Joel, I`m not a concept. I want you to just keep that in your head. Too many guys think I`m a concept or I complete them or I`m going to make them alive, but I`m just a fucked-up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don`t assign me yours.

I`ve been Skinny; it`s fucking boring.

Just because society, and government, and whatever was different 100 years ago, doesn`t mean that people didn`t have sex, pick their nose, or swear.

I don`t know if it`s a skill, but I have been really lucky. I`ve always got on with every actor I`ve had to work opposite. I just always try and be as accepting of that person as I possibly can, and remain non-judgmental about their process, because every actor works in a different way.

There is no way we are going to move out of England. Some might think that we want to live in Hollywood but that is not what we want at all. We will go and live in New York when it is necessary because of work but we prefer to be in England. I`m proud to be English - we both are. It`s very important to me to retain that. I am an English girl and I love England. I have never felt the desire to leave. I am still ambitious and I will have to travel and live elsewhere because of that but England is always home.

About her spur-of-the-moment marriage to Sam Mendes - "We hadn`t been planning to do it but we thought it was rather a good idea, so we just did it."

In 2002 she had this to say about doing nude scenes: "I like exposing myself. There`s not an awful lot that embarrasses me. I`m the kind of actress that absolutely believes in exposing myself."

Life is short, and it is here to be lived.

It seems daft that I`m famous and I`ve not really got to grips with that.

I`d much rather be known as some curvy Kate than as some skinny stick.

Life is short, and it is here to be lived.

It doesn`t make any sense... that`s why I trust it!

Mum and dad were very much friends, and up to life. There was no anxiety for anything when I was growing up, they just taught me to be me.

I`d rather do theater and British films than move to LA in hopes of getting small roles in American films.

On going to the 1996 Oscars: Emma Thompson said to me `Listen, it`s honestly just like going to see a fantastic show`, and actually it really is, because there are so many people to look at and all those fabulous frocks and it`s really fascinating. But mum and dad and I did kind of amble through it a bit, a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies, getting out the car, my mum stepping on my dress and I`m going `Mum, mum!`

Since I was 13 or 14 I`ve always felt older than I actually am.

I`d rather do theatre and British films than move to L.A. in hopes of getting small roles in American films.

There`s more to life than cheek bones.

On a scene from the movie Holy Smoke (1999),: "It was a difficult scene. When I read the script and I saw this scene was there, I laughed hysterically. I just couldn`t believe it. When it came to shooting it, I had been sort of putting it off, and pretending it wasn`t going to happen. And suddenly, I am there naked, peeing and thinking "Oh no!" It was really hard to do, but I`ve always loved the fact that it was there, and it`s such a sort of turning point for the character I play in the movie that I`ve always felt sort of good, that it should be there."

I was on the tube just before Christmas. and this girl turned round to me and said, `Are you Kate Winslet?`. And I said, `Well, yes. I am actually`. And she said, `And you`re getting the tube?` And I said, `Yes`. And she said, `Don`t you have a big car that drives you around?` And I said, `No`. And she was absolutely stunned that I wasn`t being driven round in some flash car all the time. It was ludicrous.

I was a wayward child, very passionate and very determined. If I made up my mind to do something, there was no stopping me.

The whole concept of `grounding` children is utterly stupid - they just go off and rebel and don`t like you. When my kids eventually come along, I don`t want them to not like me.

There`s more to life than cheek bones.

I finally moved out of my parent`s house. It was only fair to let my sister have her own room.

It`s funny when someone says to you `you`re hot` and all that, because I don`t think of it in that way.

It`s very important for me to make the statement that I am English and just because I`ve done one really big film, it doesn`t mean that I don`t want to keep a finger in the fantastic British film industry and do films like this.

On receiving her 4th Oscar nomination: "I can`t believe it. I am ecstatic! This nomination means so much to me. To be remembered for a film that was released a while ago, I am unbelievably honoured and completely overwhelmed."

Since I was 13 or 14, I`ve always felt older than I actually am.

I wouldn`t dream of working on something that didn`t make my gut rumble and my heart want to explode.

There are moments to indulge and enjoy, but I always know when it`s time to go home and wash my knickers.

Loving someone is setting them free, letting them go.

I like exposing myself. There`s not an awful lot that embarrasses me. I`m the kind of actress who absolutely believes in exposing herself.

Loving someone is setting them free, letting them go.

I`m really proud of being English, because I learned my job in England, in English films with English actors. But I never dared dream of such a success... it`s more than a dream. I realize it`s extraordinary for a British actress. I feel good, but guilty at the same time, cause I wish I could share this emotion with all my British actors` friends... I play the main character in the most expensive and probably successful film, but that`s not a good reason to leave England and become a superstar. Not at all.

[talking about her screen debut in Heavenly Creatures (1994)]: "I was reading the script in the back of the car and I turned to my dad and yelled, `I`ve GOT to get this!` And he replied, `Then you will.` And I thought, `Yep, that`s it. I`m bloody well going to.` And that was it. I was so determined. It was something crucial to my life. I just so communicated with her, the story and their relationship. And when I found out, I just couldn`t believe it. I was so happy, I cried. I remember I was working part-time at a deli at the time because I didn`t have any money and was in the middle of making a sandwich when they phoned and said I`d got the job. I burst into tears and had to leave work because I couldn`t control myself. It was absolutely brilliant."

Mum and dad were very much friends, and up to life. There was no anxiety for anything when I was growing up, they just taught me to be me.

People say to me, `You seem to have made this conscious decision to do independent films`. In reality, I haven`t. After each movie, I always think, how different can I possibly be?... Is this going to challenge me, is this going to inspire me, and is this going to make me love my job more than I already do?

After Titanic (1997) it would have been completely foolish for me to go and try and top that. I`m an English girl, I`ve always loved England, I`ve never felt the desire to leave it for any particular reason. And whilst I`m ambitious and care very much about what I do, I`m not competitive. I also don`t want to act every day of my life. ... So it was important to me after Titanic (1997) to just remind myself of why it was that I was acting in the first place, which is of course because I love it.

Plastic surgery and breast implants are fine for people who want that, if it makes them feel better about who they are. But, it makes these people, actors especially, fantasy figures for a fantasy world. Acting is about being real being honest.