Kate Winslet is an actress celebrated for her varied, testing roles, hopping between Hollywood blockbusters such as Avatar: The Way of Water to masterpieces like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But it was a sinking ship — starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic — that made her rise. The actress — the first to get four Oscar nominations before the age of 30 — immerses herself entirely into a part. Here are five of our favourites.
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1. Titanic (1997, Disney+)
A sprawling $200 million epic about a sinking ship is not an easy gig for a young actor, but a 20-year-old Winslet brings real emotion to James Cameron’s film. In making a spoilt young girl likeable, she became an idol to teenage girls everywhere and joined the Hollywood A-list roster. Was there enough room for Jack on the door? Who cares. It’s Winslet who steals the show, and the raft for that matter.
2. Little Children (2006, buy/rent)
Winslet delivers a powerful performance as an unhappily married woman who connects with an equally miserable married dad (Patrick Wilson). Her excited reaction to watching an American football game is pure joy. This is a brave movie that refuses to conform and Winslet fits into that perfectly. Helen Mirren was always going to win the Oscar that year for her turn as Queen Elizabeth, but it probably should have been Winslet’s.
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, Sky/Now)
In Michel Gondry’s sci-fi romance about a couple purging the memories of their exes, Winslet gives an accomplished and sparky turn opposite Jim Carrey and Mark Ruffalo. With punky orange hair, she delivers every line with aplomb — “I’m an addictive little bitch if truth be told.” This should have got her the Oscar, not The Reader (which she won it for in 2008).
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4. Steve Jobs (2015, Sky/Now)
Only Winslet could match the energy of Michael Fassbender’s outing as the tech guru. The actress soars as an Apple marketing executive and Jobs’s right-hand woman in this Aaron Sorkin-scripted, Danny Boyle-directed drama. She’s brilliant and unassuming, with a dark wig and huge glasses. The Polish accent may wobble slightly, but this is a chameleonic turn with a couple of great speeches.
5. Heavenly Creatures (1994, buy/rent)
It was clear from her first feature film that the actress was a star. Peter Jackson’s daring movie is based on a notorious 1954 murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which two teenage girls developed an intense relationship that spiralled scarily out of control and culminated in the murder of one of their mothers. Winslet was 19 in the film, and a revelation, going toe to toe with the excellent Melanie Lynskey. Their relationship is tender, erotic, mischievous and ultimately terrifying.
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