Titanic, remained the highest-grossing film for 12 years after its release and quickly shot lead actress Kate Winslet to stardom.

In a cover story for PORTER published on Monday, Winslet recounted her struggle with her newfound fame and attention, “I felt like I had to look a certain way, or be a certain thing, and because media intrusion was so significant at that time, my life was quite unpleasant,” Winslet said. 

It made her question her career choices and led her to pursue roles in independent productions. Winslet stated, “Journalists would always say, ‘After Titanic, you could have done anything and yet you chose to do these small things’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, you bet your fuckin’ life I did! Because, guess what, being famous was horrible.” Winslet reiterated that she was still grateful for the success of the film. She starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio whom she has maintained a bond throughout the years. “I think when you experience something so seismic, so young… we really went through that together,” she said of DiCaprio.

Throughout her more recent career, Winslet has been open about her struggles after the Titanic fame and the bullying she endured about her weight. In 2022, she was a guest on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and recalled how she was deemed “too fat” by the media with people adding that her character’s weight was the reason DiCaprio’s character couldn’t fit on the door.  She  stated, “They were so mean. I wasn’t even fucking fat. If I could turn back the clock, I would have used my voice in a completely different way. … I would have said to journalists, I would have responded, I would have said, ‘Don’t you dare treat me like this. I’m a young woman, my body is changing, I’m figuring it out, I’m deeply insecure, I’m terrified, don’t make this any harder than it already is.’ That’s bullying, you know, and actually borderline abusive, I would say.”

Unfortunately, this type of attitude toward women is still rampant in Hollywood, but hopefully as more actress’ like Winslet come forward and tell their stories, the culture will improve.