Kate Winslet Makes Bold Confession About Her ‘First Intimate Experiences’ as a Teen
What To Know
- Kate Winslet revealed on the Team Deakins podcast that some of her first intimate experiences as a teen were with girls.
- She explained that these early experiences inspired her portrayal of Juliet in the 1994 film Heavenly Creatures.
- Despite her early same-sex experiences, Winslet has been married three times to men and is the mother of three children.
Kate Winslet made a bold confession about her “first intimate experiences” as a teen, and how they helped inspire her character in Heavenly Creatures opposite Melanie Lynskey.
In the December 24 episode of the Team Deakins podcast, Winslet, 50, shared that these initial romantic encounters did not happen with boys.
“I’ll share something I’ve never shared before,” the Titanic actress said. “Some of my first intimate experiences as a young teen were actually with girls. I’d kissed a few girls, and I’d kissed a few boys, but I wasn’t particularly evolved in either direction.”
During the sit-down, Winslet explained that she drew inspiration from these experiences with girls for her role in the 1994 film Heavenly Creatures. The movie stars Winslet as Juliet, and Lynskey as Pauline — two teenagers who “share a unique bond” and whose parents were “concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge,” according to the film’s logline.
Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in ‘Heavenly Creatures’ (Everett Collection)
“At that stage in my life, I certainly was curious, and I think there was something about the really intense connection that those two women had that I profoundly understood,” Winslet shared. “I was so immediately sucked into the vortex of that world they were in that obviously became horrendously damaging to both of them, and they had huge insecurities and vulnerabilities.”
Heavenly Creatures, Winslet’s breakout role, was directed by Peter Jackson. The actress went on to star in films like Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Hamlet (1996), before snagging the lead role in Titanic (1997) alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
Despite her early intimate experiences with the same sex, Winslet has been married three times to men. She was married to Jim Threapleton from 1998 to 2001, Sam Mendes from 2003 to 2011, followed by her current husband, Edward Abel Smith, whom she married in 2012. Winslet has three children, Mia Threapleton, Joe Mendes (who now goes by Joe Anders), and Bear Smith.