How Kate Winslet’s Doppelgänger daughter Mia followed in the Titanic star’s acting steps

Kate Winslet was 21 when she rose to superstardom playing Rose in Titanic.

And now, 26 years later, history is repeating itself as Kate’s daughter Mia Threapleton, 22, is making her own way to the top following her critically acclaimed performance in last year’s hard-hitting drama I Am Ruth.

The actress, whose father is Kate’s ex Jim Threapleton, bore more than a passing resemblance to her mother when she took the stage at the awards, where she was named by her winner and co-star mom in her rousing Best Actress speech.

In accepting her award for the show, Kate said, “(I’m) guaranteed to be the one crying on the night, I can’t see (my speech).

“If I could break it in two I’d give the other half to my daughter Mia Threapleton. We did this together, kid.”

And while Mia has certainly proven her acting talent with her appearance on the show, Kate has had to refute the allegations that Mia is a fake baby – the term given to the children of superstars who quickly work their way to the top.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

For Kate, her career really took off when she played Rose Dewitt Bukater opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in 1997’s Titanic, which went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time, making her a part of movie history.

She was 20 when the movie started filming – despite playing a 16-year-old – and celebrated her 21st birthday during filming

Prior to her big break, her first role was a small role in the TV series Shrinks at the age of 16, followed by a number of small parts on British television.

On a similar timeline, Mia’s first role was as Helene in A Little Chaos in 2014, followed by her role as Alma at the age of 20 in Shadows in 2020.

Her appearance as Freya marked her true entry into the TV and film elite, making her career trajectory virtually identical to her mother’s.

TO COLLABORATE

In the TV drama I Am Ruth, Kate portrays worried mother Ruth, who tries to help her teenage daughter Freya, played by Mia, overcome a mental health crisis after being preoccupied with the pressures of social media.

Viewers were quick to praise the pair for their “powerful” performances in the drama when the show aired in December, describing it as a “major” image of mental health and social media.

I Am Ruth follows the success of two previous I Am series, offering distinctive single films that explore the experience of women in moments that are emotionally raw, thought-provoking and personal.

It was Kate’s first time working with her daughter.

Speaking of working with Mia, Kate recently admitted that she was “overwhelmed” by her daughter’s bravery on set.

Kate, a film industry veteran, appeared in Lorraine and said her daughter Mia didn’t need her advice and would even tell her to “shut up.”

The proud mom gushed that her daughter has a “power” she never had as a young actress when she spoke of the experience of working with Mia.

She explained, “In terms of performance, she didn’t need me at all. There are even times when she looked at me and said, “Shut up, Mom, let me do it!”

“It was really great working with her and being really blown away by her bravery…she is very, very powerful. I think this young generation of actors, I must say, there’s a naturalism to their acting and they’re just braver.”

NEPO BABY

When a star’s child becomes famous — including Hailey Bieber, née Baldwin, or Kendall Jenner — there are naturally whispers of nepotism.

This is something that Kate has loved to refer to in the past, having defended her daughter against such claims thanks to her surname.

Mia is named after her father Jim Threapleton. Kate and Jim met on the set of Hideous Kinky in 1998, where he was an assistant director, and they married the same year before welcoming Mia in 2000. They divorced the following year.

She said, “What’s great about her is she has a different last name so she slipped under the radar and the people who cast her didn’t know she was my daughter and of course that was important for her self-esteem.”

Kate then revealed that she was not the mastermind behind Mia’s I Am Ruth casting, as she said the idea came from Dominic Savage, the show’s creator. She revealed that she told him, “You have to audition her, and that has to be special for me.”

Mia, meanwhile, said of her casting on the show, “I had just finished school, was free from exam hell, and felt excited, nervous, and ready to audition for stuff, and I was hoping that the chances of auditioning on my path would come…

“I just hoped I’d get the chance to do what I’ve wanted to do for so long!”