theOscarSite Facts:
Birth Namee:
  • Kate Elizabeth Winslet
Birth Date:
  • 5 October 1975
Birthplace:
  • Reading, Berkshire, England
Nicknames:
  • English Rose
  • Corset Kate
Education:
  • Redroofs School, Maidenhead, England; studied at a drama school in England
Personal Quote:
  • 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."
Claims to Fame:
  • Stole Leo DiCaprio's sinking heart but survived to tell the tale in TITANIC - and win a Best Actress Oscar® nomination; her children call him "Uncle Leo".
  • Played a tragic Ophelia to Kenneth Branagh's agonized HAMLET
  • In 1998, she became the youngest actress to be nominated for two Academy Awards®; youngest with 3 nominations (2002); youngest with 4 nominations (2005); youngest with 5 nominations (2007).
  • Only twice in Academy history have two actresses been nominated for playing the same role in the same film: Gloria Stuart and Winslet in TITANIC (1997) and Judi Dench and Winslet in IRIS (2001).
Significant Others:
  • One-time love of actors Rufus Sewell and the late Stephen Tredre
  • 1998: Married HIDEOUS KINKY assistant director James Threapleton with whom she has a daughter (Mia, born 2000) - divorced 2001
  • 2003: Married director Sam Mendes (son - Joe Alfie Mendes, b. 2003)
Family:
  • Comes froma long lineage of actors: parents Roger Winslet and Sally Bridges-Winslet were both stage actors, maternal grandparents Oliver and Linda Bridges ran the Reading Repertory Theatre, and her uncle Robert Bridges was a fixture in London's West End theatre district. Sisters Anna Winsley (b. 1972) and Beth Winslet (b. 1978) are both actresses.
Feature Films:
  • Gnomeo and Juliet (2008, voice)
    The Reader (2008)
    Revolutionary Road (2008)
    The Holiday (2006)
    Flushed Away (2006, voice)
    All the King's Men (2006)
    Little Children (2006)
    Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
    Finding Neverland (2004)
    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
    The Life of David Gale (2003)
    Plunge: The Movie (2003)
  • Iris (2001)
    The Christmas Carol Movie (2001, voice)
    Enigma (2001)
    Quills (2000)
    Faeries (1999 - voice)
    Holy Smoke (1999)
    Hideous Kinky (1998)
    Titanic (1997)
    Hamlet (1996)
    Jude (1996)
    Sense and Sensibility (1995)
    A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995)
    Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Academy Awards®: