Kate Winslet's Children: Everything You Need to Know About Mia, Joe, and Bear
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- UPDATED June 02, 2024
by Tasha Mayberry
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After marrying Monaco’s Prince Rainier III in 1956, Kelly left Hollywood and became Princess Grace, transitioning to royal life and welcoming three children: Princess Caroline in 1957, Prince Albert in 1958, and Princess Stéphanie in 1965. In 1982, Kelly was tragically killed in a car accident while driving back to Monaco from the family’s country house. Her 17-year-old daughter Stéphanie, who was also in the car, sustained major injuries but eventually recovered.
In a 2014 interview with PEOPLE, Kelly’s son Albert shared that despite their glamorous life in Monaco, Kelly was a “hands-on” mom. “Our parents made sure it felt like a normal home. Not palace-y,” he recalled.
This commitment to normalcy extended to celebrating American traditions, with Kelly insisting the family celebrate Thanksgiving even in Monaco. “Turkey wasn’t common on European tables… It was virtually unknown in France and there was very little of it,” Albert told PEOPLE in November 2019. “But Mom insisted, and if we didn’t have turkey at the palace for Thanksgiving, we would have it at Christmas time.” Grace Kelly’s dedication to her family and her efforts to maintain a sense of normalcy for her children continue to be remembered and cherished by her loved ones.
Mia Honey Threapleton, 23
Winslet shares her oldest child and only daughter, Mia Honey Threapleton, with ex-husband Jim Threapleton. Mia was born on Oct. 12, 2000, though her parents split publicly just 11 months later.
Now an adult, Mia is following in her famous mom’s footsteps by gracing the silver screen. She made her feature film debut in the 2020 movie “Shadows,” where she spoke to Variety about her role in the post-apocalyptic thriller.
“I never actually spent much time around sets that my mum was working on. It was always a special treat. It’s a very different experience when it is happening to you, and not just something I was getting to observe from time to time,” she told the outlet. “I really understand why my mum has always impressed on us how hard the work is. She is right! And I loved every second of it.” In 2021, Winslet revealed that her daughter had begun acting without anyone noticing due to their different last names. “[She’s] 20 and acting,” Winslet told Scottish TV host Lorraine Kelly in 2021. “She’s away now in the Czech Republic about to start on a TV series over there.”
Winslet also said that she “suspected” that Mia would become an actress. “What’s great for her is she has a different surname,” Winslet added. “So she slipped under the radar, and the people who cast her had absolutely no idea that she was my daughter … that was important for her self-esteem, of course.” In 2022, the mother-daughter duo got the opportunity to share the screen in the film “I Am Ruth.” The “Avatar” actress later said on BBC One’s “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg” that she was “blown away” by Mia’s performance in the movie, adding that her daughter “didn’t need my help at all.”
Winslet continued, “Sometimes I could introduce her to a technical trick here and there. Just little things I picked up along the way, like changing an eye line … Little things like that, that no one teaches you. And she appreciated that stuff.” The film later won a TV BAFTA for best single drama in 2023. (Winslet also won the best leading actress award for her role.) Winslet and Mia walked the red carpet together at the awards show.
Joe Alfie Mendes, 20
The actress welcomed her second child and first son, Joe Alfie Mendes, on Dec. 22, 2003. Winslet shares Joe with her ex-husband Sam Mendes, whom she married in 2003 and divorced in 2010.
Joe was born in New York City, and while he leads a very private life, Winslet has previously revealed that her 20-year-old son is into the arts. Speaking of how the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns were affecting her kids, the “Ammonite” star told Jimmy Kimmel during an interview, “My daughter’s 20 and my son is 17 … my little guy is 7, but yeah, I think it’s hard on all of them, but he’s very musical so [Joe is] able to Zoom with his mates and make a lot of music.” In October 2023, Veronica Roth — author of the “Divergent” book series — told PEOPLE about a funny interaction she had with Joe when he was no older than 10. At the time, Winslet was filming “Insurgent,” in which she plays the villainous Jeanine.
“The best thing that happened was probably when her son was on set and he came up to me and he said, ‘Why did you kill my mom?'” recalled Roth. “I said, ‘I didn’t know it would be your mom when I did it,’ And he was like, ‘That makes sense.’ That was it. He walked away after that.”
Bear Blaze Winslet, 10
Winslet’s youngest child, Bear Blaze, whom she shares with her current husband Edward Abel Smith, was born on Dec. 7, 2013. During an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2014, Winslet shared the meaning behind her son’s unique name.
The Emmy-winning actress explained that Bear’s middle name refers to the house fire Winslet escaped in August 2011 while on vacation in the Caribbean, the same weekend that she met Smith, formally known as Ned Rocknroll. “The house burned down, and we survived,” she says. “But we wanted something of the fire, and so Blaze was the name that we came up with.” During a 2021 appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Winslet told the talk show host that her then-7-year-old son had already settled on his future career path.
“The other day my son was very funny. He turned to me and said, ‘Mum, I’ve got a confession to make,'” she recalled during the interview. “He said, ‘I’m just gonna come out with it. I’m just gonna say it,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, the drama.’ He looks at me and says, ‘I want to be an actress,'” she shared as she and Kimmel burst into laughter. Winslet said she started to laugh at her son’s response, to which Bear replied, “It’s not funny, I want to be an actress. Sign me up.” What do you do with that, honestly? It’s hilarious, it made me laugh,” Winslet admitted of her son’s statement.
Kate Winslet's Husband: All About Edward Abel Smith
Kate Winslet and Edward Abel Smith began dating in 2011 and tied the knot just a year later. Smith has been by Winslet’s side ever since, and while the pair are generally private, the acclaimed actress has spoken quite fondly of him to the press. “He didn’t particularly plan on meeting and marrying a woman who is in the public eye and therefore having been so judged,” she told The New York Times in 2021. She added, “He’s vegan, does yoga, breath work and cold water swims.” Winslet even credits Smith for some of her recent professional successes. “My creative life in the last few years has been really, really colorful for me,” she told PEOPLE in 2015. “And I’ve really enjoyed being able to embrace that. I have a wonderful man in my life who is so incredibly supportive that it makes it possible for me to have those experiences. It’s been a really fun time.” So who is Kate Winslet’s husband? Here’s everything to know about Edward Abel Smith.
Winslet and Smith met in August 2011 while they were both vacationing on his uncle Richard Branson’s Necker Island—and a disaster brought them together. After a suspected lightning strike, a massive fire broke out at the Virgin mogul’s properties. Winslet helped Branson’s mother out of the main house on the island, while Smith escaped a neighboring home. The actress compared the experience to what she and Idris Elba’s characters went through in the film The Mountain Between Us. “Exactly the same thing happened to me when I met my husband,” she told PEOPLE in October 2017. “He was a complete stranger, we met, and then the next day the house burnt down.” “I believe strangers can meet and their lives can change so much that they simply can’t go back to being the person they once were,” she added. “[Smith and I] very much went through that together. Even now, I often find myself looking for an item of clothing or a book or something and I go, ‘Where have I put that?’ And Ned will look at me and go, ‘Did it get burnt in the fire?'”
