Kate Winslet broke an impressive record during filming Avatar: The Way of Water…
It was so difficult, the actress thought she’d died.
Keep reading for the full story!
Winslet is one of the world’s most beloved actresses.
Throughout her career, the forty-seven-year-old has starred in some huge movies.
Born in Berkshire in England back in 1975, it was clear she was destined to be a star from a young age.
She participated in a whole host of productions during her childhood, and even attended theatre school as a teenager.
Her first breakthrough in the industry came in 1991.
She played the role of Reet in the sci-fi series Dark Season.
The star made her movie debut in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures.
Winslet starred opposite Melanie Lynskey in the 1994 flick.
She then bagged a role in Sense and Sensibility, acting opposite Hollywood legend Emma Thompson…
This is where the star first found critical acclaim, being nominated for an Oscar and even winning herself a BAFTA!
She played seventeen-year-old Rose, a socialite who boards the Titanic bound for America.
Rose is engaged to a rich but not particularly nice man named Cal.
However, while onboard, Rose meets a struggling young artist named Jack…
And everything begins to change for the character.
The movie’s epic romance caught the hearts of people all over the world.
As did Winslet’s performance!
The star was nominated for her second Oscar for the role.
Unfortunately, she lost out to Helen Hunt for As Good As It Gets.
But Winslet did get something else out of the movie…
Her incredible relationship with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio!
The pair are one of Hollywood’s best-loved duos.
Their friendship has lasted for over twenty-five years now.
The actress opened up about their closeness during an interview with The Guardian.
“He’s my friend, my really close friend. We’re bonded for life,” she said.
The star also opened up about how she found the separation from him due to restrictions during the pandemic…
She said: “We haven’t been able to leave our countries. Like so many friendships globally, we’ve missed each other because of Covid.”
Opening up about their reunion, she revealed that she “couldn’t stop crying,” after meeting him for the first time in 3 years.
“I’ve known him for half my life! It’s not as if I’ve found myself in New York or he’s been in London and there’s been a chance to have dinner or grab a coffee and a catchup,” she shared.
Despite knowing Leo for years, Winslet has managed to avoid one thing The Wolf of Wall Street star is notorious for…
Womanizing!
Speaking to Rolling Stone, she said that: “Just the notion of that [the pair dating] was insane it would have been absolutely like inc*st.”
However, the actress has had her fair share of romance elsewhere…
One of Winslet’s most high-profile relationships was with Skyfall director Sam Mendes.
The pair married in 2003 and had one child together, but divorced in 2010.
Since then, Winslet met Edward Abel Smith, a nephew of British billionaire Richard Branson.
The couple married in 2012 and welcomed a son together in 2013.
Winslet is also known for her charitable side…
The actress has a long history of philanthropic giving.
Most recently, she donated an incredible sum to the family of a twelve-year-old-girl in her native UK.
As per the BBC, the star donated £17,000, which equates to roughly $20,000.
Carolynne Hunter, whose daughter Freya suffers from severe cerebral palsy, was warned that her electricity bills could reach that figure next year.
This is because Freya relies on oxygen for chronic breathing problems.
Hunter set up a GoFundMe page to try and cover the predicted costs.
It came as the price of energy skyrocketed in the UK due to a drive away from Russian gas, resulting from the war in Ukraine.
Hunter, aged forty-nine, said: “Our journey as family has been very traumatic and I just feel done at this point in my life.
“When I heard about the money I just burst into tears — I thought it wasn’t even real. I’m still thinking is this real?”
“I didn’t speak out to get donations but at the same time I have to make sure that Freya is OK.
“I’m going to be helped but what about everyone else?
“I wanted the government to pay for it and do the right thing,” she added.
“It shouldn’t have to be a celebrity that steps in,” Hunter concluded.
Winslet recently attended the premiere of her new movie Avatar: Way of Water.
Winslet was spotted wearing a charcoal-colored gown by Badgley Mischka on the red carpet.
The gown was also worn when she attended the Toronto International Film Festival back in 2015.
After 7 long years, the gown still fitted her perfectly.
Winslet paired the gown with long silver teardrop earrings and had her hair in a pulled-back bun.
Her appearance almost looked similar to the same way she looked 7 years ago at the premiere of The Dressmaker.
Since then, details have emerged about Winslet’s experience filming Avatar: The Way of Water.
Like the name suggests, much of the movie happens underwater, and so did the acting!
This took the acting to a whole new level.
And Winslet threw herself into the deep end.
Quite literally, the actress had to film a scene that required her to be underwater for a considerable amount of time…
And she broke a record for it!
Winslet managed to hold her breath for a whopping 7 minutes and fourteen seconds, as per ABC.
Previously, this was held by Tom Cruise for his work on Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.
Her co-star Chris Worthington said that director James Cameron “is raising the bar on storytelling, because when you’re underwater, you can’t use words to do these heartbreaking scenes.
“You’re having to use true emotion and true feelings and a tactile response to get this message across.”
Speaking to Total Film about her impressive feat, Winslet said: “I have the video of me surfacing saying, ‘Am I dead, have I died?’ And then going, ‘What was [my time]?'”
“Straight away I wanted to know my time. And I couldn’t believe it… The next thing I say is, ‘We need to radio set.’ I wanted Jim to know right away.”
However, she explained: “Well, I didn’t have to hold my breath for over seven minutes. It’s just that the opportunity to set a record presented itself.
“I wanted to break my own record, which was already six minutes and 14 seconds. And I was like, ‘Come on!’ So I smashed my own record by a minute.”
Now that’s impressive!