Kate Winslet has been body shamed throughout her career, but particularly when Titanic propelled her into the spotlight.
Kate Winslet is using her platform to showcase women's issues, and is vocal about her use of testosterone for perimenopause induced lack of sex drive. The star is also often found shouting the benefits of getting older from the rooftops, highlighting that her confidence gets better with age. It's surprising to hear she has any positivity left to give, when you hear of the horrendous body shaming the actress has endured throughout her career.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Kate recalls scrutiny of her body was at its peak when the runaway success of Titanic took her fame to the next level. However, instead of focusing on her outstanding performance, the tabloids chose instead to direct their coverage towards the shape of her body.
"It was absolutely appalling," the actress recalls, adding, "What kind of a person must they be to do something like that to a young actress who's just trying to figure it out?" Kate was just 22-years-old at the time. During the interview, she's asked whether she ever managed to confront one of the reporters targeting her weight - and Kate reveals she did get that opportunity.
Now aged 49, Kate shares, "I did get face-to-face," continuing, "I let them have it. I said 'I hope this haunts you.' It was a great moment because it wasn't just for me, it was for all those people who were subjected to that level of harassment. It was horrific, it was really bad."
Now middle aged and well established as one of the most accomplished actresses of her generation, Kate embraces all that comes with the confidence not being concerned about others' opinions has equipped her with - she has zero cares to give about what anybody thinks of her appearing on screen makeup-free, with wrinkles, or wearing a bikini that reveals weight around her abdomen.
She also reflects that while reporting on women's bodies is still part of our culture, it's also improved since she was a young actress taking the brunt of it. "It was almost laughable how shocking, how critical, how straight-up cruel tabloid journalists were to me," she says. Kate adds, "They would comment on my size, they'd estimate what I weighed, they'd print the supposed diet I was on. It was critical and horrible and so upsetting to read. But… it's also made me feel so… so moved. By how different it is now."
She's also made sure to always push body-positive messages with her own daughter, Mia. Aged 24, Mia Threapleton has followed her mother into acting, carving out a successful career of her own. Through a combination of the weight-related scrutiny she faced and lack of nurturing to be proud of her own body growing up, Kate took the most refreshing approach to building Mia's confidence.
The star recalls, "When I grew up, I never heard positive reinforcement about body image from any female in my life. I only heard negatives. That’s very damaging because then you’re programmed as a young woman to immediately scrutinize yourself and how you look."
To help Mia be proud of her curves, Kate reveals she used to 'Stand in front of the mirror and say to Mia, 'We are so lucky we have a shape. We're so lucky we're curvy. We're so lucky that we've got good bums.' And she'll say, 'Mummy, I know, thank God.' It's paying off."
