Born 51 Years Ago Today, This Libra Counts Leonardo DiCaprio Among Her Best Friends

Kate Winslet turns 51 today. The Oscar-winning actor, who boasts a resume that runs from "Titanic" to "Mare of Easttown" and spans several decades, was born on October 5, 1975, which makes her a Libra. This sign signifies balance, and one could argue that Winslet, whose stunning transformation from a working-class neighborhood in Reading, England, to one of Hollywood's most decorated actors has been nothing short of inspirational, found her counterweight early when she met co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. "I turned 21 on that shoot, and Leo turned 22," she recalled to The Guardian, in 2021, of making "Titanic." Amusingly, her first impression of DiCaprio wasn't exactly flattering. "He was this kind of mess of long, skinny, uncoordinated limbs," she shared in a featurette previewed by Entertainment Tonight in 2023. But that gangly tangle of limbs eventually grew on her.

Astrologers associate Libra with Venus, the planet named for Rome's goddess of love. On screen, it turned Jack and Rose into one of cinema's great romances, and off screen, it delivered the stars a friendship that would withstand time and tide. Libras have been described as very keen on keeping a bond alive. Winslet's method when it comes to DiCaprio is rather simple. When he calls, she answers, and he returns the courtesy. "There's no like, 'Hang on, I'll call you tomorrow.' It's instant," she confirmed simply. Seeing him in Los Angeles after a three-year gap even left Winslet in tears. "He's my friend, my really close friend," she gushed to The Guardian. "We're bonded for life." And that should tell you all you need to know about Winslet and DiCaprio's longtime relationship.

Notably, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio's friendship has helped plenty of strangers too. At least twice, the duo has worked together to raise money for people in need. There was Millvina Dean, 97 in 2009, the final surviving passenger of the real Titanic, who was selling her belongings to pay her nursing home bills. Winslet, DiCaprio, and director James Cameron all contributed to a fund set up in her name, and donated a reported $30,000 between them. The second time occurred in 2017. While her own mother was being treated for ovarian cancer, Winslet stumbled across the case of a young mother who also had cancer, and began raising money for her treatment. 

"We got close to £200,000 and I thought, 'Right it's time to call my friend Leo,'" Winslet explained on ITV's "This Morning" in 2018, per Vogue. She asked DiCaprio whether they could host a charity dinner together, and he upped the ante and invited her to his foundation's gala in Saint Tropez in July 2017 instead. There, they auctioned dinners with "Jack and Rose," three in all, and raised a whopping $1.35 million. What ultimately sets this friendship apart is how little it depends on their work. The Oscar winners played lovers in two different movies (the second was "Revolutionary Road," in 2008) but they haven't shared a set since. Regardless, their friendship has endured. 

When DiCaprio introduced Winslet at a Los Angeles screening of her film "Lee," in 2024, the actor called her "one of the great talents of my generation," (via NME). In response, Winslet admitted, "I can't even look at Leo now or else I'll cry." For a Libra, whose sign is all about partnership, that long-lasting friendship is the greatest gift of all.