Just two years after her Best Supporting Actress nomination for Sense and Sensibility, Winslet, then 22, earned another Oscar nod for her portrayal of passionate, rosy-cheeked socialite Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic. (Winslet reportedly was so excited she got the part, she sent director James Cameron roses.) She had to skip the film’s premiere, though, when tragedy struck: Her ex-boyfriend, actor Stephen Tedre, died of cancer just days before Titanic opened, and Winslet wanted to attend his funeral.
Sink or swim: Titanic Stars Then and Now
Which actors used the blockbuster as a springboard for Hollywood success — and which went down with the ship