You might think that a famous actor would love the attention they receive after being in a popular movie. After all, isn’t that the dream? For some, it isn’t always what it appears and the intense reactions can be unwanted, especially in today’s culture of social media. Even back in the ’90s, it could be quite unpleasant to be in the public eye, as actor Kate Winslet knows very well.
Winslet starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1997 film Titanic, directed by James Cameron. Winslet, who was just 22 years old at the time, is now opening up about what happened after the movie came out. She said that it changed her life significantly and she started struggling after being followed and talked about so often.
Winslet explained, “Journalists would always say, ‘After “Titanic,” you could have done anything and yet you chose to do these small things’… and I was like, ‘Yeah, you bet your f—in’ life I did! Because, guess what, being famous was horrible.’ I was grateful, of course. I was in my early twenties, and I was able to get a flat. But I didn’t want to be followed literally feeding the ducks.”
She also talked about her daughter, Mia Threapleton, and how things have changed, “It’s different now. Mia is very much her own person. [Young women now] know how to use their voice. I felt like I had to look a certain way, or be a certain thing, and because media intrusion was so significant at that time, my life was quite unpleasant.”
Around that time, there was a huge focus on Hollywood stars being thin, especially women. She said that Hollywood was “a big, scary place where everyone had to be thin and look a certain way. And I knew that I did not look that way or feel like I fit there, so if I was ever going to belong, I had to earn my place. And to me, I hadn’t earned it.” Now, she is more grateful for having appeared in Titanic as it remains one of the most iconic movies of all time and has become a favorite for many fans.
