Kate Winslet discusses her 'really f---ing brave' decision to embrace onscreen nudity after on-set injury
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Kate Winslet refuses to let years of body-shaming define her.
The Oscar-winning actress, who's been acting in films since she was 17, is no stranger to criticism regarding her appearance. "I was consistently told I was the wrong shape," Winslet told Vogue in a new cover story. "I was consistently told I would have to settle for less."
But even now, Winslet does not let the commentary impact her career decisions.
"I know better than to waste precious energy on criticizing my physical self," the Lee actress added. "I think any woman is better off just saying: I believe in myself. It doesn't matter what other people think; this is who I am — let's get on with it."
Joe Maher/Getty Images Kate Winslet
Her latest film, a biopic following the life of wartime photographer Lee Miller, required her to recreate a famous topless photograph of Miller picnicking with friends. Ahead of the shoot, Winslet was unable to work out after injuring her back on the first day of filming. "I had three massive hematomas on my spine, huge," she explained "I could barely stand up."
Winslet decided to move forward with the schedule despite her pain, which included filming the topless scene.
"I had to be really f---ing brave about letting my body be its softest version of itself and not hiding from that," she said. "And believe me, people amongst our own team would say, 'You might just want to sit up a bit.' And I'd go, 'Why? [Because of] the bit of flesh you can see? No, that's the way it's going to be!'"
After the massive success of Titanic, which includes her famously topless "draw me like one of your French girls" scene, Winslet's weight was often a topic of conversation in the media. Speaking with Vogue, she recalled "the most awful scrutiny and judgment, and, actually, I would go so far as to say bullying, from mainstream media when I was in my 20s."
20th Century Fox/Everett Kate Winslet in 'Titanic'
Her remarks echo ones she made a few years back. "I would be called to comment on my physical self," Winslet said in a 2021 interview. "Well, then I got this label of being ballsy and outspoken. No, I was just defending myself."
That same year, she opened up about her determination to keep her Mare of Easttown character authentically middle-aged. She refused to let directors edit around her "bulgy bit of belly" and encouraged unflattering clothing choices.
"She's a fully-functioning, flawed woman with a body and a face that moves in a way that is synonymous with her age and her life and where she comes from," Winslet said of her character. "I think we're starved of that a bit."
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