She’s the face of Lancôme as well as Hollywood’s ultimate symbol of elegance, but Kate Winslet hasn’t always been the Oscar-winning star she is today. Before skyrocketing to fame, the actress struggled with an issue that many youngsters currently face: bullying. In fact, Kate has revealed she was taunted with the label “Blubber,” teased for her desire to get into acting and even locked in a cupboard by her bullies.
“I wasn’t the prettiest,” she recently told a group of children at a charity event in London. “I was even told that I might be lucky in my acting if I was happy to settle for the fat-girl parts.”
Although casting agents would tell her she didn’t fit the ideal girl for their roles, Kate didn’t let the criticism knock her down. She chose to ignore the negative comments about her body and continued to pursue her ambition, nabbing the role of Rose in everyone’s favorite love story, Titanic—despite being the “most unlikely candidate” for “one of the biggest movies ever made,” she said.
“I learned to embrace my flaws, to make no apology for who I am,” she added. “I dug deep, and I decided that I simply wouldn’t listen when they said my body didn’t fit. This is who I am, the real me, Kate from Reading.”
Now Kate from Reading has an Oscar and 79 award nominations, as well as an upcoming romance-disaster film (sound familiar?) with heartthrob Idris Elba. Moral of the story? “You can be from anywhere and you can do anything, believe it,” she said. “It is possible to overcome your fears.” We love you, Kate.
