Kate Winslet is an actress who has stunned audiences for years. With each endeavor, her standing in Hollywood has grown stronger. She defied perceptions and refused to let herself be pigeonholed into specific roles. Dynamism, charm, and constant evolution—these characteristics best define Winslet. Even though she astounded moviegoers and exceeded our expectations, her road to an Oscar triumph took some time.
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Although the actress is notable for holding a staggering record of being the youngest person to have received six Oscar nominations at age 33, there was a time when some of these winless nominations taunted her. There have been several instances in Oscar history where compelling performers received several nominations to no avail. Winslet’s Titanic co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio, endured a similar fate for a considerable period.
The situation is different for the two stars today. But there was a time when Winslet opened up about how these repeated winless nominations affected her.
Kate Winslet And Cate Blanchett Were Tied For The Same Number Of Oscar Nominations
As mentioned before, times are different now. Winslet currently has seven Oscar nominations, compared to Cate Blanchett‘s eight. This moved both of them up the Oscars’ list of most-nominated actresses, closer to the top. However, in 2008, as stated in a Vanity Fair interview, the two actresses were a part of the five-nomination club, alongside actresses like Audrey Hepburn, Susan Sarandon, Elizabeth Taylor, and Glenn Close. Kate Winslet also made history at 31 by being the youngest actress to receive five Oscar nominations.
The Revolutionary Road star acknowledged her appreciation for the historical achievement in the same Vanity Fair interview, sharing her thoughts on it as follows:
“I remember when somebody told me [about the record], I did allow myself a serious fist-punching-in-the-air moment. By myself in the apartment, you know, just leaping around and screaming and going, ‘F*ck yeah!’ This wasn’t supposed to happen to somebody like me.”
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She explained the challenges she faced to reach this honorable point. Life wasn’t easy, and she wasn’t trained for the business. Winslet was able to achieve this success with the efforts of her mother. Her grandmother also contributed. Following was the Ammonite star’s statement:
“I’m not the pedigree kid. I’m not classically trained. I didn’t come from a fancy home, no. My mother had to put her family allowance, the money that she would get from the state for me and my three siblings, she had to put the whole lot towards [acting school] tuition. And my grandmother contributed. […] I seriously struggled through. […] To be me in this position, having had these nominations—it doesn’t happen that way, you know? It doesn’t.”
The actress conveyed her appreciation for the recognition she had received. She understood the worth of these accomplishments because she had witnessed considerable hardships before reaching this point. But there were times when she started to feel the weight of all her Oscar nominations.
Kate Winslet Desperately Wanted To Win An Oscar
Before her ambitions were realized at the 81st Academy Awards, held in February 2009, for her role in The Reader (2008), the actress poured her heart out to Vanity Fair. Kate Winslet admitted that she had always believed she wouldn’t receive the highly-desired accolade. A part of her yearned fervently for an Oscar, though. She affirmed that her nonchalant disposition may have made it seem that she didn’t care for the award, but that was far from the truth. Following was her statement:
“Do I want it? You bet your f*cking ass I do! I think that people assume that I don’t care, or don’t want it, or don’t need it or something. It’s hard to be there five times, and I’m only human, you know? But I don’t go home and cry because we’re all grown-ups here.”
Winslet gained the award she had sought through all those previous nominations just a few months later, in the following year. Her performance as Hanna Schmitz in The Reader (2008) earned her the Best Actress Oscar. Winslet’s much-anticipated triumph proves dreams can come true—even after five winless nominations!
The Reader (2008) is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Vanity Fair
