’s hysterical.”
5. She’s teaching her daughter Mia to embrace her curves as well.
During an appearance on Running Wild With Bear Grylls, the actress revealed that she actively discusses her figure with her 14-year-old daughter. “I stand in front of the mirror and say to Mia, 'We are so lucky we have shape. We’re so lucky we’re curvy. We’re so lucky we’ve got good bums,’ and all she’ll say is "Mummy, I know, thank god.”
6. She recreated her iconic Titanic scene during her episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls.
In another amazing moment during her stint on the reality show, Winslet recreated her famous scene on the front of that unfortunate boat. While scaling the Snowdonia Mountains, the actress let the host coax her into taking both hands off the equipment and throwing her arms wide. “Jack! I feel like I’m flying!” she exclaimed. The bit went on for a few more lines until she finally broke character saying, “Right, come on. Get me down this f—ing thing!” Which brings us to…
7. She swears unapologetically.
Apparently that f-bomb wasn’t out of the norm for this actress, who looks like royalty but talks like a sailor. James Gandolfini once said of her, “Kate’s great. She can sing; she’s so funny. And yeah, she can swear. People think I can swear, but she can really swear. Yeah, I was impressed.”
Kate and Ned (Getty Images)
8. After she got hitched, she didn’t take Ned Rocknroll’s last name.
After marrying Ned Rocknroll, Winslet revealed that she had no intention of changing her surname. I’ve “never changed my name to anything so I didn’t see a reason to start now,” she explained to The Telegraph before adding, “I quite like Kate Winslet. In fact, I think it’s very flashy.”
9. She didn’t give her son Bear Blaze the last name Rocknroll either.
Winslet was partly motivated by making sure her three children were all united in some way when deciding on last names. “We haven’t ever really had that conversation; it was always going to have my name,” she said in the February 2014 issue of Glamour U.K. “[Children] Mia and Joe have [Winslet] as part of their name, so it would be weird if this baby didn’t. Of course we’re not going to call it Rocknroll. People might judge all they like, but I’m a [expletive] grown-up."
10. Still, she married a guy with the awesome last name of Rocknroll.
Ned Rocknroll was born Ned Abel Smith, but reportedly changed his name to Ned Rocknroll in 2008 because he thinks people take themselves too seriously. He also happens to be the nephew of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, so his unusual name change isn’t all that surprising.
11. She’s one Tony away from an EGOT.
EGOT = Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony. She has them all, except the last — but something tells us it’s only a matter of time before she checks that box too. We just hope she puts her Tony in the bathroom to keep her Oscar company.
12. But please don’t call her a movie star.
"I’ve always been so uncomfortable with that,” she told the Wall Street Journal magazine. “I just don’t feel like one, and I don’t live like one either — not the way I imagine a proper movie star living.” We’re not sure exactly what that means, but we like to think it implies that she does laundry and chases her kids around the house and enjoys eating carb-loaded snacks on the couch while watching Law & Order marathons like the rest of us.
13. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Little Children.
After starring in one of the biggest blockbuster films of all time, Winslet signed on for two quirky, charming films that worked their way into the fabric of cinema and left a lasting mark. Little Children was edgy and disturbing, while Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was (arguably) some of Jim Carrey’s best work. Ever. It seems pretty clear Winslet probably had something to do with that.
14. Titanic.
Yes, it’s been parodied to death. And yes, that Celine Dion song needs to die. But whether you love it or hate it (or love to hate it), there is no denying that Winslet and DiCaprio were the stuff that cinematic dreams are made of at that moment in time.
(Everett Collection)
15. Despite reports that she actively lobbied to land the role of Rose in Titanic, she actually played it cool.
Though it’s been reported that Winslet campaigned hard to get the role of Rose, flooding director James Cameron with phone calls and letters, the actress decided to set the record straight In 2012 when the film was re-released. "I wouldn’t do that,“ she insisted. "It’s not my style.” She did add an extra special touch, however, when she sent Cameron a bouquet of roses with a note signed “From Your Rose” three days after her audition in L.A. “Jim took a risk in casting me,” she said. “A lot of my contemporaries — Uma Thurman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Winona Ryder — were much more likely candidates. I got lucky."
16. Her kicka– accent.
Have you heard her speak? You’re welcome.
Kate at the 2002 Oscars (WireImage)
17. Her Oscars fashion.
Winslet doesn’t stick to one color, style, or designer, but she does always manage to look impeccable. From her Ben de Lisi in 2002 to her Valentino in 2007 to her YSL in 2009, she has proven that she not only embraces her curves — she knows how to dress them.
18. She once said, "There’s more to life than cheekbones.”
Has anything better ever been said? We don’t think so.
19. Her single “What If” from 2001’s Christmas Carol: The Movie.
Winslet has a set of pipes too! For the 2001 film Christmas Carol: The Movie, the actress sang “What If.” Normally when a movie star sings on camera the most we hope for is something passable, but Winslet delivered a song so good the producers released the ballad as its own bona fide single. What’s even more impressive: It did really well, reaching the top ten in the U.K. and peaking at number six.
20. She’s a good sport.
Winslet really wanted to star with buddy DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but told USA Today, “I knew I was too old.” Instead of holding a grudge, however, she went on to call Claire Danes’s performance in the Shakespearean reboot “brilliant." She hates waist trainers.
21. Her signature mole.
Not since Cindy Crawford has a mole made such an impact. Instead of masking her mark, Winslet has made it a part of her everyday look, unwittingly encouraging women everywhere to embrace their natural beauty.
22. She hates waist trainers.
"Why would you do that?!” Kate said of the celebrity-driven craze when asked during the New York premiere of A Little Chaos. “Why would anyone willfully put themselves into a corset?” Winslet is, of course, no stranger to corsets, having donned the restrictive gear for many of her period-piece films.
23. She talked openly about being bullied as a child.
Reflecting on her childhood, Winslet talked openly about being bullied by her peers and the effect it had on her. “I suffered from 'No one will ever fancy me!’ syndrome, well into my teens. Even now I do not consider myself to be some kind of great, sexy beauty. Absolutely not,” she told Marie Claire in 2009. “I was bullied for being chubby,” she added. “Where are they now?!” Answer: They’re probably telling everyone, every chance they get, that they went to school with the great Kate Winslet.
24. Her first acting job was a commercial for Sugar Puffs cereal at age 11.
Not only was she in a commercial for Sugar Puffs cereal — in it, she danced opposite a character known as the Honey Monster. That gives her some serious street cred, people.
25. She co-founded the Golden Hat Foundation to help children with autism.
Winslet is a do-gooder, too. “After watching a mother’s courage talking about autism with my daughter Mia, she turned to me and said, 'Imagine if I couldn’t tell you that I love you,’” Winslet said in her foundation’s video. “I thought about what that really meant — for a mother not to be able to hear their own child, not to be able to have access to their mind or heart, and I realized that I had to lend my voice to raise awareness for this rapidly increasing condition.”
26. She spoke out against a 2003 GQ cover that had digitally slimmed her down.
“The retouching is excessive,” she said flatly of her slimmed-down GQ cover after it was released. “I do not look like that and more importantly I don’t desire to look like that. I actually have a Polaroid that the photographer gave me on the day of the shoot.” She went on to add that she estimated they reduced the size of her legs “by about a third,” which she not only felt was insulting, but also totally unnecessary. “For my money it looks pretty good the way it was taken,” she quipped.
27. Let’s not forget Heavenly Creatures.
Excuse us while we fangirl over this vintage crime drama a bit. Melanie Lynskey and Winslet totally nailed it in this dark flick that begs to be watched again and again.
Leo and Kate (WireImage)
28. Her friendship with Leonardo DiCaprio, which proves that men and women CAN be friends.
Winslet and DiCaprio have pretty much single-handedly disproven the entire premise of When Harry Met Sally, having remained friends for nearly two decades now with no romantic involvement. (In light of Leo’s ever-rotating circle of model girlfriends, that’s quite an achievement— and yet another reason to love the great Kate.)
29. She got Leonardo DiCaprio to put a ring on it.
Kate Winslet did something no woman has done before (or since): She got Leonardo DiCaprio to give her a ring! Apparently, after they reunited to film Revolutionary Road (which Winslet’s then-husband Sam Mendes directed), DiCaprio bestowed her with an engraved gold band to show his (platonic) devotion. Kate has vowed to never reveal its message, which means whatever it says. It must be something good.
30. Her kids call him, “Uncle Leo.”
During an interview with Marie Claire in 2004, Winslet revealed that her kids call her co-star/bestie “Uncle Leo.” Enough said.
31. She is the third person in history to win two acting Golden Globes in the same year.
Let’s not forget that somewhere between being Leo’s BFF, a spokesperson for children with autism, and a mother of three, Winslet also has some serious acting chops. In fact, she’s the third person in the history of the world to win two Golden Globes in the same year: Best Actress for Revolutionary Road and Best Supporting Actress for The Reader. In other words… um… she can act.
32. She made a video for PETA about the cruelty of foie gras.
Just don’t eat it. Ever.
33. She prioritized friendship over her own movie premiere.
Winslet was famously absent from the premiere of Titanic in 1997 — because she was attending the funeral of close friend (and former boyfriend), Stephen Tredre. His death “was unbelievably heartbreaking,” she confessed to Parade Magazine, adding, “All I have left is that we remained very close until the end.”
34. She prioritizes her healthy over her appearance.
As a mother of three, Kate values her body for its function, not its form. “Now I view my physical self as an instrument that I have to keep going because I’m a mother, and I have to be as healthy as I can for those three people who need me — more than I need for myself to be in a f—ing nude scene,” she explained to the Wall Street Journal Magazine. Mothers everywhere — not just those in Hollywood — should take a page from her playbook and appreciate their strength rather than focusing on their flaws.
35. Still, her Lancome ads actually make us want to buy stuff.
Try as she might to ignore the fact that she is drop dead gorgeous — we can’t. We buy things because she’s in the picture. And we aren’t ashamed of that.
36. When she was a teenager, she worked at a deli.
Winslet recalled that she was making a pastrami sandwich at a deli where she worked when her agent told her she had been selected for the game-changing Heavenly Creatures. We just like that visual.
37. In 2005, she became the youngest actress ever to receive four Academy Award nominations.
Just sayin’.
38. Her varied resume, including everything from costume dramas to thrillers to HBO.
At least part of her success is no doubt due to the fact that she takes on a wide variety of projects and refuses to fall victim to the typecast. From Titanic to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to Mildred Pierce to Steve Jobs, Kate takes on roles that push her boundaries beyond those of a standard leading lady making us wonder if there’s anything she can’t do. Speaking of being able to do just about anything…
(Splash News)
39. She saved Richard Branson’s mother from a fire, sort of.
During a visit with her first two children to Richard Branson’s $70 million Caribbean home, a fire broke out after lightening struck — and Winslet helped to save the day. “Many thanks to Kate Winslet for helping to carry my 90-year mum out of the main house to safety,” Branson blogged.
40. But she put a bra on first, sort of.
“I ran into the bedroom and put on a bra,” she told The Graham Norton Show when asked about her reaction to awakening to the fire. “In disastrous moments like that, you do the strangest things. I started to put on a bra and thought 'No, that’s going to take me too long,’ so off came the bra, on came the T-shirt, I grabbed the children and I picked up Granny.” She went on to clarify, however, that she did not save Grandma Branson’s life. “I carried her down the stairs is the truth of it.”
