Kate Winslet

After her noteworthy debut in Heavenly Creatures (1994, directed by Peter Jackson), Kate Winslet earned the reputation of a "period babe" for her sensuous, Pre-Raphaelite face and because of her roles in historical flicks Sense and Sensibility (1995), Hamlet (1996) and Jude (1996). Her role as Rose in James Cameron's Titanic (1997, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio) won her an Academy Award nomination, but did little to shake the period babe label. Her somewhat zaftig figure was also a gossip-column staple, with Winslet cheerfully refusing to slim down to typical movie star skinniness. Winslet has done voice work in the animated features Faeries (1999) and Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001), and her other feature films include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, starring Jim Carrey), Finding Neverland (2004, starring Johnny Depp) and The Holiday (2006, with Jack Black). All told Winslet has been nominated six times for an Oscar, with one win, for her role in 2008's The Reader.

Extra credit: Winslet married assistant director Jim Threapleton in 1998; the pair had a daughter, Mia, in 2000 and divorced in 2001. On 9 June 2003, Winslet married Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of American Beauty. Their son, Joe, was born in 2003... Winslet's Oscar-nominated roles are in Sense and Sensibility (1995, supporting role); Titanic (1997, leading role); Iris (2001, supporting role); Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, leading role); Little Children (2006, leading role); and The Reader (leading role).