Friday, June 15, 2012

Kate Winslet, Kenneth Branagh get royal honors June 15, 2012 -- 2:24 PM (EXAMINER)



LONDON (AP) — Kate Winslet has been honored by Queen Elizabeth II for her titanic contribution to the arts.

The actress, who won a best actress Academy Award in 2009 for "The Reader" and made her breakthrough as the feisty Rose in 1997 blockbuster "Titanic," has been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, in the queen's Birthday Honors List, published Saturday.

Winslet said the honor made her "very proud to be a Brit."

"I am both surprised and honored to stand alongside so many men and woman who have achieved great things for our country," the 36-year-old star said.

Actor and director Kenneth Branagh was made a knight and will be known as Sir Kenneth. A respected Shakespearean actor whose films as a director range from "Henry V" and "Hamlet" to the comic-book fantasy "Thor," Branagh said he felt "humble, elated, and incredibly lucky" to get the honor. It puts him in a pantheon of theatrical knights alongside the late Sir Laurence Olivier, whom Branagh played in "My Life With Marilyn."

"When I was a kid, I dreamed of pulling on a shirt for the Northern Ireland football team," said the Belfast-born, 51-year-old actor. "I could only imagine how proud you might feel. Today it feels like they just gave me the shirt, and my heart's fit to burst."


READ MORE:  http://washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/movies/2012/06/kate-winslet-kenneth-branagh-get-royal-honors/734971



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