Kate Winslet Refused to Hide Belly Rolls for New Film ‘Lee’

For her latest movie Lee, actress Kate Winslet deliberately avoided working out. She felt that a softer appearance was fitting for her character, Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, a Vogue model turned war correspondent.

The Titanic star chose not to hide her natural figure. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK for its September issue, Winslet recounted a moment on set. "There’s a bit where Lee’s sitting on a bench in a bikini," she said. "One of the crew came up between takes and said, ‘You might want to sit up straighter.’ So you can’t see my belly rolls? Not on your life! It was deliberate, you know?"

When asked if she ever worries about appearing less than perfect on screen, Winslet’s answer was a firm "no." She elaborated, "I take pride in it because it is my life on my face, and that matters. It wouldn’t occur to me to cover that up."

Winslet has consistently been vocal about the body shaming she faced as a young actress. She recalls how she was "consistently told I was the wrong shape." However, being 48 now, the Oscar-winning actress doesn’t entertain such comments anymore. "I think people know better than to say, ‘You might wanna do something about those wrinkles,’" she stated in the interview. "I’m more comfortable in myself as each year passes. It enables me to allow the opinions of others to evaporate."

The movie Lee had its initial screenings at film festivals last fall and is set to be released in U.S. theaters on September 27.

Source: Harper’s Bazaar UK, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue