Kate Winslet Recalls How She Was Called a "Blubber" Early in Her Career

Kate Winslet Recalls How She Was Called a "Blubber" Early in Her Career
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Actress Kate Winslet is opening up about her struggles with body shaming from her early days in Hollywood.

During an interview with The Sunday Times, the Titanic star revealed she was called a "blubber" and told she should settle for "fat girl" roles.

The 47-year-old actress, who is acting alongside her daughter in I am Ruth, compared her struggles with today's social media scrutiny.

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"It can be extremely negative," Winslet said. "People are subject to scrutiny that is more than a young, vulnerable person can cope with."

She noted, however, that Hollywood is changing and becoming more inclusive.

"But in the film industry it is really changing," she explained. "When I was younger my agent would get calls saying, 'How's her weight?' I kid you not. So it's heartwarming that this has started to change."

Getty Images / Gareth Cattermole

Throughout her career, Winslet was subject to severe body shaming, with commentary from media and fashion critics. After her performance on Titanic, people such as the late Joan Rivers remarked that "if she just lost five pounds, Leo would've been able to fit on the raft."

The British star has noted that modern women, including her daughter Mia Threapleton, are stronger than she considered herself to be at that age.

"My daughter's generation has an ability to speak for themselves," Winslet explained. "They have already learned that they will be heard. Obviously not in every situation, but they know how to use their voice—especially young women. That's striking to me. When I was younger you spoke when spoken to. That is not the case now. Young women are stronger. And they're prouder of their bodies."

After the birth of her daughter in 2000, Winslet said she stopped caring about what the public had to say about her body.

"I had Mia when I was 25. And so all that s--t just kind of…evaporated," she said.

Winslet has said that the experience also taught her to raise Mia with a strong sense of body positivity.

"I stand in front of the mirror and say to Mia, 'We are so lucky we have a shape. We're so lucky we're curvy. We're so lucky that we've got good bums.' And she'll say, 'Mummy, I know, thank God,'" Winslet told PEOPLE in 2015. "It's paying off."