Word has it that she isn't by Hollywood standards, anyway a diva. And there's no doubt in anyone's mind that she's a great mother, as well as a great beauty. So why is it that Kate Winslet's romantic history has been so dismal?
To discard one husband (less successful, less glamorous) may be considered par for the course as a rising star moves up the movie ranks, but to lose two in the space of a decade is perhaps rather unfortunate.
People who know and like Winslet say, by way of explanation, that she is every bit as intense off screen as she is on it. She is "fierce" in an argument and is a woman of stubborn loyalties and intense passions you are either within her inner circle or she never wishes to speak to you again.
The signs were there, however, for all to see: She failed to thank husband Sam Mendes when she won her Bafta for The Reader an omission she was careful to make up for at last year's Oscars, which he attended with her.
For although we may think of Winslet as a great catch, in the movie world there has always been a great deal of buzz about Mendes, and the reality is that from the word go, Winslet has had to work hard to keep up.
Before they met Mendes had a reputation as a commitment-shy ladies' man. Both Rachel Weisz and Calista Flockhart had long relationships with him, neither of which led to marriage, nor engagement, nor anything close.
Winslet being Winslet, she went for Mendes with gusto, moving to New York to be with him. The word is that despite her best efforts, Winslet failed to "tame" Mendes as she had hoped, and she is said to have found it tiring to be the one that had to keep on trying so hard to maintain his interest in both her and their marriage.
I was told last year that Mendes was unamused by her habit of flirting with her leading men, but it has been suggested that both parties are afflicted by something best described as a roving eye, which is perhaps why the separation has been described as "amicable" with each party equally at fault.
What we can say is that while she gave up on first husband Jim Threapleton pretty fast, she has definitely worked hard to try to keep this marriage intact. You would hope so too two children by two men before the age of 34 is enough to make you wonder what it is that Winslet wants. And as their separation is announced, that is the big question that everyone is asking: What does Winslet actually want and, moreover, will she ever find it?
