Fifteen years? Kate is fashionably late for her bow at the premiere of Titanic
SHE may have been 15 years late for the premiere of the film that made her a star.
But last night Kate Winslet, who missed Titanic’s opening in 1997, managed to turn back the clock as she stepped out for its re-release.
Looking striking in a long black dress with diamanté shoulders and plunging neckline, you could be forgiven for forgetting Miss Winslet is now a 36-year- old, twice-married mother of two. Indeed, the actress looked somewhat more sophisticated than the 22-year-old English rose who shot to international stardom alongside Leonardo Dicaprio. Miss Winslet missed Titanic’s Los Angeles premiere in December 1997 to attend the funeral of childhood sweetheart Stephen Tredre, who died aged 34 from bone cancer. The same month, she was then forced to skip the London release after suffering from amoebic dysentery while filming Hideous Kinky in Morocco.
She did appear at the subsequent Oscars, although with her frizzy ringlet hairstyle, fuller figure and beaming smile she seemed nowhere near as demure as the striking look she showed off last night.
‘We were all so good looking then’
The film is being re-released in 3D format and to commemorate the centenary of the 1912 tragedy that claimed the lives of more than 1,500 on board.
Since playing wealthy socialite Rose Dewitt Bukater in the blockbuster, Miss Winslet has won two Oscars, made more than 20 films, had two children and been divorced twice.
Less than a year after making Titanic, she married director Jim Threapleton and the couple had a daughter Mia, now 11.
However, the relationship soon collapsed – she announced the split on the red carpet at the premiere of 2001 film Enigma, leading to their divorce later that year.
Miss Winslet’s next marriage, to American Beauty director Sam Mendes, lasted almost seven years. They had son, Joe, now eight, but separated in 2010. The pair were said to have grown distant after spending so much time apart.
The actress is currently dating Richard Branson’s nephew Ned Rocknroll, 33.
Back in 1997, the fresh-faced actress explained the immense pressures of filming the James Cameron epic.
She said at the time: ‘I chipped a small bone in my elbow and at one point I had deep bruises all over my arms. I looked like a battered wife.
‘The first day started at 5am. and went on to 1 a.m. Nothing could have prepared me for it. There were quite a few 20-hour days and two-thirds of it was night shooting - because the Titanic sunk at night.’
Miss Winslet said at last night’s screen- ing in London’s Royal Albert Hall: ‘Titanic was an amazing opportunity for me. It was a great step in my career.
‘It’s no secret it was a very tough shoot, with long hours and freezing cold water. It was really hard.’
She added: ‘I’m excited it is out on 3D. We were all so good looking then. Maybe the film will get a new lease of life now.’
Talking about her friendship with Leonardo Dicaprio, she said: ‘We got on so well and that made filming much easier. We are still really close all these years later.’
Miss Winslet was joined at the premiere by the film’s director James Cameron, fresh from his dive to the bottom of the ocean in the Pacific’s Marianas Trench.
The film ended up proving a smash hit, winning 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, and taking €1.4billion at the box office.