Kate Winslet

Biography

Kate Elizabeth Winslet, born 5 October 1975 in Reading, Berkshire, was raised among a family of actors, with her parents, grandparents, uncle and sisters all being thespians. This benefited her as she attended the Redroofs Theatre School from the age of 11, where she was Head Girl. She currently lives in New York with her two daughters, Mia Honey and Joe Alfie.

Career

Winslet moved into the world of television, with roles in children's show Dark Season, Anglo-Saxon Attitudes and Casualty. She then broke into cinema and starred in Peter Jackson flick Heavenly Creatures, Sense and Sensibility and Titanic, which saw her profile soar and an Oscar nomination for her performance. Despite Titanic winning 11 Oscars, Winslet missed out.

Post-Titanic, Winslet turned down mainstream roles in favour of starring in critically-acclaimed independent films such as Hideous Kinky, Holy Smoke, Finding Neverland and the hugely successful Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Extras

Kate starred in Episode 3 of Series 1 of Extras. Andy and Maggie meet her as she plays the main role in the movie for which they are extras. She stars as a nun on the set of a WWII Holocaust film, acting in search of her elusive Oscar win, as she claims in the episode that war films always win at the Academy Awards, and that "you're guaranteed an Oscar if you play a mental". She also gives Maggie Jacobs tips on phone sex with her new boyfriend who works on set, although the joke turns sour when her character along with Andy Millman, played by Ricky Gervais were caught miming phone sex actions by said boyfriend.