Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has opened up about the intense and frightening media scrutiny she endured in the wake of her global fame from the 1997 blockbuster Titanic. In a candid interview, the star described a period of "horrific" press intrusion that left her feeling isolated and afraid.
The Relentless Pursuit After Titanic
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Winslet, now 50, recounted the extreme measures taken by the press and paparazzi. She revealed that her phone was tapped and that she was followed constantly. In one particularly invasive example, she said people would search through her household bins to analyse her rubbish and "try and figure out what diet I was on or wasn't on".
"It was horrific. There were people tapping my phone. They were just everywhere. And I was just on my own," Winslet stated. "I was terrified to go to sleep." The actress, who has just released her directorial debut Goodbye June, said she frequently saw herself on magazine covers accompanied by what she called "awful, terrible, actually abusive names".
Coping with Scrutiny and a Painful Divorce
Winslet shared her surprisingly down-to-earth method for dealing with the overwhelming attention. She said she relied on "a good meal, a shared conversation, a nice cup of coffee, a bit of Radiohead and a good poo", adding that life is better for these simple things.
The intrusion did not cease with her initial fame. Years later, during her divorce from film director Sam Mendes in 2010, she was hounded again. "I was being followed by paparazzi in New York City with my two small kids, who wanted to, of course, know the reason why Sam and I had split up," she recalled. Her strategy was one of quiet endurance: "You just keep your mouth closed, you put your head down, and you keep walking. And you try and put your hands over your children’s ears."
She credited the vital support of friends, especially a neighbouring couple who would leave her a comforting "bowl of steaming pasta and a little glass of red wine" on the garden wall between their homes.
A Lifelong Struggle with Body Image
The interview also delved into Winslet's long-standing battles with body confidence, which were exacerbated by the spotlight. She said she was unprepared for her body to become public property after Titanic. "I wasn't ready for that world," she admitted.
Her struggles began early; she was nicknamed "blubber" at primary school and was told by a drama teacher she would have to settle for "the fat girl parts". From ages 15 to 19, she was "on and off" dieting and "barely eating", a pattern she now recognises as "really unhealthy".
Winslet also addressed the practice of magazines digitally altering her image without consent in the early 2000s. Seeing the manipulated covers, she would think: "I don't look like this. My stomach isn't flat like that... What the hell?"
Reflecting on today's culture, she recently urged her peers in the spotlight to resist pressure to pursue perfection through cosmetic procedures or weight-loss drugs, calling the trend "devastating" and "frightening".
