Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born on October 5th, 1975, in Reading, England, to father Roger and mother Sally Bridges-Winslet. She has two sisters, Anna and Beth, and a brother named Joss. Acting was in the family. Two of her father’s forebears – twins – appeared in vaudeville. Her mother’s parents, Oliver and Linda, had run the Reading Repertory Theatre, and her uncle Robert Bridges had appeared in many productions, most notably as Mr Bumble in the original West End version of Oliver! Her father, too, was a thespian by trade (Anna and Beth have also followed this path), performing mostly onstage, but also appearing on a couple of episodes of Casualty, a show that provided one of Kate’s earliest appearances.
With her heart set on an acting career, the precocious, focused and absurdly mature Kate was not to be denied. Stage school was what she wanted so, when her father expressed reservations while on family holiday on a Norfolk beach, she pinned him to the sand (with her not inconsiderable bulk) until he let her have her way. So it was that, at age 11, she auditioned for and was enrolled at Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead. Here she would appear onstage in a host of productions, including Peter Pan and Adrian Mole, but she found it a strange and difficult place. She’s described it as “very competitive, very unreal” and her background made her an outsider, with many of her classmates hailing from rich families and often popping off for a few weeks in Barbados. Her weight set her further apart. This was where she earned the nickname Blubber and found herself mercilessly teased and occasionally locked in the art-room cupboard. from tiscali.co.uk
Currently, Kate has the starring role (she beats out Leonardo in my mind) in James Cameron’s amazing, heart-wrenching, wonderful Titanic, as Rose Dewitt Bukater, the 17-year old wild beauty trapped in the heart of Philidelphia high society. Kate got a second Oscar nomination for her part as Rose (also a Golden Globe nomination, which, unfourtunately, went to Judi Densch, who is also an incredible actress, but still…) Kate also recieved a nomination for best actress from the Screen Actors Guild Awards. If you haven’t yet seen Titanic, run, don’t walk, to you’re nearest movie theatre. You won’t be sorry!Kate’s future projects include a movie called Hideous Kinky, which is set to be released in June, 1998. The film has yet to be picked up by a North American production company, but hopefully that will change! It is based on the novel of the same title by Anna Freud (grandaughter of the famous Sigmund). Kate stars as a young British mother of two in the 1960′s who is travelling around Morroco with her two young daughters. She also slated to do a new film with director Jane Campion called Holy Smoke. from starglimpse.com
Filmography
The Holiday (2006)
Flushed Away (voice) (2006)
Little Children (2006)
All the King’s Men (2006)
Deep Sea 3-D (narrator) (2006)
Extras (TV series, one episode) (2005)
Romance And Cigarettes (2005)
Finding Neverland (2004)
Pride (TV, voice) (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Inside The Actors’ Studio (TV series, one episode) (2004)
Nefertiti Revealed (TV, narrator) (2003)
Plunge: The Movie (2003)
The Life of David Gale (2003)
Iris (2002)
War Game (short, voice) (2001)
Christmas Carol: The Movie (voice) (2001)
Enigma (2001)
Comic Relief: Short Pants (TV, as herself) (2001)
Quills (2000)
Faeries (voice) (1999)
Holy Smoke (1999)
Ready, Steady, Cook (TV series, one episode) (1998)
Titanic: Breaking New Ground (TV) (1998)
Hideous Kinky (1998)
Titanic (1997)
Hamlet (1996)
Jude (1996)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
A Kid In King Arthur’s Court (1995)
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Get Back (TV series) (1992)
Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (TV) (1991)
Dark Season (TV series) (1991)
Casualty (TV, one episode) (1989)
Shrinks (TV) (1988)