Kate Winslet, a young actress with ambitions of acting, was called “blubber” by her father and told she should settle for roles as “fat girls”. Films like Titanic The English actress, who has been a leading lady, tells how she secured her position. Sunday Times Her body was not immune to scrutiny.
“When I was younger my agent would get calls saying, ‘How’s her weight?’” shares the Oscar winner, who says now that “as a middle-aged woman I care about being that actor who moves their face and has a body that jiggles.” She is 47 and feels that the industry has made progress in not focusing so much on weight. Winslet describes it as “heartwarming”.
But as the mother of a 22-year-old daughter, actress Mia Threapleton — with whom she stars in the new British TV drama I am Ruth — Winslet feels anxious about the pressure social media and internet culture puts on young people. The… Stars Sense and Sensibility While she was not a stranger to tabloid interest in her private lives, she wasn’t born in the eras of TMZ and Deux Moi.
“It was hard enough having the flipping News of the World on my doorstep, but that doesn’t even cut it now,” she says, referencing the British tabloid. “That phrase about ‘today’s news being tomorrow’s fish and chip paper’ doesn’t exist. What did you do when you were drunk? It could come back to haunt your. Needing to be on one’s guard for young actors is just a different thing. It must be extraordinarily hard.”
Ruth is my name Winslet & Threapleton are mother and daughter. They discuss how this pressure can have harmful consequences for teens’ self-image and self-image.
“Mia was a wonderful friend and we had some great conversations.” I Am Ruth,” says the actress, who shares Mia with first husband Jim Threapleton. “But so have most of the mothers that I know with their teenagers. My friends have been through white-knuckle hell, and I try to find roles that illuminate difficult topics as an actor. This was one.”
A mother of three, she can understand the stress parents face when trying to protect their children’s mental well-being. She’s mindful that, because of her fame, she’ll be “accused of lecturing” others, noting that “I don’t have a f***ing answer that is better or worse or different than anyone else’s.”
“Just because I am high-profile, it doesn’t mean I’m not affected,” Winslet says. “I don’t have a protective force field. I mustn’t talk specifics, because I must be careful with Mia’s privacy, but young adults are going through something incredibly hard. I don’t have a magic wand, but as a parent you try to do the right thing.
“There are times in your child’s life when nothing you can do or say is right,” she continues. “You want them to be happy. However, the world is full of enormous pressures. There’s nothing you can do to keep them safe.”
However, Mare of Easttown star doesn’t entirely despair over Gen Z.
“My daughter’s generation have an ability to speak for themselves,” she notes. “They have already learnt that they will be heard. Obviously not in every situation, but they know how to use their voice — especially young women. That’s striking to me. When you were younger, you could speak when spoken to. However, this is not true today. Young women are more powerful than ever. And they’re prouder of their bodies.”
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