Kate Winslet says her ‘first intimate experiences’ were with women in new interview
Kate Winslet says she’s “kissed a few girls.” (Dia Dipasupil/Getty)
Kate Winslet says she's "kissed a few girls." (Dia Dipasupil/Getty)
While reflecting on her breakout role, Titanic star Kate Winslet revealed her “first intimate experiences” as a teenager were “with girls.”
The 50-year-old Oscar winner appeared on the Team Deakins podcast to discuss her debut film role in Peter Jackson’s 1994 drama-thriller Heavenly Creatures. Winslet and Melanie Lynskey play two troubled teens who develop an intense, obsessive connection.
The film, based on the true story of Pauline Parker and Juliet Hume, is recognised as a queer drama. The erotic desire the two women have to be together is the catalyst that leads them to commit a dangerous act.
In the interview, Winslet was asked about what she brought to the role, which was her first film credit. “I’ll share something I’ve never shared before,” Winslet began.
“Some of my first intimate experiences as a young teen were actually with girls. I’d kissed a few girls, and I’d kissed a few boys, but I wasn’t particularly evolved in either direction.”
‘I’d kissed a few girls’
She also added: “At that stage in my life, I certainly was curious, and I think there was something about the really intense connection that those two women had that I profoundly understood.
“I was so immediately sucked into the vortex of that world they were in that obviously became horrendously damaging to both of them, and they had huge insecurities and vulnerabilities.”
Heavenly Creatures elevated Winslet to stardom; she went on to appear in Sense and Sensibility, Hamlet and, of course, Titanic.
This isn’t the only queer film Winslet has starred in. In Francis Lee‘s 2021 romantic drama Ammonite, Winslet stars as lesbian palaeontologist Mary Anning. The film follows her secret romantic relationship with geologist Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan).
Speaking about the film, Winslet emphasised that she loves LGBTQ+ love stories. Speaking to Attitude magazine, she noted: “For me, I absolutely love and champion same-sex love stories and any LGBTQ stories that we can possibly get our hands-on.
“And I hope that we are able to normalise same-sex connection on film without hesitation, secrecy or fear, by normalising these relationships.”
Throughout her career, Winslet has been a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. However, she has never come out as LGBTQ+. Since 2012, the actor has been married to businessman Edward Abel Smith.
