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Career-defining role in 'Ammonite' (2020) -

She's been acting for nearly two-thirds of her life and continues to churn out more career-defining roles. In 2020, it was playing the real-life paleontologist Mary Anning in Francis Lee's powerful same-sex love story, 'Ammonite,' which the actress had plenty of insights about.

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On portraying a same-sex relationship -

In an interview with Vanity Fair in September 2020, Winslet said that being able to tell stories that normalize same-sex love and remove conventional stereotypes of romance has been "one of the most joyful experiences of [her] career."

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On Hollywood's portrayal of women -

Winslet has played many powerful roles, but now she questions the way women have been written, "that she is feisty or taking control… Why can't she just be turned on? Why can't she just know what she wants?" She wishes she'd taken more responsibility for how her characters were portrayed romantically in the past.

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On Hollywood's portrayal of women -

She said her work on 'Ammonite' gave her a sense of renewed commitment to honoring the female perspective and "how we really want to be portrayed, regardless of sexual orientation."

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The #MeToo movement -

Winslet is not afraid to take a critical look at herself and ask, "What the f–k was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski?" adding that she has to take responsibility for those choices.

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On regret -

The films were 'Carnage' (2011) with Polanski, and 'Wonder Wheel' (2017) with Allen. "I'm grappling with those regrets," Winslet said. "But what do we have if we aren't able to just be f—king truthful about all of it?"

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On being a role model -

Winslet spoke about handing off a "pretty f—ked up world" to the younger generations, but added: "Life is f–king short and I'd like to do my best when it comes to setting a decent example to younger women."

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On body image - On 'Running Wild with Bear Gryllis' in 2015, Winslet revealed she had no positive role models for body image, and in fact only heard negatives. "That's very damaging, because then you're programmed as a young woman to immediately scrutinize yourself and how you look."

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Some advice for young people - Winslet shared some advice with Entertainment Weekly in 2014, which was simply not to worry so much about appearances, because: "All that s—t when you're in your late teens and early 20s—it's such a waste of time."

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Pulling the veil on photoshop and airbrush - Winslet has been vocal about the retouching that goes on in Hollywood, from magazines to films. "I might look glamorous, but I've been in hair and makeup for two hours," she told Marie Claire UK in 2009, adding that in the naked scenes for 'The Reader' "even I was like, 'Damn, I look good.' It was a bit of body makeup."

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Frank about her changing body -

Speaking about quarantine, Winslet was completely relatable in saying: "To be completely honest with you, none of my pants fit me at the moment."

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Honoring her age - For 'Ammonite,' Winslet said she was "determined to allow for the differences in my own womanly self to be seen," instead of hiding them with makeup, in order to honor the age she actually is. "I don't think we see enough of that in films."

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On wrinkles - "It's fun watching your face change, especially for an actor, she told Vulture in 2015. "All my lines, they're hard-won, I'm proud of them."

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Telling real women's stories -

Especially with her portrayal as Mary Anning, whose successes were largely written out of history, Winslet emphasized how important it is to her to tell real women's stories. "It's important that we know that great women came before us and did extraordinary things," she said.

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Honesty and nothing less -

Talking about filming the tank scenes in 'Titanic' with Rolling Stone in 1998, Winslet said: "Yes, I admit to sometimes peeing in that water," explaining that she didn't want to make a big deal with getting out and maneuvering the dresses. "So, yeah, I peed. I mean, it's the same with a swimming pool—do you really think about what's in it?"

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On friendships -

Winslet told Vanity Fair, "Keeping good, grounding women of integrity in one's life is a blessing."

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Her friendship with Emma Thompson -

Winslet described their friendship as: "Lots of long, hilarious text messages with her going, 'Winslet, where the f—k are you? We haven't seen you for ages. You must be about 100 by now,'" as well as sending photos of their lunches and their full glasses of wine to each other.

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Her favorite role -

At the 2017 New York Film Festival, she revealed that her favorite role was Clementine, the wild-haired girl who falls in love with Jim Carrey in 2004's 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.' "Actually, she's one I'd love to play again because it was just so much fun," Winslet said.

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She's not a fan of red carpets -

"I love not getting into those f—king dresses and those f—king shoes," she told Vanity Fair, adding that all the money spent on huge press junkets, including flying journalists, actors, and glam squads around the world, is a colossal waste. "Why the hell is any of that important?"

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On fame and privacy - Winslet gave her most accurate depiction of fame to Harper's Bazaar UK in 2009: "Our knickers will still go up our a— at the most inappropriate moment. And we'll still want to flick them out, but you can't, because someone is going to catch you."

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On the excesses of Hollywood -

Specifically referring to movie promotion and awards seasons, Winslet said she's baffled by the money wasted, which "could be better put to making more independent films, number one, or building f—king classrooms."

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The diva thing isn't for her - Winslet has never been the type to have assistants, and she never let fame get to her head. "I never felt that I was in any way entitled to be a little ar–hole," she told Time Out London in 2013. "I just don't believe that that's how you should be in life, famous or not."

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She's very aware of her own privilege - Talking about the pandemic, Winslet gave the least ridiculous celeb response: "Obviously, we're not just like everyone else because we live in a nice house, and we're comfortable… We're just so lucky and don't have anything to f–king complain about ever, frankly."

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She's a mom to three children -

Each are from a different father: Mia Honey Threapleton (with Jim Threapleton) Joe Mendes (with Sam Mendes), and Bear Blaze Winslet (with Edward Abel Smith, who previously changed his named to Ned Rocknroll). Interestingly, Winslet told Ellen DeGeneres that she didn't want to name her first two kids "before they came out because I always felt like I had to see them and see who they're going to be."

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The name "Blaze" was a different case -

"Blaze" commemorates the day she met Ned Rocknroll, the nephew of Richard Branson, in a house fire where she heroically evacuated Branson's 90-year-old mother.

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On her husband's last name - Winslet somewhat controversially refused to give Bear his father's last name. "Of course we're not going to call it Rocknroll," she told Glamour UK in 2014. "People might judge all they like, but I'm a f—king grown-up."

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On her heartbreaks -

"I think heartbreak is something that you learn to live with as opposed to learn to forget," she told Good Housekeeping in 2007. "And I would never want to forget anything that I've experienced. It's a part of life, and it's a part of who I am."

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There is no stasis for her -

With a career spanning several decades, Winslet is candid about how scarily easy it is to lose yourself and your responsibility along the way. "I don't want to f—k that up," she said. "I know that I can always do better."

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On being an actress -

"It's such a weird job. Why the hell do I do it? It still baffles me. I'm still so tormented by it, but I do still love it."

Sources: (Vanity Fair) (LA Times) (Entertainment Weekly)

See also: Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio's adorable friendship

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