Kate Winslet Reveals How The Media's Cruelty Impacted Her Body Image

Known for her talent and outspokenness, Kate Winslet has long been a Hollywood outlier who many women look up to. Among her accolades, she's even the first actress to have received four Oscar nominations before her 30th birthday, The Guardian reports. After winning numerous awards and gracing screens for over two decades, Winslet is opening up about how the media scrutiny impacted her sense of self early in her career.

In her interview with The Guardian, the mother of three shared her frustration that her mentions in the media often revolved around her weight. "Yes. In my 20s, people would talk about my weight a lot," Winslet said. "And I would be called to comment on my physical self. Well, then I got this label of being ballsy and outspoken. No, I was just defending myself."

After re-reading old newspaper clippings from earlier in her career, the actress added, "And it was almost laughable how shocking, how critical, how straight-up cruel tabloid journalists were to me. I was still figuring out who the hell I bloody well was! They would comment on my size, they'd estimate what I weighed, they'd print the supposed diet I was on," she continued. "It was critical and horrible and so upsetting to read. But it also made me feel so moved. By how different it is now."

The experience almost deterred Winslet from chasing her lifelong dream of being a famous actress in the United States. "It damaged my confidence, she told The Guardian. "I didn't want to go to Hollywood because I remember thinking, 'God, if this is what they're saying to me in England, then what will happen when I get there?'"

All of the media scrutiny had gotten to the up-and-coming starlet's head, making it difficult for Winslet to feel comfortable in her own skin. But, by the time she had her daughter, things had shifted. "But then of course, I had Mia when I was 25. And so all that s[***] just kind of ... evaporated," she explained. 

Winslet's commitment to empowering women stems beyond her roles on-screen as well. The 45-year-old recently starred in Ammonite, a historical drama in which her character falls in love with Saorise Ronan. Winslet has previously apologized for working with controversial directors such as Woody Allen and Roman Polanski. During her acceptance speech at the 2018 London Critics Circle Films Awards, she called out some injustices in the industry and expressed her "regrets," E! Online reports.

"As women around the world and from all walks of life marched last weekend, once again joining together to speak out against harassment, exploitation and abuse, I realised that I wouldn't be able to stand here this evening and keep to myself some bitter regrets that I have about poor decisions to work with individuals with whom I wish I had not," she said (via E! Online).

Now, Winslet is taking accountability for the roles she takes on, and defending the women she works with. Of her current role, she said to The Guardian, "It made me feel like I had to hold myself accountable for times when I've maybe been complicit in the objectification of my own self in film. The things I agreed to. Body positions, or the way I was lit or how few clothes I wore."

A trailblazer from the start, Winslet's bravery to go against the grain has made waves in Hollywood and inspired women all over the world.