Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio have had our hearts since Titanic and continue to inspire us with their loving friendship and humanitarian work. Now the actors have done another incredibly generous deed which makes us love them even more.
Gemma Nuttall was 25 and pregnant when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of ovarian cancer and told she had less than a year left to live. She underwent months of agonising chemotherapy but the cancer returned in the form of brain cancer.
Her mother Helen researched alternative treatments and found a lifesaving treatment abroad but because it was very costly, she started to fundraise. Little did she know that Kate Winslet saw the GoFundMe page for Gemma and with the help of Leonardo DiCaprio, auctioned three dinners with ‘Jack and Rose,’ to raise a massive $1.35 million.
The cash was split between the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and treatment for the young mother, with leftover money now being used to launch a new foundation for cancer sufferers.
After Gemma and Helen told their story on This Morning, the mother and daughter were surprised to learn that Kate Winslet herself was on the phone line during the broadcast. Winslet explained how she lost her own mother to cancer last May and that she had also fought ovarian cancer and sought treatment abroad.
Getting emotional, Kate said: “I just thought ‘I can’t have this happen. My own mother was very, very unwell, and I just thought my mum would be incredibly proud if I could do this for somebody else, for another young mum.”
She continued: “I am now able to set up another foundation — which Gemma is going to help me run and be involved with — another foundation which will specifically help individuals who are in exactly the position that Gemma has been in. So, so much good has come out of this remarkable moment. I mean look at Gemma. Look at her. She is so beautiful. She is alive. She is cancer-free. It is utterly incredible. I feel so blessed that I could help.”
Gemma replied: “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. You saved my life and I just want you to know that.”
You can see the interview below:
