Kate Winslet weighs in on the ‘can women can have it all?’ debate
She’s not the one you’d expect to find on the shelves of your local Tesco…
Well, that certainly won’t happen anymore – because Kate Winslet has said that going to the shops is ‘too stressful’.
The 48-year-old actress told Harper’s Bazaar magazine: ‘I recently decided that I’m not going to go to stores anymore.
“I find them stressful. When something new comes into my life, it’s usually from a shoot or something my son doesn’t want to wear anymore, usually an oversized coat.”
The 48-year-old actress responded to the famous debate when she was asked how she balances her personal and professional life.
Kate Winslet weighs in on the ‘can women have it all?’ debate and reveals how she deals with motherhood guilt as a busy actress (pictured this month)
She explains: “For me, self-care means taking time to just be, and being kind to myself.
‘As women, we try to go at our own pace and get frustrated when we haven’t taken the time to exercise, or walk the dog for two hours, or attend every sporting event of the day, or drop people off and pick them up at school.
“I’m gentle with myself, because I know I can’t achieve all those things. That’s becoming more and more important to me.”
Kate, mother of Mia Threapleton, 23, Joe Mendes, 20, and Bear, 10, added: ‘A lot of the time I feel most beautiful when I’m just relaxing. I’m working more and more on achieving that relaxing.’
It’s a philosophy she shares with her good friend Emma Thompson, and Kate gave her advice that has stuck with her ever since.
“When I was younger, she said to me, ‘Listen, honey, remember that it’s very important to do a good job, but it’s very important not to work.’ I’ve never forgotten that,” Kate revealed.
The Oscar-winning star also revealed that she treats her physical and mental well-being equally.
She explained: ‘Women become more beautiful as they age. Our faces become more of who we are, they sit better on our bone structure, they have more life, more history.
‘What I find particularly beautiful are wrinkles around the eyes and the backs of the hands.
‘But I’ve also learned that it’s important to take care of yourself from the inside out — not just how you eat and take care of yourself from a nutritional standpoint, but how you take care of yourself from a mental wellness standpoint; how you feel about yourself emotionally and physically, your place in the world, how you walk through the world, how you live with integrity and truth.
‘I think these things matter and these things are reflected in how we look, and of course in how we feel. Beauty is more of a feeling, [rather] than what we are looking at.’
Kate revealed she had overcome her guilt as a mother by realising it would be impossible to ‘be at every sports day game, and drop the kids off and pick them up from school’ (pictured with daughter Mia in 2001)
Yet one of the most important things for Kate over the years was learning to accept herself and speaking out against injustice.
Kate reasoned, “We need to be more accepting of who we are and how our bodies and faces change, and how we learn from life’s lessons. We need to be more accepting of ourselves and other people.
‘When I first started, women weren’t able to speak up and stand up for themselves.
‘It was certainly not the case that you could simply report something that you did not feel comfortable with, because that would be seen as complaining.
‘After MeToo and the last decade within our industry, we’ve seen a huge increase in roles for women. There are a lot of really new actresses doing incredible work, and I think that all really contributes to an exciting industry that is full of people who know how to use their voice, and that’s inspiring to others.
‘Women are using their voices in a remarkable way now, and that’s how I learned my worth and how to use my voice.
Kate is currently promoting Lee, a biographical drama that tells the story of American ex-model Lee Miller, who photographed poignant moments during World War II for Vogue magazine.
In addition to Kate in the title role, the film also stars Josh O’Connor, Marion Cotillard, Andy Samberg and Alexander Skarsgard.
Lee premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023, but will be in UK cinemas from September 13.
Kate stars in Lee, a biographical drama that tells the story of American ex-model Lee Miller, who photographed poignant moments during World War II for Vogue magazine.