Kate Winslet Was Told To “Settle For Fat Girl Parts” When She Was Younger

Kate Winslet has revealed how she was body shamed when she was an aspiring performer.

The Oscar-winning British actress, who is on the promotion trail for her directorial debut Goodbye June, revealed that she was told by a drama teacher that she would have to “settle for the fat girl parts” if she wanted to break into the industry.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs, Winslet said: “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 … and she said to me, ‘Well, darling, you’ll have a career if you’re ready to settle for the fat girl parts.’”

“Look at me now,” she added. “It’s appalling the things people say to children.”

It’s not the first time she’s revealed comments about her weight. Last year, Winslet revealed how a crew member suggested she sit up straighter to hide her “belly rolls” during the filming of a bikini scene in World War II drama Lee.

Winslet has long been an advocate for authentic body image. As far back as 2003, she railed against a cover of GQ, which she claimed “digitally altered” her appearance.

During her Desert Island Discs interview, Winslet said there is “so much we still have to unlearn” about how “we speak to women in film,” revealing that she was told things as a first-time director that she believes would not have been expressed to a man.

“So they might say things like, ‘Don’t forget to be confident in your choices.’ And I want to sort of say, ‘Don’t talk to me about confidence,’ because if that’s one thing I haven’t ever lacked, actually, it’s exactly that. That person wouldn’t say that to a man.”

Winslet also reflected on press intrusion into her life after she shot to fame in James Cameron’s 1997 movie Titanic.”It was horrific. There were people tapping my phone. They were just everywhere. And I was just on my own. I was terrified to go to sleep,” she said.