Born into a family of thespians--parents Roger and Sally were both stage actors, maternal grandparents Oliver and Linda Bridges ran the Reading Repertory Theatre, and uncle Robert Bridges was a fixture in London's West End theatre district--Kate came into her talent at an early age. She scored her first professional gig at 11, dancing opposite the Honey Monster in a commercial for a kids' cereal. She started acting lessons around the same time, which led to formal training at a performing arts high school. article continued below...

Born into a family of thespians--parents Roger and Sally were both stage actors, maternal grandparents Oliver and Linda Bridges ran the Reading Repertory Theatre, and uncle Robert Bridges was a fixture in London's West End theatre district--Kate came into her talent at an early age. She scored her first professional gig at 11, dancing opposite the Honey Monster in a commercial for a kids' cereal. She started acting lessons around the same time, which led to formal training at a performing arts high school. Over the next few years she appeared on stage regularly and landed a few bit parts in sitcoms. Her first big break came at age 17, when she was cast as an obsessive adolescent in Heavenly Creatures (1994). The film, based on the true story of two fantasy-gripped girls who commit a brutal murder, received modest distribution but was roundly praised by critics.

Still a relative unknown, Winslet attended a cattle call audition the next year for Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility (1995). She made an immediate impression on the film's star, Emma Thompson, and beat out more than a hundred other hopefuls for the part of plucky Marianne Dashwood. Her efforts were rewarded with both a British Academy Award and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Winslet followed up with two more period pieces, playing the rebellious heroine in Jude (1996) and Ophelia in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996).

The role that transformed Winslet from art house attraction to international star was Rose DeWitt Bukater, the passionate, rosy-cheeked aristocrat in James Cameron's Titanic (1997). Young girls the world over both idolized and identified with Winslet, swooning over all that face time opposite heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio and noting her refreshingly healthy, un-emaciated physique. Winslet's performance also garnered a Best Actress nomination, making her the youngest actress to ever receive two Academy nods.

After the swell of unexpected attention surrounding Titanic (1997), Winslet was eager to retreat into independent projects. Rumor has it that she turned down the lead roles in both Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Anna and the King (1999) in order to play adventurous soul searchers in Hideous Kinky (1998) and Holy Smoke (1999). The former cast her as a young single mother traveling through 1960s Morocco with her daughters in tow; the latter, as a zealous follower of a guru tricked into a "deprogramming" session in the Australian outback. The next year found her back in period dress as the Marquis de Sade's chambermaid and accomplice in Quills (2000).

Off camera, Winslet is known for her mischievous pranks and familial devotion. She has two sisters, Anna Winslet and Beth Winslet (both actresses), and a brother, Joss. In 1998 she married James Threapleton, whom she met on the set of Hideous Kinky (1998); the pair had a daughter, Mia, in October of 2000.

• Daughter Mia was born (in England) on Thursday, October 12, 2000 weighing in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces. This is her first child with Threapleton.
• Kate met husband, James Threapleton, on the set of her movie Hideous Kinky (1998), where he was working as an assistant director.
• Won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children (2000)
• Turned down the Gwyneth Paltrow role in Shakesepeare in Love (1998) and the Jodie Foster role in Anna and the King (1999).
• Has very large feet and wears size 10 shoes.
• At age 11 began attending the acting school Redroofs in Maidenhead, England, UK.
• Dated Rufus Sewell
• Sister of Anna Winslet and Beth Winslet
• (1998) The youngest actress ever to be nominated for two Academy Awards (for Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Titanic (1997)).
• (1991-1995) Dated Stephen Tredre
• Began studying drama at age 11.
• Her first acting job was dancing with the Honey Monster in a commercial for Sugar Puffs cereal.
• Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Manchester Evening News Award for her role in "What the Butler Saw."
• (1996) Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world
• Won Best British Actress, Empire Magazine Awards for Heavenly Creatures (1994).
• Younger brother, Joss.
• Parents: Roger Winslet (actor) and Sally Bridges-Winslet.
• Kate Winslet portrays Juliet Hulme in the movie Heavenly Creatures (1994) in which Juliet murdered another person. Juliet would then change her name to Anne Perry and write murder-mystery novels. She did a series of Inspector Pitt novels, one of which was made into the A&E movie, Cater Street Hangman, The (1998) (TV). Kate Winslet's older sister, Anna Winslet, had a part in that movie.
• (August 2000) Purchased a rural home in Southern England for 1.75 million.
• (June 2001) Recorded a song for the soundtrack for the movie Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001). Producers were so impressed at her efforts they have decided to release the ballad - called "What If?" - as a single.
• (3 September 2001) Announced that she and husband James Threapleton are splitting up.