Kate Winslet: Women should celebrate their maturity

Actress Kate Winslet has told the BBC that women should celebrate their "true shape" after she was recently told on set to sit up straighter to hide her tummy curves.

Speaking about her upcoming film "Lee" with Laura Kuenssberg, Winslet said her job was to be like her heroine, the mannequin-turned-famous World War II photographer Elizabeth "Lee" Miller.

"She didn't lift weights or do Pilates. She ate cheese and bread and drank wine and didn't make a big deal out of it. So of course, her body would be rounder," says Winslet.

She says women should celebrate "having a real shape, being gentle and maybe having a few extra kilts."

"We're so used to it that maybe we don't necessarily see that and enjoy it. Our instinct, weirdly, is to see it and criticize it," she said. "It's interesting how much people like labels for women."

Winslet said the topic is a conversation that needs to be had.

"Life is too short," she added. "I don't want to look back and say 'why did I worry about that thing' and so guess what - I don't worry anymore."

Winslet, 48, is an advocate for women and has spoken out against body shaming in the past.

Winslet was asked if she minded looking "less than perfect" on screen, to which she replied, "Quite the opposite. I'm proud of it because it's my life written on my face and that's what's important. I wouldn't dream of covering it up."

"Every year that goes by I feel more comfortable in myself. It allows me to let other people's opinions evaporate," she added. | BGNES