GirlCrush: Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet's recent Vanity Fair shoot

When I was 11, sitting in the three-hour raw-emotions-omgz-drama!!!1!!-fest that was TITANIC, cemented four things for me.

1.) My bladder was not equipped to retain a movie-sized large Dr. Pepper for three hours. (i.e., the DVR pause button would later become my best friend)
2.) Extremely old ladies should not be left alone with expensive things. (particularly those they can lift then conceal on their person, like a ridiculously gaudy but ridiculously expensive necklace, for instance)
3.) Leonardo DiCaprio and I were totally gonna get married. (hey, as far as I know, neither of us is married yet)
4.) Kate Winslet would be my biggest girl crush ever. (well, besides Aaliyah)

11 years later, my bladder's a little bigger, I don't leave jewelry around my aunts and uncles, Leo hasn't met me yet, and Kate is still absolutely fantastic to me, in every way.

For me, "Corset" Kate is what I imagined Bridget Jones as, before the squinting/lip-pursing-session known as the movie, and with a little more attitude. She's stunning, witty, and adorable, and possesses this British charm I hear so much about but can't even begin to see in people like Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley. She's so endearingly imperfect that she could very well redefine your idea of perfect. She's like a throwback movie star from the 50s in terms of glamour and poise, yet is very much ahead of the curve with her honesty about her weight and aging. A few celebrities have followed her lead with Jenny Craig adverts and pushing wrinkle creams and hair dye, although I've never heard of Kate using hers to make a buck.

I've seen pictures of her rough days (honestly, who doesn't have rough days, though?), but they do nothing to sway my admiration of her beauty. It took me a while to realize that this was the same girl from Heavenly Creatures, another movie I'd seen when I was younger, which skeeved me out. She was great in it. I personally feel like she should be one of the highest grossing actresses, since to me she is a better actress and more believable than Cameron Diaz, Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, and even Reese Witherspoon. She certainly made The Holiday fun to watch. Meanwhile, I often fast-forward through every cringe-inducing scene Cameron Diaz would stumble through. I don't know how it is elsewhere, but here in my community she doesn't have the instant name recognition the others do. I'd love to mention her and have people name at least two movies they'd loved her in.

Kate in Heavenly Creatures

Also, she and Leonardo were my very first OTP (one true pair), and I still think they'd make a cute couple, truthfully.

Kate & Leo in TITANIC

The only thing I wish she'd change is how "American" she looks now with the tan and the blond hair. Thank goodness she hasn't lost any curves. Also, I'd kill for that Balmain dress (at least, I'm pretty sure it's Balmain, lol)!

Kate & Leo at Revolutionary Road Premiere

But, anyramble, check out Revolutionary Road, which came out yesterday. She and Leo reunite, in what some TITANIC fans wistfully call "a vague representation of what might've been, had Jack not died." Hahaha, it wasn't me who said it, I swear.



Some pics from Faded Youth Blog, via ONTD.

GirlCrush: Rashida Jones

I am trying out this new type of post, where each week or so (you know my posting habits already, I am sure) I write briefly about a celebrity (that's the current criterion) woman I admire for her various attributes: be it style, charity, poise, intelligence, beauty, character, talent, etc. I call it GirlCrush simply because I often find myself gushing, "Oh my God, I love her!" when I see one of them. Contrary to popular belief, females are not always catty or jealous, and I am sure there are many girls like me who have found women to admire.

The first of these is Rashida Jones, daughter of legendary mogul Quincy Jones and one of the coolest girls in 60's TV, Peggy Lipton (best known as Detective Julie Barnes of the Mod Squad). In case you were living in a bomb shelter somewhere since Steve Carell first made his presence known, you have seen Rashida in the hit show, The Office. Outside of seeing her always at Quincy Jones' side as a younger girl, I was first introduced to Rashida on the series Boston Public. She's done a number of movies, and a couple of shows, too. You can now watch her on the new FOX show, Unhitched, which I really hope sticks around on the lineup. She's also a singer/songwriter like her dad. Recently I read a brief article on her and found out she was shunned by an all-black Greek organization at Harvard (which surprises me, for who wouldn't want Q's daughter as a member?), and I totally sympathized! It just made me love her more. From what I have seen of her personality, she seems a lot like me, and it's no wonder they didn't take her. She strikes me as the type to always be on the outskirts, "on the verge" of fitting in, but not quite, be it for her own choices or out of others' misunderstanding. Hence, she oozes fantastic awesomeness.

I wish my picture had come out bigger...grr. I heard she now has a green clothing line with a friend. I hate celebrity's putting their names on the designs of others and claiming it for their own, but power to her for making it enviro-friendly. She has such great style to me. If I were a celebrity, I think many of my days would be spent looking like her (with a bit of Agyness Deyn's hipster quirkiness infused). She is so adorably casual, sometimes leaning towards dressing like a trendy guy, and when she gets glam, she just looks so effortlessly gorgeous. Plus, I love how no matter what she wears she looks comfortable in it, like she's just having the most fun. I wonder why she doesn't model? I would so buy what she's selling.