An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as an Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (for film), the Tony Award (for theatre), and the Grammy Awards (for music).^[1][2]

A majority of Emmys are presented in various sectors of the American television industry. As such, the awards are presented in various area-specific ceremonies held annually throughout the year. The two ceremonies that usually receive the most media coverage are the Primetime Emmys and the Daytime Emmys, primarily recognizing excellence in American primetime and daytime entertainment programming, respectively. Other notable Emmy Award ceremonies include those honoring national sports programming, national news and documentary shows, national business and financial reporting, and technological and engineering achievements in television. Regional Emmy Awards are also presented throughout the country at various times through the year, recognizing excellence in local and state-to-state television. In addition, International Emmys are awarded to recognize excellence in TV programming produced and initially aired outside the United States.

Three related but separate organizations present the Emmy Awards: the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), and the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.^[3] Each is responsible for administering a particular set of Emmy award shows.^[4]

History[link]

TV producer Bruce Kennedy holding an Emmy

The Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) established the Emmy Awards as part of an image-building and public relations opportunity.^[4] The first Emmy Awards were presented on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club, but solely to honor shows produced and aired locally in the Los Angeles area. Shirley Dinsdale has the distinction of receiving the very first Emmy, for Most Outstanding Television Personality, during that first awards ceremony.^[4]

In the 1950s, the ATAS expanded the Emmys into a national event, presenting the awards to shows broadcast nationwide. In 1955, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) was formed in New York as a sister organization to serve members on the East Coast, and help to also supervise the Emmys. The NATAS also established regional chapters throughout the United States, with each one developing their own local Emmy awards show for local programming.^[4] The ATAS still however maintained its separate regional ceremony honoring local programming in the Los Angeles Area.^[5]

Originally there was only one Emmy Awards ceremony held per year to honor shows nationally broadcast in the United States. That changed when the Daytime Emmy Awards, a separate awards show specifically just for daytime programming, was first held in 1974. Other area-specific Emmy Awards ceremonies soon followed. Also, the International Emmy Awards, honoring television programs produced and initially aired outside the U.S., was established in the early 1970s.^[4] Meanwhile, all Emmys awarded prior to the emergence of these separate, area-specific ceremonies are listed along with the Primetime Emmy Awards in the ATAS' official records.^[6]

In 1977, due to various conflicts, the ATAS and the NATAS agreed to split ties. However, they also agreed to share ownership of the Emmy statue and trademark, with each responsible for administering a specific set of award shows.^[4]

Emmy statuette[link]

The Emmy statuette, depicting a winged woman holding an atom, was designed by television engineer Louis McManus, who used his wife as the model. The TV Academy rejected a total of forty-seven proposals before settling on McManus' design in 1948. The statuette "has since become the symbol of the TV Academy's goal of supporting and uplifting the art and science of television: The wings represent the muse of art; the atom the electron of science."^[7]

When deciding a name for the award, Academy founder Syd Cassyd originally suggested "Ike", the nickname for the television iconoscope tube. However, "Ike" was also the popular nickname of World War II hero and future U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and therefore Academy members wanted something more unique. Finally, television engineer and the third academy president, Harry Lubcke, suggested the name "Immy", a term commonly used for the image orthicon tube used in the early cameras.^[7] After "Immy" was chosen, it was later feminized to Emmy to match their female statuette.^[7]

Each Primetime Emmy statuette weighs six pounds, twelve-and-a-half ounces (3.08kg), and is made of copper, nickel, silver and gold. The statue stands 15.5 inches (39 cm) tall with a base diameter of 7.5 inches (19 cm) and weight of 88 oz (2.5 kg). The Regional Emmy Award statuette is 11.5 inches (29 cm) tall with a base diameter of 5.5 inches (14 cm) and weight of 48 oz (1.4 kg). Each takes five-and-one-half hours to make and is handled with white gloves to prevent fingerprints. The statues are manufactured by R.S. Owens Company based out of Chicago, Illinois who is also charged with manufacturing the Academy Award statues.^[8][9]

As its trademark owners, the ATAS and the NATAS hold firm rules on the use of the "Emmy" image as well as its name. For example, the Emmy statuette must always appear facing left. Any copyright notice for the statue should read "©ATAS/NATAS", listing both academies. Academy members must also obtain permission to use the statue image or name for promotional uses even though they are winners of the award. Furthermore, DVDs of Emmy-winning shows may reference the fact that they received an Emmy, but cannot use the statue image unless it is capable of being removed from all copies after one year after the award is presented.^[10][11]

Area-specific ceremonies[link]

Actress Dana Delany holding an Emmy, 1992

TV producer and writer Bradley Bell accepting Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, 2010

The Emmys are presented in various area-specific ceremonies held annually throughout the calendar year, ranging from honoring nationally televised shows to regionally- and locally-produced programs. Each ceremony has their own set of nominating and voting procedures, along with different rules regarding voting committees. Also, the various ceremonies each have own set of award categories, and it is not uncommon for them to have some of the same names (e.g. Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series and Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series).

A show that enters into one of the national Emmy competitions cannot also be entered into any of the others. For example, syndicated shows whose air times vary between media markets may be eligible for both the Daytime and Primetime Emmys, but cannot enter in both.^[12] In general, a show is considered national if it reaches more 50 percent of U.S. households; programs that do not reach at least 50 percent of the country may enter into the Regional Emmys instead.

Regardless of which area-specific ceremony one wins an Emmy, all winners still may be generally called an "Emmy Winner".

Primetime Emmys[link]

The Primetime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. Ceremonies generally are held in mid-September, on the Sunday before the official start of the fall television season, and are currently broadcast in rotation among the ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox networks.

Some award categories presented to behind-the-scenes personnel such as art directors, costume designers, cinematographers, casting directors, and sound editors are awarded at a separate Creative Arts Emmys ceremony held a few days earlier.

Daytime Emmys[link]

The Daytime Emmy Awards, generally are held in June, are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first daytime-themed Emmy Awards were given out at the primetime ceremony in 1972, but the first separate awards show made just for daytime programming was not held until 1974.

Like the Primetime Emmys, a separate Creative Arts Emmy ceremony is also held a few days earlier to honor the behind-the-scenes personnel working in daytime television.

Sports Emmys[link]

The Sports Emmy Awards are presented for excellence in sports programming. The awards ceremony takes place every Spring, usually sometime in the last two weeks in April or the first week in May, and is held on a Monday night in New York City.

News and Documentary Emmys[link]

The News & Documentary Emmy Awards are presented for excellence in national news and documentary programming. The awards ceremony takes place every Fall.

Technology and Engineering Emmys[link]

The Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards are presented to individuals, companies, or to scientific or technical organizations in recognition of significant developments and contributions to the technological and engineering aspects of television.

Regional Emmys[link]

There are 20 total regional chapters located across the United States that each conduct regional awards to recognize excellence in all the regional television markets, including state to state programming as well as local news and locally produced shows. Nineteen of the regional chapters are affiliated with the NATAS,^[13] while the Los Angeles-based ATAS acts as the regional chapter serving the Los Angeles area.^[5][14]

In general, a show is considered regional if it does not reach more 50 percent of U.S. households; programs that reach more than 50 percent of the country must enter into one of the national Emmy competitions instead.

The Regional Emmys are essential in helping NATAS and ATAS honor the works of deserving individuals in local TV through a regional outreach. Like the national awards, each region goes through their own rigorous nomination and voting procedures. Committees are formed to review entries for eligibility and high standards. Once accepted, each entry goes before different review committees, and their votes are cast to determine the final nominees. The final votes are then calculated by certified accounting firms within each region. Regardless of winning on a national or regional level, all recipients are "Emmy Award" winners.

Originally, each Regional Emmy Awards ceremony primarily focused on only honoring individuals in local news programming.^[4] The regionals have since been expanded to encompass all locally and state to state-produced shows that receive less than fifty percent of the country's viewing audience.

International Emmys[link]

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presents the International Emmy Award to the best television programs produced, and initially aired, outside the U.S. There are fourteen program categories for the International Emmy Awards: Arts Programming; Best Performance by an Actor; Best Performance by an Actress; Children & Young People; Comedy; Current Affairs; Documentary; Drama Series; Interactive Channel; Interactive Program; Interactive TV Service; News; Non-Scripted Entertainment; Telenovela; and TV Movie/Mini-Series.

The awards are presented at the International Emmy Awards Gala. Held each year in November at the Hilton Hotel, New York City,^[15] the Gala attracts over 1,200 television professionals, who gather to celebrate excellence in television and network with their peers.

The three Interactive categories are awarded in a separate ceremony held during MIPTV in Cannes.

[edit] Student Emmys

High school and college students can submit productions to their region's charter and receive recognition in the categories of News, Arts & Entertainment, Documentary, Public Affairs/Community Service/Public Service, Sports, Technical Achievement and Writing.

The school or after-school program attached to the students then receives a plaque with the name of an adult advisor and the student film-makers. Up to one-hundred students are allowed to be attached to an award.

From there, a "blue-ribbon" panel judges the winners from each region and awards the National Student Television Award for Excellence.

However, in 2009, this program was suspended at a national level and competition went on only regionally. Per the NationalStudent.tv website: "Partly as a result of the recent severe downturn in the nation’s economy, corporate and personal grants and donations that provided National Student Television (NSTV) with funds to conduct our annual competition have not materialized. There is no money to continue our operations."

Other Emmys[link]

• Business and financial reporting
• Public Service—for public service announcements and programming to "advance the common good"
• The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award—awarded by the Academy Board of Governors
• The Governors Award honors the achievements of an individual, company or organization whose works stand out with the immediacy of current achievement. It is the highest award presented by the Academy.^[16]

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Emmy Awards

Chandler Massey (born September 10, 1990) is an American actor. Since February 2010 he has played the role of Will Horton on NBC's Days of our Lives.^[1]

Previously, Chandler had roles on One Tree Hill, Eastbound & Down and Army Wives. He also had a lead role in the independent film Smash that was released February 4, 2011.^[2]

Chandler began acting at Norcross High School and played the lead role in Little Shop of Horrors and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He attended one quarter at UCLA before leaving to take the role on Days of our Lives.^[3]

Awards[link]

• Daytime Emmy Nomination - Outstanding Younger Actor - 2012
• Daytime Emmy Nomination - Outstanding Younger Actor - 2011^[4]

Notes[link]

1. ^ "Just Asking, Chandler Massey (Will, Days of Our Lives)", page 47. Soap Opera Weekly, April 20, 2010.
2. ^ McNary, D: "Smash producers to self-distribute pic", Variety.com, June 21, 2010. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118020846.html?categoryid=13&cs=1/
3. ^ Gill, J: "Teen takes part in daytime dramatics", page B 1. Gainesville Times, February 8, 2010. http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/archives/29280/
4. ^ Kroll, D: "Supporting winners are back, first-timer winner guaranteed in Younger fields" http://soapcentral.com/soapcentral/news/2011/0511-emmy_noms_list.php

External links[link]

• Oh My Massey!
• Chandler Massey at the Internet Movie Database
• Days of our Lives NBC page

Rob Lowe
Lowe at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Knife Fight
Born	Robert Hepler Lowe (1964-03-17) March 17, 1964 (age 48) Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Sheryl Berkoff (1991–present; 2 children)

Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe (/ˈrɒb ˈloʊ/; born March 17, 1964) is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert McCallister on Brothers & Sisters. He is currently a main cast member of Parks and Recreation, playing the role of Chris Traeger. Early in his career Lowe gained notoriety as a life-in-the-fast-lane playboy, ending up in the spotlight for various personal indiscretions and tabloid scandals, including one of the first "sex tape" scandals to hit Hollywood.

Early life[link]

Lowe was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, the son of Barbara Lynn (née Hepler), a teacher, and Charles Davis Lowe, a trial lawyer.^[1] His parents divorced when Lowe was young. He has a brother, actor Chad Lowe, and two half brothers. Because of a virus during infancy, he is deaf in his right ear (he later played a deaf character in Stephen King's The Stand). Lowe was baptized into the Episcopal church.^[2] His father is of German , English and Irish ancestry and his mother was of German,^[3] English, Welsh, and Scottish descent. He was raised in a "traditional midwestern setting"^[2] in Dayton, Ohio, attending Oakwood Junior High School, before moving to the Point Dume area of Malibu, California with his mother and brother.^[4][5] He attended Santa Monica High School, the same high school as fellow actors Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Sean Penn, Chris Penn, and Robert Downey, Jr.^[6][7]

Early career[link]

Lowe at the Governor's Ball party after the 1989 Academy Awards

One of Lowe's earliest roles came in the 1983 TV movie Thursday's Child, for which he received his first Golden Globe nomination for "Best Supporting Actor in a TV Movie/Miniseries". Lowe made his film debut in Schoolboy Father, followed by Class with Andrew McCarthy. His breakthrough came in 1983, when he and Emilio Estevez were cast in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders. Lowe played the role of Sodapop Curtis, the brother of the main character Ponyboy Curtis (C. Thomas Howell) and Darrel Curtis (Patrick Swayze). Lowe and Estevez reunited in St. Elmo's Fire, making them the two more prominent actors from the group known as the Brat Pack. About Last Night... followed, with Demi Moore (who had starred with Lowe in St. Elmo's Fire). He then received his second Golden Globe nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" for his role as the mentally disabled Rory in Square Dance (1987).

Later work[link]

Television[link]

Lowe is also known for playing Sam Seaborn in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2003. His performance in the show garnered Lowe an Emmy^[8] nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor in a Drama Series. When the show premiered, Seaborn was considered the lead, and the pilot centered on the character. But the acclaimed cast of the show—including Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen (whose President Bartlet was initially scripted as a small role) and Stockard Channing (whose First Lady was initially scripted as a guest role)—meant that Sam Seaborn could no longer be considered the lead character.

While he reluctantly accepted his demotion, Lowe and series creator Aaron Sorkin soon found themselves at odds over the network's meddling with the show, most notably the network demanding changes in the Sam Seaborn character. Eventually, Lowe left the series, not long before Sorkin and director/executive producer Thomas Schlamme unceremoniously quit over a dispute with NBC. During the final season of The West Wing, Lowe returned to his role of Sam Seaborn, appearing in two of the final four episodes. In 2011, Lowe appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and stated that he left the show because he did not feel he was being respected, when the other lead characters received a raise and he did not.^[9]

After leaving the show, Lowe was star and executive producer of a failed NBC drama, The Lyon's Den (2003). In 2004, he tried again in a series entitled Dr. Vegas, but it also was quickly canceled. In 2005, he starred as Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee in a London West End production of Sorkin's play A Few Good Men, the first time the two had worked together since The West Wing. Although Lowe had expressed unhappiness about his decreased role on that show at the time of his departure, he has now repeatedly said that any animosity between them is over and that he was pleased to be working once more with Sorkin, whose talents as a writer Lowe highly regards. Lowe passed on the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd of Grey's Anatomy, which eventually went to Patrick Dempsey.^[10]

Despite his two canceled TV series and flops like View From the Top and the made-for-TV movie Perfect Strangers during his post–West Wing run, Lowe found success in the TV miniseries genre. 2004 marked his return to this genre; he had appeared in 1994's The Stand, based on Stephen King's book of the same name. In 2004, Lowe starred in the TNT remake of the Stephen King miniseries Salem's Lot which was the highest rated cable program of that summer and the highest ratings TNT original programming had at the time. In 2005, Lowe starred in the miniseries Beach Girls on the Lifetime network, based on the Luanne Rice novel of the same name. The series premiere received the highest ratings for a movie premiere in Lifetime history. In that same year, Lowe filmed his critically acclaimed role as super movie agent in the 2006 independent film Thank You for Smoking. In 2006, he filmed The Perfect Day for TNT, in which he took a pay cut to film in New Orleans in order to help the hurricane ravaged area. That same year, Lowe filmed Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming, the "sequel" to the 1999 Kevin Bacon thriller Stir of Echoes.

In 2006, it was announced that Lowe would join the cast of Brothers & Sisters for a guest run of several episodes. In January 2007, ABC announced that Lowe would be staying on Brothers and Sisters as a "special guest star" for the rest of season 1 after Lowe's initial appearance on the show in November 2006 brought the best ratings and demographic showing for the show since its premiere. Soon after ABC announced an early season 2 renewal for Brother & Sisters in March 2007, Lowe announced he would be returning for the show's second season. He continued to appear in the series until the end of the 2009–2010 season. Unhappy with the stories and his lack of screen time in the fourth season, Lowe announced he would leave. In an episode broadcast on May 16, 2010, his character was part of a multi-vehicle crash involving a large truck and was put into a coma, the storyline was wrapped up in the first episode of the fifth season; Lowe did not appear in the episode.

In June 2006, he was the guest host for an episode in the third series of The Friday Night Project for the United Kingdom's Channel 4.

Lowe has also appeared in a televised advertisement for 'Visit California', along with other celebrities including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. (In the advertisement campaign, he was usually pictured in a white tee-shirt printed with the California state flag.)

Lowe had a supporting role in the 2009 movie The Invention of Lying and a leading role in Too Late to Say Goodbye.

In 2010, he appeared in the biography of the Brat Packers called: Brat Pack: Where Are They Now? He also appeared on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien.

Lowe is currently teaming up with 44 Blue to produce a reality series entitled Potomac Fever about young adults living in Washington, DC.^[11]

In July 2010, it was announced that Lowe would be providing the voice for the superhero Captain Marvel in the upcoming animated series, Young Justice.^[12] It was also announced in July 2010 that Lowe would become a series regular on the series Parks and Recreation.^[13]

In 2011, Lowe guest starred in a recurring role on Showtime's comedy Californication. Lowe featured as the troubled but in-demand actor Eddie Nero - a character based upon "about ten people", according to Lowe^[14] but somewhat contradicted by sources at Showtime itself^[15] - employed to portray Hank in a film version his book, Fucking and Punching.^[16]

Other work[link]

In 2011, Lowe wrote a memoir titled Stories I Only Tell My Friends, which was released in May 2011.^[11][17] During Lowe’s promotional tour for Stories I Only Tell My Friends, Lowe told Australian radio show The Kyle & Jackie O Show that during his 5-day press visit to Australia in 1990, he was so badly affected by the overuse of pain-killers that the only two things he remembers from the trip was being at the Sydney Zoo and getting a tattoo.^[18]

Personal life[link]

Lowe with wife Sheryl Berkoff in 2003

Rob Lowe is a fan of the NFL football team the Indianapolis Colts.^[19] On January 18, 2012 Lowe erroneously reported via Twitter that NFL quarterback Peyton Manning was retiring.^[20]

Family and relationships[link]

Lowe, a little-known actor at the time, and Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert briefly met at age 14 in 1978 in the halls of the CBS Television Studios. In 1981, when both were 17, she spotted Lowe stopped at the red light next to her car and the two began dating.^[21] The relationship was rocky and fraught with infidelity. During the filming of 1984's The Hotel New Hampshire, Lowe began an affair with Nastassja Kinski. In Gilbert's 2009 autobiography, Prairie Tale: A Memoir, she talks about sleeping with Lowe's then-best friend, John Cusack, while Lowe was away filming. According to Gilbert, she caught Lowe in Kinski's hotel room and then slept with Cusack out of revenge. Lowe broke up with Gilbert in 1986 when he began dating Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, but when the relationship with the princess ended, Gilbert and Lowe reunited. The two quickly got engaged and were to be married in the summer of 1987. But when Gilbert informed Lowe that she was pregnant, he broke up with her for good. She miscarried only days later.^[22]

Lowe married makeup artist Sheryl Berkoff in July 1991; they have two sons: Edward Matthew Lowe (b. Sept 24, 1993), and John Owen Lowe (b. Nov 6, 1995).^{[citation needed]} They live in Venice Beach, California.

Sex tape controversy[link]

In 1988, Lowe was involved in a sex scandal over a videotape of him having sex with two women, one of whom was 16 and the other being 22. She was filmed with Lowe during the night before the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. Lowe has asserted that he did not know that the second girl was underage, and it was confirmed that the two had met at a bar.^[23] At the time, Lowe was campaigning for Michael Dukakis.^[24]

Another part of the same tape was leaked at the time, showing Lowe and his friend Justin Moritt, later the line producer, both having sexual intercourse and oral sex with a young American model named Jennifer, in a hotel room in Paris. This part of the original tape was sold as one of the first commercially available celebrity sex tapes, damaging his public image.^[25] Eventually, his career rebounded and Lowe mocked his own behavior during two post-scandal appearances as host of Saturday Night Live.

Nanny lawsuit cases[link]

Rob Lowe in 2008

In April 2008, Lowe filed separate lawsuits against three former employees accusing them of breach of contract, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Lowe accuses an ex-nanny of engaging in a scheme to hurt the couple by spreading "malicious lies". Another ex-nanny is accused of falsely claiming to have had a personal and intimate relationship with Lowe, and also repeatedly expressing romantic interest in Rob, claiming that Lowe sexually harassed her and that Sheryl Lowe was an abusive employer. Lowe claims a former chef engaged in sex on their bed with third parties when the family was out of town, stole prescription drugs from the Lowes, broke several security cameras, overcharged them for food, and allegedly made statements to various people that Sheryl was heartless, cold and unclean.^[26]

Jessica Gibson, 24-year-old former nanny for Lowe, made 12 allegations against Lowe involving sexual harassment claims and labor-code violations. On June 19, 2008, Santa Barbara, California, Superior Court Judge Denise de Bellefeuille dismissed two allegations regarding labor-code violations due to lack of legal basis.^[27]

The legal battle ended in May 2009, the press reported that court records showed that lawsuits filed by both nannies and Lowe have been dismissed in Santa Barbara. Attorneys for both women and Lowe sought the dismissals.^[28]

Charity work[link]

Lowe was the first male spokesperson for the 2000 Lee National Denim Day fundraiser, which raises millions of dollars for breast cancer research and education. His grandmother and great-grandmother both suffered from breast cancer, and his mother died of the disease in late 2003.

Lowe is a founder of the Homeowner's Defense Fund, a Santa Barbara County non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to local control of land-use planning and transparency in government. The average price of tract homes in Santa Barbara in early 2006 was $1,100,000, which motivated some to propose denser housing on existing lots. While in favor of increasing housing density, he has sought to build a 14,260-square-foot (1,325 m²) mansion for himself in Montecito, California.^[29] Lowe's protest over the appearance of the address of the empty lot in the Santa Barbara News-Press precipitated a mass resignation of senior employees at that newspaper on July 6, 2006,^[30] and was a proximate cause of the Santa Barbara News-Press controversy.

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rob Lowe

• Rob Lowe at the Internet Movie Database
• Rob Lowe at AllRovi
• Rob Lowe at Emmys.com

Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American film and television actress, comedian, writer and producer.

McCarthy is known for her role as Sookie St. James on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls, where she starred from 2000 to 2007. From 2007 to 2009, she portrayed Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who?. She currently stars in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011.^[1] She is also known for her performances in the films The Nines, The Back-up Plan, Life as We Know It, and her breakthrough role in the 2011 comedy hit Bridesmaids, which garnered numerous award nominations including BAFTA and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.^[2]

Early life[link]

Melissa Ann McCarthy was born in Plainfield, Illinois,^[3] the daughter of Sandra and Michael McCarthy.^[4][5] She is a first cousin of actress Jenny McCarthy.^[6] McCarthy was raised on a farm, in a Irish-American family.^[7] She graduated from St. Francis Academy (now Joliet Catholic Academy) in Joliet, Illinois.^[8] Her career started with stand-up comedy and includes film, television and theater.^[9] McCarthy is an alumna of The Groundlings, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe based in Los Angeles, California,

Career[link]

In 1997 she appeared in an episode of the NBC comedy series Jenny. From 2000 to 2003 she played supporting roles in the films Disney's The Kid, Charlie's Angels, Go, The Third Wheel and The Life of David Gale. She also did voice work in three episodes of Kim Possible, where she played DNAmy.

From 2000 to 2007 she played the role of Sookie St. James, the loveable control freak and scatterbrain/klutzy best friend of Lorelai Gilmore on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls. Sookie is the executive chef at the Independence Inn and later, the co-owner and head chef at the Dragonfly Inn. In 2007, she acted opposite Ryan Reynolds in The Nines, written and directed by John August. McCarthy played Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? from 2007 to 2009. She also was a guest star in TV series Rita Rocks in 2009 and Private Practice in 2010.

In 2010, she played character roles in films The Back-Up Plan and Life as We Know It. Since 2010 McCarthy has played a leading role as Molly Flynn on the CBS hit sitcom Mike & Molly. In 2011, she received her first Emmy award^[10] for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Mike & Molly.

In 2011, McCarthy's career soared to new heights with her breakout comedic performance in the hit film Bridesmaids alongside Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper. McCarthy received critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for her performance. In June 2011, she hosted the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards.^[11] She appeared as the host of Saturday Night Live on October 1, 2011.

McCarthy will play a role in the sequel to Judd Apatow's film Knocked Up - This is Forty.^[12] She will star in the upcoming film ID Theft with Jason Bateman.^[13][14] She will also star in the upcoming film Tammy.^[15] McCarthy is also the author and producer of an upcoming CBS pilot.^[16]

Personal life[link]

McCarthy married her longtime boyfriend, Ben Falcone, an actor and alumnus of The Groundlings, on October 8, 2005.^[17][18] They have two daughters, Vivian, born May 5, 2007, and Georgette, born in March 2010.^[19][20] McCarthy's pregnancy with Vivian was written into the last season of Gilmore Girls.

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Melissa McCarthy at the Internet Movie Database
• Melissa McCarthy at AllRovi
• Melissa McCarthy at Yahoo! Movies
• Melissa McCarthy cast bio on The CW
• Melissa McCarthy's biography on filmbug
• Melissa McCarthy at Emmys.com

Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet at the 68th Venice Film Festival, September 2011
Born	Kate Elizabeth Winslet (1975-10-05) 5 October 1975 (age 36) Reading, Berkshire, England
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Jim Threapleton (m. 1998–2001) «start: (1998)–end+1: (2002)»"Marriage: Jim Threapleton to Kate Winslet" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Kate_Winslet) Sam Mendes (m. 2003–2010) «start: (2003)–end+1: (2011)»"Marriage: Sam Mendes to Kate Winslet" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Kate_Winslet)
Children	2
Relatives	Anna Winslet, Beth Winslet (sisters)

Kate Elizabeth Winslet (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader (2008). She has won awards from the Screen Actors Guild, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association among others, and has been nominated twice for an Emmy Award for television acting, winning once for her role as Mildred Pierce in the 2011 mini-series of the same name.

Brought up in Berkshire, Winslet studied drama from childhood, and began her career in British television in 1991. She made her film debut in Heavenly Creatures (1994), for which she received her first notable critical praise. She achieved recognition for her subsequent work in a supporting role in Sense and Sensibility (1995) and for her leading role in Titanic (1997), the highest grossing film at the time, and the highest grossing film of Winslet's career.^[1]

Since 2000, Winslet's performances have continued to draw positive comments from film critics, and she has been nominated for various awards for her work in such films as Quills (2000), Iris (2001), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Finding Neverland (2004), Little Children (2006), The Reader (2008) and Revolutionary Road (2008). Her performance in the last of these prompted New York magazine critic David Edelstein to describe her as "the best English-speaking film actress of her generation".^[2] The romantic comedy The Holiday and the animated film Flushed Away (both 2006) are among the biggest commercial successes of her career.

Winslet was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 2000. She has been included as a vocalist on some soundtracks of works she has performed in, and the single "What If" from the soundtrack for Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001), was a hit single in several European countries. Winslet has two children.

Early life[link]

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Winslet is the second of four children born to Sally Anne (née Bridges), a barmaid, and Roger John Winslet, a swimming pool contractor.^[3][4] 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".^[5] Her maternal grandparents, Linda (née Plumb) and Archibald Oliver Bridges, founded and operated the Reading Repertory Theatre,^[5] and her uncle, Robert Bridges, appeared in the original West End production of Oliver!. Her older sister, Anna, and younger sister, Beth, are also actresses.^[5] Her younger brother, Joss, is the only sibling who did not pursue an acting career.^[4]

Winslet began studying drama at the age of 11 at the Redroofs Theatre School,^[6] a co-educational independent school in Maidenhead, Berkshire, where she was head girl.^[7] At the age of 12, Winslet appeared in a television advertisement directed by filmmaker Tim Pope for Sugar Puffs cereal. Pope said her naturalism was "there from the start".^[8]

Career[link]

1991–1997[link]

Winslet's career began on television, with a co-starring role in the BBC children's science fiction serial Dark Season.^[9] This role was followed by appearances in the made-for-TV film Anglo-Saxon Attitudes in 1992, the sitcom Get Back, and an episode of the medical drama Casualty in 1993.^[9]

Winslet at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival

In 1992, Winslet attended a casting call for Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures in London. Winslet auditioned for the part of Juliet Hulme, a teenager who assists in the murder of the mother of her best friend, Pauline Parker (played by Melanie Lynskey). She won the role over 175 other girls.^[10] The film included Winslet's singing debut, and her a cappella version of "Sono Andati", an aria from La Bohème,^[11] was featured on the film's soundtrack.^[12] The film was released to favourable reviews in 1994 and won Jackson and partner Fran Walsh a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.^[13] Winslet was awarded an Empire Award and a London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year for her performance.^[14] The Washington Post writer Desson Thomson commented: "As Juliet, Winslet is a bright-eyed ball of fire, lighting up every scene she’s in. She's offset perfectly by Lynskey, whose quietly smoldering Pauline completes the delicate, dangerous partnership."^[15] Speaking about her experience on a film set as an absolute beginner, Winslet noted: "With Heavenly Creatures, all I knew I had to do was completely become that person. In a way it was quite nice doing [the film] and not knowing a bloody thing."^[16]

The following year, Winslet auditioned for the small but pivotal role of Lucy Steele in the adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, featuring Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman.^[17] She was instead cast in the second leading role of Marianne Dashwood.^[17] Director Ang Lee admitted he was initially worried about the way Winslet had attacked her role in Heavenly Creatures and thus required her to exercise t'ai chi, read Austen-era Gothic novels and poetry, and work with a piano teacher to fit the grace of the role.^[17] Budgeted at US$16.5 million ($25.2 million in current year dollars) the film became a financial and critical success, resulting in a worldwide box office total of US$135 million ($205.9 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.^[14][18]

In 1996, Winslet starred in both Jude and Hamlet. In Michael Winterbottom's Jude, based on the Victorian novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, she played Sue Bridehead, a young woman with suffragette leanings who falls in love with her cousin, played by Christopher Eccleston. Acclaimed among critics, it was not a success at the box office, barely grossing US$2 million ($3 million) worldwide.^[19][20] Richard Corliss of Time magazine said "Winslet is worthy of [...] the camera's scrupulous adoration. She's perfect, a modernist ahead of her time [...] and Jude is a handsome showcase for her gifts."^[21] Winslet played Ophelia, Hamlet's drowned lover, in Kenneth Branagh's all star-cast film version of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The film garnered largely positive reviews and earned Winslet her second Empire Award.^[14][22]

[edit] Titanic

In mid-1996, Winslet began filming James Cameron's Titanic (1997), alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.^[23] Gwyneth Paltrow, Claire Danes, and Gabrielle Anwar had been considered for the role;^[24][25][26] when they turned it down, Winslet campaigned heavily for it. She sent Cameron daily notes from England, which led Cameron to invite her to Hollywood for auditions. Cameron described the character as "an Audrey Hepburn type" and was initially uncertain about casting Winslet even after her screen test impressed him.^[24] After she screen tested with DiCaprio, Winslet was so thoroughly impressed with him, that she whispered to Cameron, "He's great. Even if you don't pick me, pick him." Winslet sent Cameron a single rose with a card signed "From Your Rose" and lobbied him by phone. "You don't understand!" she pleaded one day when she reached him by mobile phone in his Humvee. "I am Rose! I don't know why you're even seeing anyone else!" Her persistence, as well as her talent, eventually convinced him to cast her in the role.^[24]

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.^[27] "Titanic was totally different and nothing could have prepared me for it. ... We were really scared about the whole adventure. ... Jim [Cameron] is a perfectionist, a real genius at making movies. But there was all this bad press before it came out, and that was really upsetting."^[27] Against expectations, the film went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing more than US$1.843 billion ($2.7 billion) in box-office receipts worldwide,^[28] and transformed Winslet into a commercial movie star.^[29] Subsequently, she was nominated for most of the high-profile awards, winning a European Film Award.^[14][30]

1998–2003[link]

Shot prior to the release of Titanic, Hideous Kinky, a low-budget hippie romance, was Winslet's sole film of 1998.^[31] Winslet had rejected offers to play the leading roles in Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Anna and the King (1999) in favour of the role of a young English mother named Julia who moves with her daughters from London to Morocco hoping to start a new life.^[31][32] The film garnered generally mixed reviews and received only limited distribution,^[33] resulting in a worldwide gross of US$5 million ($7 million).^[34] Despite the success of Titanic, the next film Winslet opted to star in was Holy Smoke! (1999), featuring Harvey Keitel, another low-budget project—much to the chagrin of her agents, who felt "miserable" about her preference of arthouse films.^[16][27] Feeling pressured, Winslet has said she "never saw Titanic as a springboard for bigger films or bigger pay cheques", knowing that "it could have been that, but would have destroyed [her]."^[35] The same year, she voiced Brigid in the computer animated film Faeries.^[36]

In 2000, Winslet appeared in the period piece Quills with Geoffrey Rush and Joaquin Phoenix, a film inspired by the life and work of the Marquis de Sade. The actress served as somewhat of a "patron saint" of the film for being the first big name to back it, accepting the role of a chambermaid in the asylum and the courier of the Marquis' manuscripts to the underground publishers.^[37] Well-received by critics, the film garnered numerous accolades for Winslet, including nominations for SAG and Satellite Awards.^[14] The film was a modest arthouse success, averaging US$27,709 ($37,395) per screen its debut weekend, and eventually grossing US$18 million ($24.3 million) internationally.^[38]

In 2001's Enigma, Winslet played a young woman who finds herself falling for a brilliant young World War II code breaker, played by Dougray Scott.^[39] It was her first war film, and Winslet regarded "making Enigma a brilliant experience" as she was five months pregnant at the time of the shoot, forcing some tricky camera work from the director Michael Apted.^[39] Generally well-received,^[40] Winslet was awarded a British Independent Film Award for her performance,^[14] and A. O. Scott of The New York Times described Winslet as "more crush-worthy than ever."^[41] In the same year she appeared in Richard Eyre's critically acclaimed film Iris, portraying novelist Iris Murdoch. Winslet shared her role with Judi Dench, with both actresses portraying Murdoch at different phases of her life.^[42] Subsequently, each of them was nominated for an Academy Award the following year, earning Winslet her third nomination.^[14] Also in 2001, she voiced the character Belle in the animated motion picture Christmas Carol: The Movie, based on the Charles Dickens classic novel. For the film, Winslet recorded the song "What If", which was released in November 2001 as a single^[43] with proceeds donated to two of Winslet's favourite charities, the N.S.P.C.C. and the Sargeant Cancer Foundation for Children.^[43][44] A Europe-wide top ten hit, it reached number one in Austria, Belgium and Ireland,^[45] number six on the UK Singles Chart,^[46] and won the 2002 OGAE Song Contest.^[47]

Her next film role was in the 2003 drama The Life of David Gale, in which she played an ambitious journalist who interviews a death-sentenced professor, played by Kevin Spacey, in his final weeks before execution. The film underperformed at international box offices, garnering only half of its US$ 50,000,000 budget,^[48] and generating mostly critical reviews,^[49] with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times calling it a "silly movie."^[50]

2004–2006[link]

Following The Life of David Gale, Winslet appeared with Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), a neosurrealistic indie-drama by French director Michel Gondry. In the film, she played the role of Clementine Kruczynski, a chatty, spontaneous and somewhat neurotic woman, who decides to have all memories of her ex-boyfriend erased from her mind.^[51] The role was a departure from her previous roles, with Winslet revealing in an interview with Variety that she was initially upended about her casting in the film: "This was not the type of thing I was being offered [...] I was just thrilled that there was something he had seen in me, in spite of the corsets, that he thought was going to work for Clementine.”^[52] The film was a critical and financial success.^[53] Winslet received rave reviews for her Academy Award-nominated performance, which Peter Travers of Rolling Stone described as "electrifying and bruisingly vulnerable."^[54]

Winslet at the 61st British Academy Film Awards.

Her final film in 2004 was Finding Neverland. The story of the production focused on Scottish writer J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) and his platonic relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Winslet), whose sons inspired him to pen the classic play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. During promotion of the film, Winslet noted of her portrayal "It was very important for me in playing Sylvia that I was already a mother myself, because I don’t think I could have played that part if I didn’t know what it felt like to be a parent and have those responsibilities and that amount of love that you give to a child [...] and I've always got a baby somewhere, or both of them, all over my face."^[55] The film received favourable reviews and proved to be an international success, becoming Winslet's highest-grossing film since Titanic with a total of $118 million worldwide.^[56][57]

In 2005, Winslet appeared in an episode of BBC's comedy series Extras as a satirical version of herself. While dressed as a nun, she was portrayed giving phone sex tips to the romantically challenged character of Maggie.^[58] Her performance in the episode led to her first nomination for an Emmy Award.^[14] In Romance & Cigarettes (2005), a musical romantic comedy written and directed by John Turturro, she played the character Tula, described by Winslet as "a slut, someone who’s essentially foulmouthed and has bad manners and really doesn’t know how to dress."^[59] Hand-picked by Turturro, who was impressed with her display of dancing ability in Holy Smoke!, Winslet was praised for her performance,^[59] which included her interpretation of Connie Francis's "Scapricciatiello (Do You Love Me Like You Kiss Me)".^[60] Derek Elley of Variety wrote: "Onscreen less, but blessed with the showiest role, filthiest one-liners, [and] a perfect Lancashire accent that's comical enough in the Gotham setting Winslet throws herself into the role with an infectious gusto."^[61]

After declining an invitation to appear in Woody Allen's film Match Point (2005), Winslet stated that she wanted to be able to spend more time with her children.^[62] She began 2006 with All the King's Men, featuring Sean Penn and Jude Law. Winslet played the role of Anne Stanton, the childhood sweetheart of Jack Burden (Law). The film was critically and financially unsuccessful.^[63][64] Todd McCarthy of Variety summed it up as "overstuffed and fatally miscast [...] Absent any point of engagement to become involved in the characters, the film feels stillborn and is unlikely to stir public excitement, even in an election year."^[65]

Winslet fared far better when she joined the cast of Todd Field's Little Children, playing Sarah Pierce, a bored housewife who has a torrid affair with a married neighbour, played by Patrick Wilson. Both her performance and the film received rave reviews; A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote: "In too many recent movies intelligence is woefully undervalued, and it is this quality—even more than its considerable beauty—that distinguishes Little Children from its peers. The result is a film that is challenging, accessible and hard to stop thinking about. Ms. Winslet, as fine an actress as any working in movies today, registers every flicker of Sarah’s pride, self-doubt and desire, inspiring a mixture of recognition, pity and concern that amounts, by the end of the movie, to something like love. That Ms. Winslet is so lovable makes the deficit of love in Sarah’s life all the more painful."^[66] For her work in the film, she was honoured with a Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year from BAFTA/LA, a Los Angeles-based offshoot of the BAFTA Awards.^[67] and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, and at 31, became the youngest actress to ever garner five Oscar nominations.^[68]

She followed Little Children with a role in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy The Holiday, also starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black. In it she played Iris, a British woman who temporarily exchanges homes with an American woman (Diaz). Released to a mixed reception by critics,^[69] the film became Winslet's biggest commercial success in nine years, grossing more than US$205 million worldwide.^[70] Also in 2006, Winslet provided her voice for several smaller projects. In the CG-animated Flushed Away, she voiced Rita, a scavenging sewer rat who helps Roddy (Hugh Jackman) escape from the city of Ratropolis and return to his luxurious Kensington origins. A critical and commercial success, the film collected US$177,665,672 at international box offices.^[71]

2007–present[link]

Winslet at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival

In 2007, Winslet reunited with Leonardo DiCaprio to film Revolutionary Road (2008), directed by her husband at the time, Sam Mendes. Winslet had suggested that both should work with her on a film adaptation of the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates after reading the script by Justin Haythe.^[72] Resulting in both "a blessing and an added pressure" on-set, the reunion was her first experience working with Mendes.^[73] Portraying a couple in a failing marriage in the 1950s, DiCaprio and Winslet watched period videos promoting life in the suburbs to prepare themselves for the film,^[73] which earned them favorable reviews.^[74] In his review of the film, David Edelstein of New York magazine stated that "[t]here isn’t a banal moment in Winslet’s performance—not a gesture, not a word. Is Winslet now the best English-speaking film actress of her generation? I think so."^[2] Winslet was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance, her seventh nomination from the Golden Globes.^[14]

Winslet at the 2007 BAFTAs

Also released in late 2008, the film competed against Winslet's other project, a film adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's 1995 novel The Reader, directed by Stephen Daldry and featuring Ralph Fiennes and David Kross in supporting roles. Originally the first choice for her role, she was initially not able to take on the role due to a scheduling conflict with Revolutionary Road, and Nicole Kidman replaced her.^[75] A month after filming began, however, Kidman left the film due to her pregnancy before filming of her had begun, enabling Winslet to rejoin the film.^[75] Employing a German accent, Winslet portrayed a former Nazi concentration camp guard who has an affair with a teenager (Kross) who, as an adult, witnesses her war crimes trial.^[76] She later said the role was difficult for her, as she was naturally unable "to sympathise with an SS guard."^[77] Because the film required full frontal nudity, a merkin was made for her. In an interview for Allure she related how she refused to use it: "Guys, I am going to have to draw the line at a pubic wig,..."^[78][79] While the film garnered mixed reviews in general,^[80] Winslet received favorable reviews for her performance.^[80] The following year, she earned her sixth Academy Award nomination and went on to win the Best Actress award, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress, a Screen Actors' Guild Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.^[14]

In 2011, Winslet headlined in the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce, a small screen adaptation of James M. Cain's 1941 novel of the same name, directed by Todd Haynes.^[81] Co-starring Guy Pearce and Evan Rachel Wood, she portrayed a self-sacrificing mother during the Great Depression who finds herself separated from her husband and falling in love with a new man, all the while trying to earn her narcissistic daughter's love and respect. Broadcast to moderate ratings,^[82] the five-part series earned generally favourable reviews,^[83] with Salon.com calling it a "quiet, heartbreaking masterpiece".^[84] Winslet won an Emmy Award,^[85] a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film,^[86] and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie for her performance.^[87]

Also in 2011, Winslet appeared in Steven Soderbergh's disaster film Contagion, featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law. The thriller follows the rapid progress of a lethal indirect contact transmission virus that kills within days. Winslet portrayed an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer who becomes infected with the disease over the course of her investigation.^[88] Winslet's other 2011 project, Roman Polanski's Carnage, premiered at the 68th Venice Film Festival. An adaptation of the play God of Carnage by French playwright Yasmina Reza, the black comedy follows two sets of parents who meet up to talk after their children have been in a fight that day at school. Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz co-star.^[89] For her performance Winslet received a second nomination by the Hollywood Foreign Press that year.

In June 2011, it was announced that Winslet has been cast alongside Josh Brolin in Jason Reitman's adaptation of Joyce Maynard's 2009 novel Labor Day.^[90]

In 2012, Winslet's audiobook performance of Émile Zola's Thérèse Raquin was released at Audible.com.^[91] Audiofile Magazine's review said, "Kate Winslet reads as though she is relishing every morsel of the drama…She clearly loves the book, and her pleasure in the text is infectious…she grabs listeners and doesn’t let go."^[92]

Personal life[link]

Winslet in Paris at the César Awards 2012.

While on the set of Dark Season, Winslet met actor and writer Stephen Tredre, with whom she had a four-and-a-half-year relationship.^[93] Winslet and Tredre remained close after their separation in 1995.^[94] He died of bone cancer during the opening week of Titanic, causing her to miss the film's Los Angeles premiere to attend his funeral in London.^[95] She and Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio have remained close friends since the filming.^[96]

On 22 November 1998, Winslet married director Jim Threapleton, whom she met while on the set of Hideous Kinky in 1997.^[97][98] They have a daughter, Mia Honey Threapleton,^[98] who was born on 12 October 2000 in London.^[97] Winslet and Threapleton divorced on 13 December 2001.^[99]

Following her separation from Threapleton, Winslet began a relationship with director Sam Mendes,^[99] and she married him on 24 May 2003 on the island of Anguilla.^[97] Their son, Joe Alfie Winslet Mendes, was born on 22 December 2003 in New York City.^[97] Winslet and Mendes announced their separation in March 2010^[100] and are divorced.^{[101][102][103][104]}

Mendes was scheduled to fly on American Airlines Flight 77, which was hijacked on 11 September 2001 and subsequently crashed into the Pentagon.^[105] In October 2001, Winslet was on a flight with her daughter, Mia, when a passenger who claimed to be a terrorist stood up and shouted, "We are all going to die".^[105] As a result of these incidents, Winslet and Mendes never flew together on the same aircraft, as they feared leaving their children parentless.^[105]

Winslet's weight fluctuations over the years have been well documented by the media.^[93][97] She has been outspoken about her refusal to allow Hollywood to dictate her weight.^[96][106] In February 2003, the British edition of GQ magazine published photographs of Winslet that had been digitally altered to make her look dramatically thinner.^[97] Winslet issued a statement that the alterations were made without her consent, saying, "I just didn't want people to think I was a hypocrite and that I'd suddenly lost 30 lbs or whatever".^[107] GQ subsequently issued an apology.^[106] She won a libel suit in 2009 against the British tabloid The Daily Mail after it printed that she had lied about her exercise regime.^[108] Winslet stated that she had requested an apology to demonstrate her commitment to the views that she has always expressed regarding women's body issues, namely that women should accept their appearance with pride.^[108]

Winslet narrated the documentary A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism, which was generally released on 24 September 2010, after airing on HBO in April of the same year. Her involvement in the documentary led to her founding the non-profit organisation, the Golden Hat Foundation, whose mission is to eliminate barriers for people with autism.^[109][110] In 2011, Winslet received the Yo Dona award for Best Humanitarian Work for her work with the Golden Hat.^[111]

Also in 2010, Winslet narrated a video for PETA, encouraging chefs to remove foie gras from their menus and asking consumers to boycott restaurants that serve it.^[112]

Awards and nominations[link]

Winslet won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Reader (2008). She won two Golden Globe Awards in the same year: Best Actress (Drama) for Revolutionary Road and Best Supporting Actress for The Reader. She has won two BAFTA Awards: Best Actress for The Reader, and Best Supporting Actress for Sense and Sensibility (1995). She has earned a total of six Academy Award nominations, nine Golden Globe nominations, and seven BAFTA nominations.^{[106][113][114]}

She has received numerous awards from other organisations, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for Iris (2001) and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for Sense and Sensibility and The Reader. Premiere magazine named her portrayal of Clementine Kruczynski in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) as the 81st greatest film performance of all time.^[115]

Winslet has been selected for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.^[116]

Academy Award nomination milestones[link]

Winslet at the 81st Academy Awards in February 2009

Winslet was 26 when she received her third Academy Award nomination, for Iris, just missing the mark of Natalie Wood, who received her third nomination at age 25.^[117] She set the mark as the youngest actor to receive five nominations, at age 31, for Little Children (2006). She surpassed Bette Davis, who was 33 when she received her fifth nomination for her performance in The Little Foxes (1941).^[118] With her Best Actress nomination for The Reader, Winslet became the youngest actor to receive six Oscar nominations. At age 33, Winslet passed the mark Davis, one year older, set with Now, Voyager (1942).^[119]

Winslet received Academy Award nominations as the younger versions of the characters played by fellow nominees Gloria Stuart, as Rose, in Titanic (1997)^[120] and Judi Dench, as Iris Murdoch, in Iris.^[121] These are the only instances of the younger and older versions of a character in the same film both yielding Academy Award nominations, thus making Winslet the only actor to twice share an Oscar nomination with another for portraying the same character.^[120]

When she was not nominated for her work in Revolutionary Road, Winslet became only the second actress to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress (Drama) without getting an Oscar nomination for the same performance (Shirley MacLaine was the first for Madame Sousatzka (1988), and she won the Golden Globe in a three-way tie). Academy rules allow an actor to receive no more than one nomination in a given category; as the Academy nominating process determined that Winslet's work in The Reader would be considered a lead performance—unlike the Golden Globes, which considered it a supporting performance—she could not also receive a Best Actress nomination for Revolutionary Road.^[122]

Awards for other work[link]

In 2000, Winslet won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for Listen To the Storyteller.^[123][124] She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for playing herself in a 2005 episode of Extras.^[125] At the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Winslet won the Best Actress in Miniseries or TV Movie award for her role as the titular character in Mildred Pierce.

Filmography[link]