Since the release of James Cameron’s Titanic in 1997, Kate Winslet has become a major star in her own right. However, audiences will always remember her for her beautiful, heartbreaking performance as Rose, who falls in love with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack Dawson, aboard a colossal and doomed cruise ship. One scene in particular seems to always come to audience’s memories, where Rose asks Jack to paint a nude portrait of her “like one of his french girls.” The scene has become iconic, and seems to keep up with the actress even as she moves on to bigger and better things. Unfortunately, this has led to some awkward moments, including one time when her kid’s classmate recognized her from the scene.
While appearing as a guest on Britain’s The Graham Norton Show, the Mare of Easttown star recalled a moment when a schoolmate of her daughter mentioned the scene to her, recalling the famous nude scene from Titanic. Winslet detailed:
My daughter actually had this at school. It was quite weird. She said someone came up to her having figured out after four years of being in school together that I was her mother. And said ‘Oh my God I’ve seen your mom’s boobs!’
While a bit awkward, this is a perfectly innocent remark from a young child who probably was too young to understand the context for the scene. I’m sure this may have seemed weird for a kid to understand, even if for actors this is perfectly normal. This makes for an absolutely hilarious anecdote, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is something that Winslet gets asked about a lot. The “paint me like one of your french girls” line has become practically ingrained in popular culture.
This isn’t the only scene from Titanic that has stuck with audiences over the years. The debate about Jack being able to have fit on that door with Rose (which would have ultimately saved his life) is ongoing. Recently James Cameron himself did an experiment to see if both of the romantic leads could have safely fit on the makeshift raft. Also the many dangerous but breakthrough practical effects involving the amount of water being used to sink the ship have made the film timeless. And of course, who can forget DiCaprio yelling “I’m the king of the world” from the top of the ship? It is still one of my favorite moments.
Kate Winslet was clearly eager to return back to the water with James Cameron again, as she plays a pivotal supporting role in the director’s latest film, Avatar: The Way of Water. She recently broke Tom Cruise’s record for longest time an actor has held their breath underwater. The immense amount of difficult water-centric scenes in the film seem to rival Titanic. Thankfully, Winslet was prepared, knowing all too well what it means to be in a Cameron film.
You can check out Kate Winslet in yet another ocean adventure in Avatar: The Way of Water which is playing only in theaters now. You can also experience all of the romance and heartbreak of Titanic by renting the movie on Amazon (opens in new tab), or streaming it on PlutoTV. For more information on other films coming to streaming and theaters in the near future, make sure to consult our 2023 movie release schedule.