By Wonderwall.com Editors
3:26am PDT, Jul 8, 2009
Growing up, Kate Winslet thought of herself as neither a screen siren nor a great beauty. Now, with both an Oscar and a Lancôme contract, she reflects on what happens after you get what you want.
Read excerpts from Kate's interview below, then pick up the latest issue of Harper's Bazaar, available on newsstands.
On being no stranger to nude scenes:
"I'm used to people openly discussing my t—. If people are noticing my boobs in a movie and saying they do what real boobs do, then that's great I'll be 34 in October. I can't keep getting away with it. There was so much [nudity] in 'The Reader' because the story required it, but people have seen enough of my bum and my boobs. I have to put them back."
On keeping the romance alive with her husband, director Sam Mendes:
"Romance to me is spontaneity. It's not diamond earrings; it's a bunch of daffodils that's freshly picked from the field. Or just a little thing like Sam calling me at three in the afternoon, saying, 'I'm coming home now. I'm done for the day.' It's romantic because he just thought, 'I'll go home. I want to be with Kate and the kids.' I'm not one for big, grand gestures."
On showing off her assets:
"I danced a lot when I was younger, and I've always had decent, shapely legs and thought it's now or never. I mean, when you're pushing 40, are you really going to wander around in a dress that's midthigh length? So I thought, Oh, f— it, I'm just going to do it."
On her surprise at being asked to model for Lancôme :
"I really thought, me? Seriously. Because I think what you feel like as a teenager never really goes away. If you were teased for being fat or thin or having bad teeth, you're always insecure about that particular area of yourself. So I've never thought of myself as any kind of beauty, iconic or otherwise."
On being anti-airbrushing:
"I have wrinkles here, which are very evident, and I will particularly say when I look at movie posters, 'You guys have airbrushed my forehead. Please can you change it back?' Part of the reason Lancôme asked me was because I come across as a woman other women can identify with. The media plays such a big role in how women measure themselves against other women, so I can be in a position where I can say beauty comes from within, we're not all perfect, and the covers of magazines are of course retouched. We do not look like that."
