Kate Winslet says childhood drama teacher fat-shamed her, urging 'Look at me now' on Desert Island Discs

Kate Winslet has used the latest edition of Desert Island Discs to angrily mock a childhood drama teacher who fat-shamed her, telling the host she would only play the “fat girl parts” if she pursued acting. The Titanic star, now 50, recalled being told she would have a career only if she settled for the roles the teacher deemed suitable for someone with her size. “Because I was a little bit stocky when I did start taking it much more seriously and got a child agent, I really remember vividly a drama teacher who, many people have wrongly assumed was a man, it was actually a woman, and she said to me, ‘Well darling, you’ll have a career if you’re happy to settle for the fat girl parts.’ Now one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, the mother of three urged the teacher: ‘Look at me now!’”

She added that the remark was part of a broader pattern of bullying that followed her through primary and secondary school, contributing to years of dieting and self-consciousness. Winslet said she recalls being teased as a child, being called “blubber” and even being locked in an art cupboard as peers mocked her weight. “I wasn’t even overweight. I just had stocky thighs, and they would lock me in the art cupboard, and they would say, ‘Blubber’s blubbing in the art cupboard’ and things like that,” she said. The emotional toll, she said, included a stretch when she was “on and off diets from the age of 15 to 19” and “barely eating.”

The conversation turned to the impact of those years on her outlook and career. Winslet said the bullying intensified when she landed a starring role in the BBC drama Dark Season at age 15, describing how classmates pushed her desk into a corner and shifted their own desks away from her. Still, she insisted the mistreatment did not derail her. “I learned to have a pretty thick skin fairly early on to be honest… But at the time it was happening I just threw myself into my theatre company and my creative world outside of school, so that the school mean people became as insignificant as I could possibly make them.”

She has repeatedly spoken out about media portrayals of women and aging, and on Desert Island Discs she reiterated her stance on aging with grace. Winslet, who is also a director and a mother of three, said she rejects cosmetic work and aims to grow old “with intention and integrity” while continuing to play characters whose faces and bodies change with time. “That’s life,” she said, describing a career built on a willingness to evolve rather than conform to external expectations.

Winslet’s professional ascent has included an Academy Award for The Reader and six other nominations, along with five BAFTAs. In addition to acting, she has directed her first feature film, Goodbye June, from a screenplay written by her son Joe Anders. The project marks a new chapter in her career, leveraging the creative work she has built outside the screen and stage.

Reflecting on the harsh treatment she faced from peers, Winslet told listeners that the cruelty she endured ultimately sharpened her focus on a trajectory she describes as inexorable. “I wouldn’t let them spoil a trajectory that I was determined I was on,” she said. She also used the interview to challenge those who once mocked her to reassess the person she has become and the work she has achieved. “Look at me now,” she asserted, underscoring the contrast between boyhood taunts and a career defined by resilience and ongoing artistic pursuit.

The interview also touched on Winslet’s ongoing public stance against fashion magazines and the cosmetic industry’s expectations of women’s appearances. She reaffirmed her preference to let her face move and age authentically, arguing that aging can be a part of an actor’s craft rather than a liability. In closing, she spoke about the importance of staying grounded in one’s values while navigating a life spent in the public eye, saying she tries to live with “intention and integrity” as she continues to take on challenging roles and mentor new generations of artists.

Desert Island Discs with Winslet aired on BBC Radio 4 and remains available on BBC Sounds, with the interview offering a candid look at the pressures that accompanied her rise to stardom and the personal resolve that accompanied her ascent.