Kate Winslet has become synonymous with her character from James Cameron’s Titanic film. Fans will never forget that tragic ending to the 1997 romantic movie where the lead star-crossed lovers, Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Winslet), held on for their lives after the ship sank.
Rose ultimately survived, but Jack was left to drown and freeze to death. There had been proposed theories where she could have saved her lover, but she did not. This was not the same scenario with Winslet, who actually saved a person, not from drowning in the sea but from being consumed by flames.
Kate Winslet Became A Hero And Saved An Old Woman From A Raging Fire
The tragedy occurred in Richard Branson’s Necker Island Getaway on the British Virgin Islands back in 2011. Kate Winslet and her two children were spending the holidays in the British magnate’s resort. While the guests were asleep, including Winslet’s family, a fire broke out early in the morning. Branson described the horrific event when he appeared on Good Morning America (via ABC News):
“It was something of a nightmare, reminded me of the film, ‘Mandalay.’ We’re all glad to be well, glad to be alive, glad to have gotten through it. I was woken up by my son banging on my window. We stayed about 100 yards away from the ‘Great House,’ looked across… and there were 200-foot flames billowing out of it.”
Branson, together with his wife and son, was staying at one of the five smaller Balinese-style villas on his luxurious $70 million vacation property. Winslet was one of the 20 guests who was sleeping at the fourteen-bedroom complex.
The billionaire wasted no time and ran away from the burning house despite being “stark naked”:
“We just ran stark naked towards the house. I went straight into a cacti bush. My son ran on, and fortunately, people had woken up inside, and our nephews did… a good evacuation.”
Everyone managed to leave safely, most notably Branson’s 86-year-old mother Eve, who was said to have been aided by Winslet. While the Oscar-winning actress struggled to carry her children to safety, she also helped the old woman. Branson added:
“Of course, she was obviously desperate to get her children out, and my mother was there, so she whisked my mother up in her arms and took her down the steps, and anyway, and all is well.”
Winslet once told Branson that the incident felt like filming a movie scene, but it felt too real, and she was waiting for someone to say ‘Cut!’ Nonetheless, the Titanic star proved that anyone can be a hero in their own small ways.
The Silver Lining From The Tragic Event
The whole fiasco was truly traumatizing, but something good actually happened while Kate Winslet was staying at the resort before the fire incident occurred. Months before her vacation, she finalized her divorce from her second husband, filmmaker Sam Mendes. While at Necker Island, she met Branson’s nephew, Edward Abel Smith, whom she later married in December 2012.
The unforgettable experience at the fancy resort has definitely changed everyone’s lives. Branson noted:
“It’s one of those stories that’s ended up happily. We will rebuild the house and make it even better than it was before, and we’ll have many more wonderful memories of the future.”
Unfortunately, Eve passed away in January 2021 due to COVID-19. Even though she is no longer with them, the Branson family will always remember Kate Winslet’s heroism.
Source: GMA via ABC News
