Her parents were “jobbing actors”, which led Winslet to comment that she “didn’t have a privileged upbringing” and that their daily life was “very hand to mouth”. Her older sister, Anna, and younger sister, Beth, are also actresses. Winslet’s career began on television, with a co-starring role in the BBC children’s science fiction serial Dark Season. The film included Winslet’s singing debut, and her a cappella version of “Sono Andati”, an aria from La Bohème, was featured on the film’s soundtrack. Winslet was awarded an Empire Award and a London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year for her performance. Budgeted at US$16.5 million ($23.8 million in current year dollars) the film became a financial and critical success, resulting in a worldwide box office total of US$135 million ($194.5 million) and various awards for Winslet, winning her both a BAFTA and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. in mid-1996, Winslet began filming James Cameron’s Titanic (1997), alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. Cast as the sensitive seventeen-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater, a fictional first-class socialite who survives the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, Winslet’s experience was emotionally demanding.
