Overview (4)

Born October 5, 1975 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK Birth Name Kate Elizabeth Winslet Nicknames English Rose

Corset Kate Height 5' 6½" (1.69 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (3)

Trade Mark (1)

Voluptuous figure



Trivia (118)



Kate met her first husband, Jim Threapleton , on the set of her movie Hideous Kinky (1998), where he was working as an assistant director.



Won Best Spoken Word Album for Children, Grammy Awards, shared with Graham Greene (2000).

At age 11, she began attending the acting school Redroofs in Maidenhead, England, UK.





Sister of Anna Winslet , Joss Winslet and Beth Winslet . Kate is the second child.

Her first acting job was dancing with the Honey Monster in a commercial for Sugar Puffs cereal.



Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Manchester Evening News Award for her theatre role in "What the Butler Saw" as Geraldine Barclay (1994).



Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (1996) and (2004).





Parents are Roger Winslet (born 1939) and Sally (née Bridges) Winslet (1945-2017).



After her first success in the film Heavenly Creatures (1994), a reviewer predicted that she would always be associated with that character and would never be a big star.



Recorded a song for the soundtrack for the movie Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001). Producers were so impressed at her efforts they have decided to release the ballad - called "What If?" - as a single. It reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, peaking at number six. As of 2016, the music video of "What If?" has 11 million views on YouTube. [June 2001]



(September 3, 2001) Announced that she and husband Jim Threapleton are separating.



Purchased a $3 million (US) home in London with then-boyfriend (later husband) Sam Mendes . They also bought a home in New York City. [2002].



She holds a unique position in Academy Awards history: Only twice have two actresses been nominated for playing the same character in the same film. The first two were Gloria Stuart and Kate in Titanic (1997). The second two were Judi Dench and Kate in Iris (2001).



Married director Sam Mendes in a private ceremony whilst on holiday in the West Indies. [May 2003]

Daughter Mia's name is Italian for "my".



Prefers to wear boots rather than ordinary shoes because it makes her feel that her feet are "firmly on the ground".





Missed the premiere of Titanic (1997) because she was attending the funeral of close friend and former boyfriend, Stephen Tredre

Resides in West Sussex England, her main home is in Itchenor (West Sussex), she owns a home in the Chelsea district (New York City).





Has a nephew: George Bryn Mawr Winslet Jones. His mother is Beth Winslet



Sprained her ankle on the set of Romance & Cigarettes (2005). [May 2004]



She sold her North London home in Belsize Park to Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin



She was considered for the role of Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), but this was then decided she was too young to portray the role.



On the day she had to film the straitjacket scene in Hamlet (1996), she learned she had won the role of Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic (1997).



While serving as host of Saturday Night Live (1975) one week after Ashlee Simpson 's "recorded song malfunction", she opened the show by singing and dancing live.



Was born in the same hospital as her ex-husband, Sam Mendes

Filmed her 2005 American Express commercial in Camden Town, London, England.





Her performance as Clementine Kruczynski in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) is ranked #81 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

Her daughter Mia had to be delivered by Cesarean section, which made Kate feel she had not given birth properly. She admitted to this only after giving birth to her son Joe (who had been delivered naturally).





Kate married Sam Mendes , who was childhood friends with Tom Hollander , with whom he went to Cambridge University and whom he directed in several plays. Tom and Kate were both in the film Enigma (2001).



Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Premiere magazine for Sense and Sensibility (1995) (1995).

Won Best Film Actress, Smash Hits magazine (1998).



Won Sexiest Actress, Entertainment Insider Awards (1998).



Won Film Actress of the Year, Variety Club of Great Britain (1999).





Nominated for Best Actress, Roughcut.com Internet Movie Award for Holy Smoke (1999) (2000).



When interviewed on Good Morning America (1975) to promote her film The Holiday (2006), they surprised her by showing a clip which was supposedly Winslet on the Sugar Puff Commercial in 1987. However, the girl in the clip shown was not her. Winslet did not point out the error because she did not want to embarrass the researcher and get the person fired. She was then praised by the media for her caring and consideration of other people (2006).



Runner-Up for Best Actress, New York Film Critics Circle for Holy Smoke (1999) (1999).



Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Rec.Arts.Movies.* Critics Circle for Quills (2000) (2000).



Runner-Up for Best Actress, National Society of Film Critics for Holy Smoke (1999) (2000).



Runner-Up for Best Actress, New York Film Critics Circle for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (2004).



Chris Tookey, of the British newspaper "Daily Mail", chose her as Best Actress of the Year for her roles in The Holiday (2006) and Little Children (2006) (2006).



Is a huge fan of Rufus Wainwright 's CD, "Poses" (mentioned in one of her ads for AmEx).



Nominated for Best Actress in a Dramatic Performance, Excellent Dynamic Activism (EDA) Awards/The Alliance of Women Journalists for Little Children (2006) (2006).

In an interview for the London Evening Standard, she revealed she has taken a year off (from April 2006 to April 2007) from her career, to spend more time with her family (2007).



Official celebrity spokesperson for Lancôme perfumes and cosmetics (2007).





Her children refer to very close friend Leonardo DiCaprio as "Uncle Leo". He also bought Kate an inscribed gold ring, after they filmed Revolutionary Road (2008). However, Winslet keeps the inscription a secret.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful in the World (2005).





Placed third equal (with Anne Hathaway ) for Best Actress, New York Film Critics Circle for Revolutionary Road (2008) (2008).



The Holiday (2006) was the first movie that Kate used her own accent and did not develop a special voice for her character.



Only the third person in history to win two acting Golden Globe Awards in the same year (Best Actress, Drama for Revolutionary Road (2008) and Best Supporting Actress for The Reader (2008)).



The producers of the The Reader (2008) tried to promote Winslet as Supporting Actress during the Oscar race 2009 in order to enhance her chances to get nominated twice (for Best Supporting Actress for The Reader (2008) and Best Lead Actress for her role in Revolutionary Road (2008)). The Academy overthrew this plan by nominating Winslet for Best Lead Actress for her performance in The Reader (2008), leaving aside her performance in Revolutionary Road (2008), although she won several other award nominations in both categories for the respective movies. According to Academy rules, an actor is eligible for only one nomination in a single category.



She was originally cast as Nola Rice in Woody Allen 's Match Point (2005), but dropped out at the last minute, so she could spend her time with her child. The role went to Scarlett Johansson



She was considered for the role of Satine in Moulin Rouge! (2001) but Nicole Kidman , who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.



Returned to work 11 months after giving birth to her daughter Mia in order to begin filming The Life of David Gale (2003).



Returned to work 5 months after giving birth to her son Joe in order to begin filming Romance & Cigarettes (2005).



(March 15, 2010) Announced that she had separated amicably from husband Sam Mendes two months previously.



Virgin Group billionaire Richard Branson credited Kate with 'helping to carry' his 90-year-old mother out of his burning Caribbean-island house, where Winslet, her boyfriend 'Ned Rocknroll' and her two children were staying. [August 2011]

Ranked as having one of the "Most Beautiful Famous Faces" by "The Annual Independent Critics List of the 100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces From Around the World" for 17 consecutive years. She was ranked #55 in 2013, #65 in 2012, #50 in 2011, #31 in 2010, #22 in 2009, #12 in 2008, #15 in 2007, #18 in 2006, #21 in 2005, #13 in 2004, #11 in 2003, #14 in 2002, #4 in 2001, #11 in 2000, #20 in 1999, #17 in 1998, and #27 in 1997.



She was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.





Kate was the first actress considered for the role of River Song in Doctor Who (2005). The role went to Alex Kingston



(December 26, 2012) Announced that she and Ned Rocknroll, whom she has been engaged to since July 2012, married in a secret ceremony in New York with just Winslet's children, Mia and Joe, and 6 friends present. Leonardo DiCaprio gave the bride away.

One of her maternal great-great-grandfathers, Alfred Lidman, was Swedish.





Was working in a deli when she landed her first film role, Heavenly Creatures (1994).

She has appeared on over 300 magazine covers around the world.





Gave birth to her 1st child at age 25, a daughter Mia Honey Threapleton on October 12, 2000. Child's father is her now ex-1st husband, Jim Threapleton



Wrote the book "The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism" to raise awareness and support for autism. The book has personal statements and self-portraits from various celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio Marion Cotillard and Michael Caine . All revenues will go to The Golden Hat Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Winslet [2012].



Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 28, a son Joe Alfie Winslet Mendes on December 22, 2003. Child's father is her now ex-2nd husband, Sam Mendes

Gave birth to her 3rd child at age 38, a son Bear Blaze Winslet on December 7, 2013. Child's father is her 3rd husband, Ned Rocknroll.



Gave her 3rd son name Bear after her old friend's nickname and a nickname Blaze because she and her husband met in a house fire.



She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on March 17, 2014.





Was the 134th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress Oscar for The Reader (2008) at The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) on February 22, 2009.



Completed on filming A Little Chaos (2014) when she was three months pregnant with her son, Bear Blaze. She did her own stunt in the scene where her character falls into a weir, she didn't tell anybody that she was pregnant back then, because she knew they wouldn't let her fall in if they knew.



Was five months pregnant with her third child, Bear Blaze, while filming Divergent (2014). Despite only being on set for four weeks, it got to a point where shooting above her waist was required as well as her carrying folders, files and iPads to cover the bump in master shots.



Returned to work 5 months after giving birth to her son Bear Blaze, to begin filming Insurgent (2015). [May 2014]



She learned how to sew for her role in The Dressmaker (2015). Costume designer Margot Wilson was exclusively hired to create the outfits for Winslet's character, and Winslet assisted this process, with her newly taught skills.



Is the third youngest actress (at age 40) to have received seven Academy Award nominations, behind Bette Davis (age 34) and Meryl Streep (age 38).



The longest she has gone without an Academy Award nomination is the seven years between her nominations for The Reader (2008) and Steve Jobs (2015).



At age 29, she became the youngest actress to receive four Academy Award nominations when she was nominated for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (2005). She lost her record to Jennifer Lawrence (25 years old) (2016).



As of 2016, Winslet holds the record of youngest actress to receive five and six Academy Award nominations. She received her fifth nomination in 2007, at age 31, for Little Children (2006), and her sixth nomination in 2009, at age 33, for The Reader (2008).



Winslet and Cate Blanchett have both received their seventh Academy Award nomination in 2016. Winslet for Best Supporting Actress for Steve Jobs (2015), and Blanchett for Best Actress for Carol (2015).



She was originally cast in the role ultimately played by Rachel Weisz in The Mercy (2017) before dropping out.



While being interviewed by Entertainment Tonight (1981) at the red carpet of the 2016 Golden Globe Awards, her longtime friend Leonardo DiCaprio stated that Winslet is his favorite actress in the industry and he would love to work with her again.



Husband Ned Rocknroll (born Abel Smith) works for uncle Richard Branson 's space travel company Virgin Galactic in the capacity of "Head of Marketing Promotion and Astronaut Experience".



She was considered for the role of Sarah Sullivan in In America (2002) but dropped out. The role ended up going to Samantha Morton for what the latter was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress. Morton turned the role of Iris Murdoch that Winslet played in Iris (2001) and Winslet turned down the role of Agatha Lively that Morton played in Minority Report (2002).



She was terrified of Alan Rickman when she first met him on the set of Sense and Sensibility (1995). After a week of getting to know him, she realized how sweet and kind he was in real life. They ended up becoming great friends and would work again together. Kate also developed a crush on him.



She was devastated when Alan Rickman passed away on January 14, 2016. She gave a tearful tribute to him at the London Critics Awards several days after he passed away.



She turned down the role of Milada Horáková in Milada (2017), eventually played by Ayelet Zurer



As of 2017, the video of her 2009 Oscar win has 8,1 million views on YouTube - the most-watched video of a Best Actress winner of all times followed by Jennifer Lawrence at #2 with 8 million views on her 2013 Oscar win.

Paternal granddaughter of Charles Winslet (1908-1989) and Blanche (née Sims) Winslet (1909-1993).





Born on the same date as Scott Weinger



Counts Jodie Foster 's portrayal of the teenage hooker Iris in Taxi Driver (1976) as the role that greatly changed how she perceived the art of acting.



Kate's longtime friend and dialect coach has been Susan Hegarty , starting with Titanic (1997) and collaborating on 16+ titles over 20 years.



Has acted out childbirth in two of her movies; Jude (1996) and Labor Day (2013).



She has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Titanic (1997).

Born in the same city as Kate Middleton.



Husband changed his name from Ned Rocknroll back to Edward Abel Smith.





Was Yorgos Lanthimos 's first choice to portray Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough in The Favourite (2018) but turned it down and Rachel Weisz was cast as her replacement.



During an on-set interview said that the most exciting thing about being a part of The Dressmaker (2015) was working with Judy Davis

Personal Quotes (30)



[on her screen debut in Heavenly Creatures (1994)]: I was reading the script in the back of the car and I turned to my dad and yelled, "I've GOT to get this!". And he replied, "Then you will." And I thought, "Yep, that's it. I'm bloody well going to." And that was it. I was so determined. It was something crucial to my life. I just so communicated with her, the story and their relationship. And when I found out, I just couldn't believe it. I was so happy, I cried. I remember I was working part-time at a deli at the time because I didn't have any money and was in the middle of making a sandwich when they phoned and said I'd got the job. I burst into tears and had to leave work because I couldn't control myself. It was absolutely brilliant.

In 2002, she had this to say about doing nude scenes: I like exposing myself. There's not an awful lot that embarrasses me. I'm the kind of actress that absolutely believes in exposing myself.



I'd rather do theatre and British films than move to L.A. in hopes of getting small roles in American films.



It's very important for me to make the statement that I am English and just because I've done one really big film, it doesn't mean that I don't want to keep a finger in the fantastic British film industry and do films like this.





On her spur-of-the-moment marriage to Sam Mendes : We hadn't been planning to do it but we thought it was rather a good idea, so we just did it.



After Titanic (1997), it would have been completely foolish for me to go and try and top that. I'm an English girl, I've always loved England, I've never felt the desire to leave it for any particular reason. And whilst I'm ambitious and care very much about what I do, I'm not competitive. I also don't want to act every day of my life. ... So it was important to me after Titanic (1997) to just remind myself of why it was that I was acting in the first place, which is of course because I love it.

Since I was 13 or 14, I've always felt older than I actually am.





I was on the tube just before Christmas and this girl turned round to me and said, "Are you Kate Winslet ?". And I said, "Well, yes. I am actually." And she said, "And you're getting the tube?". And I said, "Yes." And she said, "Don't you have a big car that drives you around?". And I said, "No". And she was absolutely stunned that I wasn't being driven round in some flash car all the time. It was ludicrous.

People say to me, "You seem to have made this conscious decision to do independent films." In reality, I haven't. After each movie, I always think, how different can I possibly be?... Is this going to challenge me, is this going to inspire me, and is this going to make me love my job more than I already do?



There is no way we are going to move out of England. Some might think that we want to live in Hollywood but that is not what we want at all. We will go and live in New York when it is necessary because of work but we prefer to be in England. I'm proud to be English - we both are. It's very important to me to retain that. I am an English girl and I love England. I have never felt the desire to leave. I am still ambitious and I will have to travel and live elsewhere because of that but England is always home.





On a scene from the movie Holy Smoke (1999): It was a difficult scene. When I read the script and I saw this scene was there, I laughed hysterically. I just couldn't believe it. When it came to shooting it, I had been sort of putting it off, and pretending it wasn't going to happen. And suddenly, I am there naked, peeing and thinking "Oh no!". It was really hard to do, but I've always loved the fact that it was there, and it's such a sort of turning point for the character I play in the movie that I've always felt sort of good, that it should be there.

On receiving her fourth Oscar nomination: I can't believe it. I am ecstatic! This nomination means so much to me. To be remembered for a film that was released a while ago, I am unbelievably honoured and completely overwhelmed.



There's more to life than cheekbones.



Mum and dad were very much friends, and up to life. There was no anxiety for anything when I was growing up, they just taught me to be me.



Life is short, and it is here to be lived.



Loving someone is setting them free, letting them go.



I don't know if it's a skill, but I have been really lucky. I've always got on with every actor I've had to work opposite. I just always try and be as accepting of that person as I possibly can, and remain non-judgmental about their process, because every actor works in a different way.



I was a wayward child, very passionate and very determined. If I made up my mind to do something, there was no stopping me.





On going to the 1996 Oscars: Emma Thompson said to me "Listen, it's honestly just like going to see a fantastic show", and actually it really is, because there are so many people to look at and all those fabulous frocks and it's really fascinating. But mum and dad and I did kind of amble through it a bit, a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies, getting out the car, my mum stepping on my dress and I'm going "Mum, mum!".

I'm really proud of being English, because I learned my job in England, in English films with English actors. But I never dared dream of such a success... it's more than a dream. I realize it's extraordinary for a British actress. I feel good, but guilty at the same time, cause I wish I could share this emotion with all my British actors' friends... I play the main character in the most expensive and probably successful film, but that's not a good reason to leave England and become a superstar. Not at all.



It seems daft that I'm famous and I've not really got to grips with that.



On taking chances in Hollywood: If you're not still learning and growing as an actor, then you have no backbone and no career. [November 2000]





My skin still crawls if you call me a movie star. I get embarrassed. I think, don't be ridiculous. Maybe it's because I'm British. To me, Julia Roberts that's a movie star. But when people do call me one, that, I think, is an enormous compliment but, my God, is that a responsibility!



[on being nominated in the same category as superstar Meryl Streep ] It feels unbelievable to be mentioned in the same breath as fellow actress Meryl Streep. It's inconceivable to me that this would even happen in my lifetime at all. It's such a dream.

I don't smoke around my kids. Like that makes it any better that I smoke at all, because obviously it doesn't. But I don't smoke in the house. I mean, I had a cigarette this morning, which is because I hadn't been. Coffee and a cigarette: bingo! I'm not sure if I want you to print that. [laughs]



I think he could have actually fit on that bit of door. [Concerning whether Jack Dawson could have survived with Rose on the floating board in Titanic]



People are always so excited to see Leo and myself in the same space, which at the end of the day, that's so lovely, isn't it? It's been 20 years and people still get such a kick out of it. It's really quite endearing. And we do laugh about it. Oh my God, can you actually believe it that people still get so overwhelmed by the Jack and Rose thing?



[on selecting to act in small, independent films after the success of Titanic] The point was I could choose. That was the luxury Titanic afforded me. There was tremendous pressure on me to do something 'big', but I ducked it all. I had to. If I hadn't, I would have burned out by the age of 25. So I ran a mile - back to where I felt safe again.





[on growing her pubic hair for nude scenes in The Reader (2008)] Let me tell you, The Reader (2008) was not glamorous for me in terms of body-hair maintenance. I had to grow it in, because you can't have a landing strip in 1950, you know? And then because of years of waxing, as all of us girls know, it doesn't come back quite the way it used to. They even made me a merkin because they were so concerned that I might not be able to grow enough. I said, 'Guys, I am going to have to draw the line at a pubic wig, but you can shoot my own snatch up close and personal.'

[on working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski] What the f*** was I doing?



Salary (6)