Hollywood movie star Kate Winslet is known for her roles in films including Titanic, Revolutionary Road, Iris, Little Children, and Steve Jobs, among several others. When she’s not on a set, Winslet reads the news like the rest of us.
When Winslet saw the story about a mother of a non-verbal child with cerebral palsy facing the reality that she might have to put her daughter into child care because she couldn’t afford to pay her electricity bill, the actress did something about it.
As seen and heard above, Winslet tells BBC News that she told the fundraising website GoFundMe that she wanted to make a donation to the woman. They set up a page and tracked down the woman and then, “bang, I was able to [make a donation] right away.”
Winslet didn’t mention how much she donated, but some media reported that Winslet’s donation was £17,000 (about $20,000).
Winslet explains that people are accustomed to raising money for groups of people, but she has “always been really cut in half by the plight of the individual and there seems to be very little, [a] lack of support for individuals.” Especially for those with extreme hardships where you “can’t categorize them, you can’t tick a box.”
Winslet, 47, gets passionate as she speaks and asks the interviewer: “Can you hear I’m getting so passionate in my old age?” She looks down and grunts, “Look at me, ugh!” Still speaking with passion, Winslet reveals, “I was a free school meals kid — myself and all my siblings.” Winslet is one of four children. She is now the mother of three.
