Kate Winslet

 Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about her characters, and the word "ballsy" will surely appear at least every now and then. The British actress has made it a decision to avoid simple pretty-girl roles for more sinister damsels. a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut from Shakespearean tragedy to contemporary mysticism and erotica.Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born in Reading, Berkshire, into a family of thespians -- her parents Roger Winslet and Sally Anne Bridges-Winslet, both stage actors and the grandparents of her mother Oliver and Linda Bridges ran the Reading Repertory Theatre and her uncle Robert Bridges was a fixture in London's West End theatre district. Kate discovered her talents from a young age. When she was just eleven she had the opportunity to dance alongside Honey Monster in a commercial for a cereal. The actress began her acting classes around the same time, which led to formal training in a performing arts high school. She was frequently on stage during the following few years, and even got an unimportant role in the sitcom. Her breakthrough was at the age of 17 when she was cast as an obsessive adolescent in Heavenly Creatures (1994). The film, which was based on the true tale of two girls with fantasy grips who are brutally murdered, received modest distribution but was roundly praised by the critics.