Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has used a prominent BBC radio appearance to deliver a powerful rebuke to a drama teacher who body-shamed her as a teenager, while also confronting the school bullies who tormented her for years.
A Stinging Rebuke to a Cruel Comment
Speaking candidly to presenter Lauren Laverne on today's edition of Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4, the 50-year-old star of Titanic recalled a pivotal and damaging moment from her youth. She described a female drama teacher – often wrongly assumed to be a man – who told the aspiring young actress she would only have a career if she was "happy to settle for the fat girl parts".
Winslet responded to the memory with an angry raspberry blown on air, directly addressing the unnamed teacher: "Look at me now!" She added, "That wasn't very nice, was it? It's appalling the things people say to children." The actress, now one of Hollywood's most respected figures with an Academy Award for The Reader and six further Oscar nominations, suggested such cruelty only strengthened her resolve to succeed.
The Damaging Legacy of School Bullying
Winslet revealed the extent of the relentless bullying she faced over her weight throughout her primary and secondary school years in Reading, Berkshire. She was targeted by jealous classmates who called her "blubber" and would lock her in the art cupboard, despite not being overweight.
"I have to say, 'Look you lot who were in my year at school, you were bloody horrible to me, and you should be ashamed,'" she stated directly to her former tormentors. The situation intensified when she landed a starring role in the BBC drama Dark Season at age 15, leading to further isolation as her peers moved their desks away from hers.
The psychological impact was severe. Winslet confessed she was "on and off diets from the age of 15 to 19 and eventually I was barely eating. It was really unhealthy." She described a cycle of panic about her appearance that lasted for years, calling it the one thing in her life she truly regrets.
Forging a Path with 'Intention and Integrity'
Despite the trauma, Winslet credits the experience with forcing her to develop a thick skin early on. She channelled her energy into her theatre company and creative pursuits outside school, making the "school mean people" as insignificant as possible. "I wouldn't let them spoil a trajectory that I was determined I was on," she affirmed.
Now a mother of three who has just directed her first feature film, Goodbye June, Winslet remains fiercely opposed to cosmetic surgery and the digital enhancement of women's images in magazines. She champions ageing naturally, linking it directly to her craft.
"I live my life with intention and integrity, having a face that moves. I have to," she explained. "That is also how I do my job. I want to play characters who have wrinkles and crow's feet and a face that is changing with age... That's life."
The full interview with Kate Winslet on Desert Island Discs aired on BBC Radio 4 and is available to stream on BBC Sounds.
