Portrait · Colleen Sturtevant; existing crop by PaulLim11 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Kate Winslet

Actor and director

Born 1975

Kate Winslet is an English actor and director, born in Reading in 1975. She grew up in a family familiar with performing and the practical work needed to support it. Her father acted but also took other jobs; her mother worked in restaurants while raising four children. In the ALL ARTS documentary, Winslet recalls playing the Ace of Hearts in an Alice in Wonderland production at eleven, an early experience of belonging onstage. Youth theatre at Reading’s Starmaker Theatre Company and training at Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead developed that interest. She described Redroofs as her only formal acting training, and remembered hoping that the work might lead to occasional theatre jobs. Screen roles arrived sooner than she expected. She approached characters through close attention to scripts and their lives beyond the scenes shown. Her television beginnings included Dark Season and Get Back. Heavenly Creatures took the teenage actor to New Zealand for her first feature role. She recalled receiving the news while working at a Reading delicatessen: her child agent telephoned to tell her the audition had succeeded. At BAFTA, she described a career built through collaboration, moving between unfamiliar characters rather than seeking a fixed screen identity. Sense and Sensibility cast her as Marianne Dashwood. Titanic followed with Rose DeWitt Bukater, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind brought the unpredictable Clementine Kruczynski. The Reader placed her in the role of Hanna Schmitz. That performance won the 2009 Academy Award for Actress in a Leading Role. Revolutionary Road reunited her with DiCaprio as April Wheeler. Television continued to provide substantial roles. Mildred Pierce and Mare of Easttown each earned a lead-acting Emmy; the Academy also recognised her producing work on Mare with a nomination. The Regime later cast her as Chancellor Elena Vernham and credited her as executive producer. Lee brought the role of photographer Lee Miller and a producing credit. Goodbye June became her feature directing debut after her son Joe Anders wrote its screenplay. She had first intended to act and produce, then realised she wanted to direct the family drama herself. Her discussion with Krista Smith describes hiring first-time department heads and arranging the set to give the performers room to work together. The film reached Netflix in December 2025, with Winslet playing Julia and also serving as a producer. Her narration work continued with Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, which debuted worldwide on Prime Video in February 2026. She also became an ambassador for The King’s Foundation in June 2025. The Hunt for Gollum is a future acting project: the April 2026 casting announcement names her as Marigol, a Stoor settlement matriarch, in Andy Serkis’s film scheduled for December 2027.

Verified identityCore facts checked against named sources.

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Connected people

ConnectionLeonardo DiCaprioCo-star in Titanic and Revolutionary Road.

ConnectionJoe AndersHer son and the screenwriter of Goodbye June.

ConnectionEllen KurasDirector of Lee, which Winslet stars in and produces.

Lifestyle index · sourced and contextualised

Trivia & tastes

Cover source

Blueberries for SalRobert McCloskey

Reported childhood favourite, later read to her children. The current Viking paperback is a reference edition, not her owned copy.

Named item linked to an attributable source

Cover source

Burglar BillJanet and Allan Ahlberg

She describes reading this book to her son over Skype. The Puffin paperback is a reference, not a verified owned edition.

Named item linked to an attributable source

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My Heart Will Go On

Negative, 2012.

Recorded with an attributable source

Tea

June 2021: a cup to start the day.

Recorded with an attributable source

Vegan and vegetarian dishes

September 2024 producer description reports recipes she shared on Table Manners; no fixed menu inferred.

Recorded with an attributable source

Power yoga, barre cardio and walking

December 2017 personal exercise answer; no present schedule inferred.

Recorded with an attributable source

Peloton bike

June 2021 interview: used to decompress during Mare of Easttown.

Recorded with an attributable source

Cycling and swimming

August 2021 interview; frequency and distance excluded.

Recorded with an attributable source

Said she did not eat meat or dairy

August 2021 interview snapshot.

Recorded with an attributable source

Nearly vegan, while eating her own chickens’ eggs

May 2023 interview; not a verified current diet.

Recorded with an attributable source

Weleda Skin Food

June 2021: applied to the backs of her hands at night; L’Oréal ambassador interview.

Recorded with an attributable source

Tracie Martyn Amla Purifying Cleanser

December 2017 personal use; Lancôme ambassador interview.

Recorded with an attributable source

Cover source

Baume de Rose Lip BalmBY TERRY

Named as a personal lip balm in December 2017. Current packaging is a reference; the interview was in her Lancôme ambassador context.

Named item linked to an attributable source

View image source

Cover source

Amla Purifying CleanserTracie Martyn

Named for daily cleansing in December 2017. The present catalogue variant identifies a reference product, not her owned size.

Named item linked to an attributable source

View image source

Cover source

Skin Food Original Ultra-Rich CreamWeleda

Hand care in 2021, in L’Oréal ambassador context; current US product is a reference.

Named item linked to an attributable source

View image source

L’Eau d’Issey — Issey Miyake

June 2021 personal fragrance answer; concentration and owned bottle size unspecified.

Recorded with an attributable source

Cover source

L’Eau d’Issey Eau de ToiletteIssey Miyake

Historical family preference; pictured concentration and size are catalogue references.

Named item linked to an attributable source

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Two unnamed dogs

September 2023; names, breeds and current ownership unknown.

Recorded with an attributable source

Chickens

September 2023 interview: she describes collecting their eggs; no count inferred.

Recorded with an attributable source

Trivia & tastes

Books

Music

Food

Training

Diet

Skincare

Fragrances

Pets