As the youngest actress to ever receive six Oscar nominations at the age of 33, Kate Winslet’s CV offers up a long list of fine performances. Admittedly, given a recent run of questionable choices (from Movie 43 to Labor Day to this week’s YA sequel The Divergent Series: Insurgent), it would be tempting to suggest that she’s peaked early, but with roles in Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs biopic and Australian thriller The Dressmaker on the way, we’re expecting a return to form.

For now, here are five excellent reminders of why she’s such an Academy favourite:

Heavenly Creatures

In Peter Jackson’s haunting true crime drama, Winslet gave a stunning breakout performance that took her from starring in one episode of Casualty to becoming one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood. She arrives in the film with remarkably obnoxious confidence in this scene, where she makes an enemy of her new French teacher after correcting her in front of the class.

Sense and Sensibility

Winslet displayed her ability to convey heartbreak, something which would crop up throughout her career, with effortless ease in Ang Lee’s 1996 period saga. After receiving an unexpected “Dear John” letter, we see her romantic hope collapse around her. Her gradual realisation of what she’s being forced to give up was an early sign that she’d be a dependable weeper.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Playing a free-spirited eccentric with a variety of hair colours, Winslet’s Oscar-nominated role in Michel Gondry’s sci-fi take on a breakup was an unexpected career move. But, in a similar way to Helena Bonham Carter’s corset-trashing role in Fight Club, she proved to be perfect casting and showed herself to be impressively versatile. This brief but beautifully orchestrated moment has a brutally honest speech being surprisingly rewarded with acceptance.

Little Children

Throughout the noughties, Winslet pretty much cornered the market on sexually repressed housewives with lofty aspirations and Todd Field’s adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s suburban satire was proof of why. She was awarded another Oscar nomination for playing an intellectual trapped by vapidity and this scene shows her first, somewhat misguided, attempt to break free.





Revolutionary Road

A darker take on a similar character, Winslet’s turn in 2008’s devastating Richard Yates adaptation was cruelly overlooked by the Academy for more perfunctory drama in The Reader. But her brutal dynamic with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio allowed for a range of uncomfortably well-observed marital arguments which come to a head in this horrifically worded showdown.