Kate Winslet has a secret to staying sane among the madness of celebrity: motherhood.
“I was very fortunate because I became a mother when I was really young,” Winslet said during an appearance on the podcast “Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso,” which aired Sunday, December 21. “I was, you know, blessed to be taking care of this gorgeous little baby,” she said.
Winslet, 50, had her first child, actor Mia Threapleton, in 2000 when she was 25 years old. She welcomed her eldest son, Joe Anders, 21, in 2003, and her youngest, Bear Blaze Winslet, 12, in 2013.
Caring for her children, two of whom have followed her into the entertainment industry, helped her drown out the outside noise and public scrutiny she has endured over the years, she explained.
When the Hollywood star first became “very famous very quickly,” after starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the blockbuster “Titanic” in 1997, her mental health suffered, she said. Winslet, who is English, said she was bodyshamed and “actively bullied” by the British media and that she couldn’t “function like a normal person,” explaining that she would be followed into everyday places like the grocery store.
“I found it quite distressing,” she said.
The actor and director said it made her “really self-critical,” and that there were days when she felt like she “couldn’t face the day,” but being a mother “saved” her.
Winslet is not the only celebrity to cite her kids as a positive force on their mental health. In June, “Mad Max: Fury Road” star Charlize Theron, 49, told the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that adopting her two daughters in 2012 and 2015 was “one of the healthiest decisions” she has ever made. And “Empire State of Mind” singer Alicia Keys has said that motherhood has helped her become more introspective and identify unresolved issues.
Winslet has been on a press tour promoting her directorial debut, “Goodbye June,” which was released in select US and UK theaters on December 12 and will be on Netflix on December 24. The screenplay was written by her son, Anders.
In the interview with podcast host Fragoso, Winslet said that “protecting” herself creatively has also helped her maintain her mental health while living in the public eye.
Since rising to fame in 1997, she said she has only pursued roles that would make her happy.
“I had the good sense to know that I loved acting and that somehow the most important thing in terms of opportunity was only to pursue things that I really want to do,” she said.
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