I had a difficult childhood, says Kate Winslet

"I remember my dad getting up and going to do the postal route, as well as being the guy who helped tarmac the roads. He would drive a minivan. He did whatever he needed to do to make ends meet," said actress Kate Winslet.

Actress Kate Winslet, one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood, says she had a difficult childhood and her family lived hand to mouth.

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Thesun.co.uk quoted her as saying: "We didn't get a VCR until I was 12 and it was second-hand from some friend of my dad's down at the pub. I come from a family of actors who lived their lives, and still do rather stubbornly, on a shoestring. It was very hand to mouth.

"I remember my dad getting up and going to do the postal route, as well as being the guy who helped tarmac the roads. He would drive a minivan. He did whatever he needed to do to make ends meet. He was a jobbing actor, like most actors - that was my father."

Winslet is the the daughter of Sally Ann and Roger John Winslet; both her parents were actors. The actress, who recently bagged the best actress award for her role as a frustrated housewife in Revolutionary Road and the best supporting actress award for her portrayal of a former Nazi guard in The Reader, gives credit to her father for teaching her work ethic.

She said: "My father taught me the work ethic. He would always say to me, 'You know what, baby? You have got to keep on keepin' on. You can only do your best, and your best is good enough, kid.' He still says it to me now. It's wonderful to have that.