Despite being one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actresses, Kate Winslet’s success did not come easily.
Her career is built on extraordinary determination, commitment and physical exertion-qualities that sometimes pushed her to the limit. Like many great performances, hers often come with unseen struggles behind the scenes.
Winslet has openly spoken about two films that left her physically and mentally drained: Sense & Sensibility and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Remarkably, she actually fainted on the sets of both.
During the filming of Sense & Sensibility, the then-19-year-old Winslet was shooting in cold, damp English weather while wearing thin period costumes.
On the 25th anniversary of the film in 2020, the actress recalled, “I remember fainting from hypothermia. I opened my eyes and there was Greg shoving my feet into his armpits to warm them up, while Emma was at the other end rubbing my hands and saying, ‘You’ll be all right, darling.'”
Nearly a decade later, while shooting Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Jim Carrey, Winslet fainted again.
One scene required the two actors to lie in a shallow metal tub filled with hot water for over three hours under bright studio lights. When they finally stood up, Winslet recalled, “I got out, said ‘Can I have some water?’ and just fainted.”
These incidents highlight the extraordinary physical toll Winslet has endured for her craft-moments of collapse that have since become part of the legend behind two of her most beloved performances.