She Taught Her Daughter to Love Her Body and 9 More Reasons Why We Adore Kate Winslet So Much

Kate Winslet has been shining on our screens for over 2 decades with her blockbusters and independent movies. But this time we won’t call her a movie star, not only because she actually doesn’t like being called one but because her career is nothing but a tiny fragment of why we admire her so much.

We at Bright Side appreciate and admire Kate a lot, and we wanted to share just a few of the many priceless things we see in her.

1. She doesn’t want to be called a movie star.

Kate has said: “I’ve always been so uncomfortable with that. I just don’t feel like one, and I don’t live like one either—not the way I imagine a proper movie star living.” She does things that aren’t the stereotypical image of a movie star, like waking up at 6 a.m. to prepare breakfast and getting her kids ready for school.

2. She has great taste in Oscar fashion.

We’ve noticed that she doesn’t stick to just one designer, style, or color and she always looks awesome. Wearing Ben de Lisi in 2002, Valentino in 2007, and Yves Saint Laurent in 2009, she has shown us that she truly embraces her curves and knows how to wear them with style.

3. She protects her privacy and that of her exes.

Not many paparazzi were able to get into Kate’s private life, especially about her past relationships. Even though it hasn’t been easy for her she still managed to be out of the tabloids. “No one really knows what has happened in my life. No one really knows why my first marriage didn’t last; no one knows why my second didn’t. And I’m proud of those silences.”

4. She has proven that a woman and man can be just friends.

Even though Leonardo and Kate had quite a historical romance on screen, they are only best friends in real life. Kate said that she thinks her friendship with Leonardo has survived because there wasn’t anything romantic between them.

Actually, they are more like family. In one interview Kate said, “I just feel so grateful for that friendship and it’s honestly like family, you know, it’s one of those rare Hollywood friendships. I just feel very very blessed.”

5. For her, friendship is more important than anything else.

The relationship between Kate and Leonardo is not the only example of her true friendship and loyalty. Actually, Kate wasn’t at the premiere of Titanic at Mann’s Chinese Theatre because she was attending the funeral of her then friend and ex-boyfriend Stephen Tredre. She even didn’t watch the movie in the cinema, but she gave herself time to grieve and then watched it in the comfort of her home.

6. She co-founded the Golden Hat Foundation to help children with autism.

“After watching A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism with my daughter Mia, she turned to me and she said, ’Imagine if I couldn’t tell you that I love you.’” That was when Kate realized she had to raise her own voice to increase awareness for autism. So, she founded the Golden Hat Foundation in order to build innovative living campuses for children with autism to flourish and prosper.

7. She keeps her Oscar statuette in her bathroom.

While we might think that Oscars are kept in a flashy spot so that everyone can look and admire them, Kate keeps hers in a bathroom. She said that she is super proud of her Best Actress Oscar for The Reader and she wants to give everyone a chance to pick it up and have a go saying “I’d like to thank my son and my dad.”

She also says that you can even tell when somebody is holding a speech with her Oscar when they stay longer after the flush: “They’ll come out looking slightly pink-cheeked. It’s hysterical.”

8. She was, and still is, modest.

Even though she came from a family of actors, things weren’t always so bright for them: “I lived in a home where we didn’t get a VCR until I was 12, and we were on free meal benefits from a family charity.” Plus, in her teenage years, Kate was working a regular job like most of us do. She worked at a deli shop when she got the call for her first role in Heavenly Creatures.

She was also humble when she found out about her five nominations: “This wasn’t supposed to happen to somebody like me. I’m not the pedigree kid. I’m not classically trained. I didn’t come from the fancy home, no.”

9. She doesn’t hide her difficult childhood.

“When I grew up, I never heard positive reinforcement about body image from any female in my life,” Kate said. She explained that when she was young she was mocked about having “big feet” and being “chubby.” Actually, there had been a girl who was especially mean to Kate, but after she became a star in Titanic and saw the girl again Kate thanked her for everything because it had made her stronger.

10. She loves her body and taught her daughter to do the same.

Kate focused on protecting her kids from the negativity she had to go through as a child. So she practices a self-esteem-boosting exercise with her daughter Mia.

Kate said that “I 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.’ To this Mia had replied ’Mummy, I know, thank God,’” and it seems to be paying off.

What do you most admire Kate for? How many of her movies you have seen, and which ones? What would you say if you could give a speech with her Oscar from her bathroom?