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Early Life

Kate began studying drama at the age of eleven at the Redroofs Theatre School, a co-educational independent school in Maidenhead, Berkshire, where she was head girl. Shortly after she landed her first "professional" job in a Sugar Puffs television commercial. As a teen, she had roles in the British television series, Dark Season and Get Back. She also made appearances on the shows Casualty, Shrinks and Anglo Saxon Attitudes and appeared in theatre productions of Adrian Mole, Peter Pan, Annie and What The Butler Saw (a performance for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress by the Manchester Evening News).

Career Highlights

Kate Winslet made her film debut in 1994 when she starred in a joint leading role, as Juliet Hulme in director Peter Jackson's critically acclaimed Heavenly Creatures, playing a vivacious and imaginative teen who helps her best friend (played by Melanie Lynskey) murder her mother, when they are not allowed to be together. Winslet was named Best British Actress at the Empire Magazine Awards and London Film Critics Circle Awards.

After winning more critical praise for her performance in Ang Lee’s Sense And Sensibility, which was filmed in the spring of 1995, Kate landed the role of Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic. It was with her portrayal of Rose, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, in James Cameron’s blockbuster that Kate gained recognition worldwide. The movie stayed at #1 for 15 consecutive weeks in the U.S. box office and grossed a total of $1,848,813,795 worldwide making it the most successful box office film in history. Winslet received numerous award nominations for her performance, most notably for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Unfortunately she was unsuccessful at all three ceremonies but Titanic went on to win 11 Academy Awards.

Despite Titanic's success, Kate spent the next few years making lower-budget, independent films, including Hideous Kinky(1998) and Holy Smoke!(1999). In 2001 she received her third Oscar nomination for her performance as Young Iris Murdoch in Richard Eyre’s Iris but missed out on the award to Jennifer Connelly.

In January 2003, Kate started shooting the romantic comedy Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Co-Starring Jim Carey the film won Academy Award for best original screenplay in 2004. Winslet was also nominated for best actress but lost out to Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby. The same year saw the release of Finding Neverland, a semi-biographical film, of Scottish writer J. M. Barrie, played by Johnny Depp. Winslet was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress for both films.

In 2006 Kate released Little Children, based on Tom Perrotta's novel of suburban sex and prejudice. Winslet plays a young mum, Sarah, in a sexless marriage who embarks on an affair with Brad, played by Patrick Wilson. The movie saw Winslet receive her fifth Oscar nomination making her the youngest person to receive five nominations in the awards history.

December 2008 saw the release of two movies starring Kate. The first, The Reader, a British drama film based on the 1995 German novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink and co-starring Ralph Fiennes and Nicole Kidman. The second, Revolutionary Road, directed by her husband Sam Mendes saw her reunited with Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. Both films were met with critical praise and are expected to feature heavily throughout the 2009 award season.

1994 - Heavenly Creatures - Juliet Hulme

1995 - A Kid in King Arthur's Court - Princess Sarah

1995 - Sense and Sensibility - Marianne Dashwood

1996 - Jude - Sue Bridehead

1996 - Hamlet - Ophelia

1997 - Titanic - Rose DeWitt Bukater

1998 - Hideous Kinky - Julia

1999 - Faeries - Brigid (voice)

1999 - Holy Smoke! - Ruth Barron

2000 - Quills - Madeleine 'Maddy' LeClerc

2001 - Enigma - Hester Wallace

2001 - Christmas Carol: The Movie - Belle (voice)

2001 - Iris - Young Iris Murdoch

2003 - The Life of David Gale - Bitsey Bloom

2004 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Clementine Kruczynski

2004 - Finding Neverland - Sylvia Llewelyn Davies

2005 - Romance & Cigarettes - Tula

2006 - All the King's Men - Anne Stanton

2006 - Little Children - Sarah Pierce

2006 - Flushed Away - Rita (voice)

2006 - The Holiday - Iris Simpkins

2008 - The Fox and the Child - (Narrator)

2008 - The Reader - Hanna Schmitz

2008 - Revolutionary Road - April Wheeler

Trivia

• Premiere Magazine named Kate Winslet’s performance as Clementine Kruczynski in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind the 81st greatest film performance of all time.
• Kate recorded the song "What If?" for the soundtrack for the movie Christmas Carol: The Movie. Producers were so impressed at her efforts they have decided to release the ballad as a single. It reached the top ten in the U.K., peaking at number six.
• Has admitted she was bullied at school because of her large feet (she wears size 11 shoes).
• Was offered the role of Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers but turned it down.
• She was born in the same hospital as her husband, Sam Mendes.
• In 2005, Winslet appeared in a television commercial for American Express. As part of the "My Life, My Card" campaign, the ad shows Winslet strolling around Camden Lock, in North London.
• In 2006 she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy Series after playing a satirical version of 'herself' in Ricky Gervais’ Extras.

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