Kate Winslet has made it clear that showing your body or going without makeup on screen isn’t a bold or daring act for female actors—it’s simply part of the job. In a recent interview with Time magazine, the Oscar-winning actress, currently promoting her latest film Lee, was adamant that such choices shouldn’t be elevated as acts of courage.
“That’s not f—ing brave,” Winslet stated bluntly. “I’m not a former postal worker fighting for justice. I’m not in Ukraine. I’m doing a job that matters to me.”
Lee tells the story of legendary World War II photographer and journalist Lee Miller, a role that required Winslet to bare herself—literally—on camera. However, for Winslet, the decision to show her real body, with no retouching or glamour, wasn’t about making a statement. It was about staying true to the character.
Earlier this year, during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar U.K., Winslet recalled a moment on the Lee set when a crew member suggested she adjust her posture to conceal her “belly rolls” during a scene in which she wore a swimsuit. Winslet, however, quickly shut that down.
“There’s a bit where Lee’s sitting on a bench in a bikini, and someone said: ‘You might want to sit up straighter,’” she recounted. “So you can’t see my belly rolls? Not a chance. That was intentional.”
When asked if she ever feels uneasy about appearing less-than-perfect on screen, Winslet said she takes pride in it. “I take pride in the way my life shows on my face, and I’m not about to cover that up,” she said. “People know better than to suggest I do anything about my wrinkles.”
In fact, Winslet embraces aging and finds strength in it. “As I get older, I feel more at ease with myself, which allows other people’s opinions to simply fade away,” she added.
Winslet has long been vocal about the importance of authenticity in her roles. While promoting Mare of Easttown, the Emmy-winning HBO series in which she plays a disheveled detective, she insisted that making her character too polished would have done a disservice to the story. She told IndieWire that it was crucial to depict Mare as someone who didn’t care about her appearance—a trait that made the character relatable for many viewers, particularly busy moms.
“She’s a total mess, and that’s who she is,” Winslet said. “She’s someone who looks in the mirror once in the morning while brushing her teeth, and then doesn’t think about it for the rest of the day. That’s like most mothers I know—it’s like me, too.”
Lee, which opens in theaters on September 27, is expected to further showcase Winslet’s commitment to portraying women as they are, not how society expects them to look. For her, it’s not about making headlines—it’s just about telling the truth.
