5 Times Kate Winslet Shut Down Body Shamers

Before Kate Winslet appeared in "Titanic" in 1997, she already had a few acting credits under her belt, her first being in Peter Jackson's "Heavenly Creatures," in which two young girls conspire to kill one of their mothers. Not only was the topic pretty intense, but with Peter Jackson (who became a household name thanks to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy), Winslet found herself thrust into the world of acting and all its impossible standards for women. Although the movies that followed, like "Sense and Sensibility," helped to move her career in the right direction, it was "Titanic" that officially changed her life.

But with "Titanic" came endless scrutiny about her body. No matter where she turned, she was faced with the media commenting on her weight. "They would comment on my size, they'd estimate what I weighed, they'd print the supposed diet I was on," Winslet told The Guardian in 2021. "It was critical and horrible and so upsetting to read ... And I would be called to comment on my physical self. Well, then I got this label of being ballsy and outspoken. No, I was just defending myself."

It was the strength she brought to every conversation about her weight that helped put those types of questions to bed. Now, turning 49 on October 5, Winslet is facing questions about her wrinkles and her choice not to have work done, especially in an industry that has people running to get Botox at the first sign of aging. Over the years, Winslet has become a pro at shutting down body shamers, and we love her for it.

In December 2020, Kate Winslet appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast on which she talked about the onslaught of hate she got after the film "Titanic" was released. "Apparently I was too fat," Winslet said during the interview. "Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn't even f**king fat." Looking back at all the negativity she got, Winslet continued, "I would have said to journalists, I would have responded, I would have said, 'Don't you dare treat me like this. I'm a young woman, my body is changing, I'm figuring it out, I'm deeply insecure, I'm terrified, don't make this any harder than it already is.' That's bullying, you know, and actually borderline abusive, I would say."

Due to the success of "Titanic," Winslet was offered more and more roles. But while that was the case, Winslet said that her agent was often asked how her weight was before confirming Winslet to any project.

In September 2024, as reported by The International News, Kate Winslet was on the How to Fail podcast where she not only talked about what she wished she'd said after "Titanic" came out, but also her topless scene in her new movie, "Lee," about American photographer Lee Miller. "Had I stood up for myself more, and been clear and called people out for abusive language, actually, it may have in turn given other actresses the inspiration to do the same," Winslet said.

After viewers saw "Lee" and Winslet's topless scene, the move was regarded as "brave," an adjective that Winslet didn't appreciate because that's not the definition of brave. "Brave is going to the front line," said Winslet. "Brave is being [an] NHS nurse during Covid. It's not flipping brave to go topless or have no makeup or no Botox ... That's just being a real person." The choice of the word "brave" for a woman in her 40s going topless is, at its core, insulting and misogynistic. 

In August 2024, Kate Winslet sat down for an interview with Harper's Bazaar about her film "Lee." Lee Miller wasn't only an American photographer, but a WWII correspondent for Vogue who famously sat in Hitler's bathtub after he'd committed suicide, to wash herself after visiting Dachau — it's a heavy role to take on. But during the interview, Winslet was asked if she doesn't mind looking "less-than-perfect," a far from fair question to ask anybody of a certain age, especially one whose achievements and career prove she's more than just her face. Winslet responded that she's fine about being so-called less-than-perfect looking.
"I take pride in it because it is my life on my face, and that matters. It wouldn't occur to me to cover that up," said Winslet. "I'm more comfortable in myself as each year passes. It enables me to allow the opinions of others to evaporate."

In February 2024, Kate Winslet appeared on the Today Show and again talked about the abuse she endured after "Titanic," but she also pointed out how much has changed since the 1990s. "It's changed because young women now, they're born with a voice," Winslet told Hoda Kotb. "They have a voice, they're learning how to hang on to it, they stand up for themselves. They know that they matter. They count for something. They're great together."

Winslet went on to talk about how when she was growing up she didn't have any female role models who spoke positively about their bodies. Instead, women tended to be negative about their looks, always looking for something else, something perfect. Because Winslet wants her daughter, Mia, who's also going into show business, to have a healthy perception of herself, she stands in the mirror and says to Mia, "We are so lucky that we've got a shape. We're so lucky we're curvy. We're so lucky that we've got good bums,'" said Winslet, adding that Mia responds with, "Mummy, I know, thank God," so she knows her efforts are paying off.

In June 2023, Kate Winslet won Best Actress at the BAFTA TV Awards for her series, "I Am Ruth," about how harmful social media can be. In her acceptance speech, Winslet said, "To people in power and to people who can make change, please criminalize harmful content, please eradicate harmful content. We don't want it. We want our children back. We don't want to lie awake terrified for our children's mental health." She continued by stressing that any child who feels trapped in the unhealthy world of social media, to reach out for help, stressing that there's no shame in asking for support.

What's so important about this speech is that, as someone who's been put through the wringer during her career for her looks and the bullying she's experienced, one can only imagine what Winslet would have had to deal with if social media existed in the 1990s. Luckily, for her, it wasn't around then. But to ignore the dangers that come with the cruelty on social media is no better than turning a blind eye to Winslet's past and how the media treated her.