Kate Winslet

Winslet in 2009, Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: Kate Elizabeth Winslet

Place of Birth: Reading & Wokingham, Berkshire, England, U.K.

Date of Birth: 5 October, 1975

Ethnicity: English, as well as 1/16th Swedish, small amounts of Irish and Welsh

Kate Winslet is an English actress, singer, writer, and audiobook narrator. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader (2008). Her roles also include the films Heavenly Creatures, Sense and Sensibility (1995), Hamlet (1996), Titanic (1997), Quills, Christmas Carol: The Movie, Iris (2001), The Life of David Gale, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, All the King’s Men, Little Children, The Holiday (2006), Revolutionary Road, Carnage, Contagion (2011), Labor Day (2013), the Divergent franchise, A Little Chaos, Steve Jobs, The Dressmaker (2015), Triple 9, Collateral Beauty, The Mountain Between Us, Wonder Wheel, Ammonite, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Lee (2023); and the series Dark Season, Mildred Pierce, Mare of Easttown, I Am… Ruth, and The Regime. She is known for her roles as complicated women, and early on starred particularly in period pieces and indie dramas. She has also recorded the song “What If,” and co-founded autism awareness charity Golden Hat Foundation.

Kate is the daughter of Sally Anne (Bridges), a nanny and waitress, and Roger John Winslet, an actor and labourer. Her sisters, Anna and Beth, have also acted; and her uncle, Robert Bridges, is an actor. Her maternal grandparents, Linda and Archibald Bridges, founded the Reading Repertory Theatre.

Kate is married to businessperson Edward Abel Smith/Ned Rocknroll. She has a daughter, actress Mia Threapleton, with her former husband, director Jim Threapleton; a son with her former husband, director Sam Mendes; and a son with Rocknroll. Her husband Ned is the nephew, sister’s son, of business magnate and philanthropist Richard Branson.

Kate’s paternal grandfather was Charles John William Winslet (the son of Charles Winslet and Emily Mary Wells). Kate’s grandfather Charles was born in Reading, Berkshire, England. Kate’s great-grandfather Charles was the son of John Winslet and Susannah/Susan Mary Phillips. Emily was the daughter of William Frederick Wells and Sarah Ann Smithers.

Kate’s paternal grandmother was Blanche/Blanch Florence Sims (the daughter of George Frederick V. Sims and Florence Edith Bick). Blanche was born in Kensington, London, England. George was born in Cardiff, Glanmorganshire, Wales, and was of one quarter Welsh descent; he was the son of Henry Sims and Sarah Barton, whose own father was Welsh. Kate’s great-grandmother Florence was the daughter of Thomas George Bick and Marian/Mary Anne Colquhoun. Marian’s father was in the Grenadier guards. Marian’s mother was from Ireland.

Kate’s maternal grandfather was Archibald Ottewill/Oliver Bridges (the son of Robert Tilby Bridges and Louisa Amy Hales). Archibald was born in Hackney, London, England. Robert was the son of Robert Bridges and Mary Ann Ottewill. Louisa was the daughter of Henry Hales and Sarah Chambers.

Kate’s maternal grandmother was Linda Elsie Plumb (the daughter of George William Plumb and Florence Theodelinda Lidman). Linda was born in Westminster St. Margaret, London, England. George was the son of John Plumb and Louisa Rosamond/Ruth Parker. Florence was the daughter of Alfred Johansson Lidman, a Swedish emigrant, from Enslöf, Halland County, Sweden; and of Mary Ann Treyessick/Trevisick.

Sources: Family histories of Kate Winslet – http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://blog.findmypast.co.uk

Genealogies of Kate Winslet – http://www.geni.com
http://gw.geneanet.org

Genealogy of Kate Winslet (focusing on her mother’s side) – https://www.wikitree.com

Kate’s maternal grandfather, Archibald Ottewill/Oliver Bridges, on the 1901 England and Wales Census – https://www.familysearch.org