Kate Winslet couldn't handle Titanic success: 'Being famous was horrible'

Kate Winslet found it hard to take in all the overnight success that came her way after Titanic became the most successful film ever at the time of its release. The first to gross $1 billion worldwide and having broken several records at the Oscars, Titanic was a game-changer for the leading cast, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Things changed overnight for the two with a constant vigil on their lives, their careers, and more.

Kate Winslet took smaller roles post-Titanic

Kate Winslet, in an interview with Net-a-Porter, said that she actively took smaller roles and independent films after the success of Titanic. Kate said, “[Young women now] know how to use their voice. I felt like [in the aftermath of Titanic] 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. 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 fu***** life I did! Because, guess what, being famous was horrible’.”

She added, “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.”

Kate was body-shamed

Kate Winslet was body shamed post the success of Titanic as people dissected whether Jack could have survived if Rose (her character) was slimmer. In 2022 in a podcast, Kate said that her physical appearance became a subject of discussion for all. She said that film watchers have debated if there was enough room on the floating door for Kate Winslet’s Rose and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack to both survive the freezing Atlantic waters.

At the time, she said, “Apparently I was too fat. Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even fucking fat.”

Kate Winslet continued, “I would have said to journalists, I would have responded, I would have said, ‘Don’t you dare treat me like this. I’m a young woman, my body is changing, I’m figuring it out, I’m deeply insecure, I’m terrified, don’t make this any harder than it already is.’ That’s bullying, you know, and borderline abusive, I would say.”

Kate Winslet had a hard time after the Titanic's success. She said that the fame that came with it was more than what a “young, vulnerable person can cope with”. She’s happy all this is changing and people are more sensitised than before about these topics.

Kate Winslet will next be seen in HBO’s The Regime. It will release on March 3.