Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio Credited With Saving Woman's Life
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't save Jack in 1997's "Titanic," but they have since managed to save someone else.
Gemma Nuttall, a dental nurse from Lancashire, England, appeared on the British talk show "This Morning" on Monday to share the story of how the two actors changed her life, as People reports. Nuttall was battling her third bout of cancer in 2017 when she caught the attention of Winslet through a GoFundMe campaign launched by her mother, Helen Sproates. The crowdfunder was raising money for Nuttall to receive immunotherapy at a clinic in Germany, and Winslet found it while researching clinics for her own mother, Sally, who was also fighting ovarian cancer.
Winslet's mother was "very, very unwell," according to the actress, and ultimately died, so Winslet wanted to save Nuttall, another mother. In fact, Nuttall was first diagnosed in 2014 while pregnant and she chose not to be treated right away so that she could continue her pregnancy. By 2017, she had developed tumors in her lungs and brain, and her prognosis was bleak. However, Winslet got involved to help her raise the money, and she pulled DiCaprio into her efforts, too.
"I phoned Leo and I said, 'Do you think we could do a charity dinner or something?'" Winslet said on "This Morning," according to People. "And he said, 'Let's go one better. Come with me to St. Tropez, to my big fundraiser for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.'"
DiCaprio had a brilliant plan: auctioning off dinners with "Jack and Rose." Winslet took him up on it, and in July, they raised $1.35 million by offering up three such dinners. Needless to say, it was more than enough money for Nuttall's treatment. In fact, it was enough for her and Winslet to team up to fund other patients' care with half the money, as well as for the rest to go toward DiCaprio's foundation.
Now, Nuttall is cancer-free and incredibly grateful, and she got to tell Winslet on "This Morning."
"I just want to say thank you so much for all your hard work and for me being able to have my treatment that I really did need," she said. "You saved my life and I just want you to know that."