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Kate Winslet's message to the mean girls in school who bullied her for 'being chubby'

The Oscar-winning actress shared why she was bullied, and how it motivated her.
/ Source: TODAY

Kate Winslet's new dramedy, "The Dressmaker," is all about one woman's mission to exact sweet revenge on everyone who did her wrong in the past, and as it turns out, it's a topic the actress knows all about in real life.

The Oscar winner sat down with TODAY's Billy Bush and revealed just how she bested the girls who gave her grief when was just a kid.

"I was kind of bullied when I was younger, actually at school," she explained. "For being chubby (or), you know, I had girls who were envious of me because I was acting a little bit as a teenager."

Getting back at them was easy — it just took time.

"This is my revenge," Winslet said. "This right here, this lovely career I have been blessed with. I have healthy children. You know, I have a really happy life and, to me, it's like 'Well, look at me now girls!'"

Image: Kate Winslet, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Steve Jobs," arrives at the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood
Kate Winslet, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Steve Jobs," arrives at the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 28, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonLUCY NICHOLSON / Reuters

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How could they help but be jealous of all the good fortune that's come Winslet's way over the years? Living well really is the best revenge. But the star's old bullies aren't the only ones feeling envy for her. Even her oldest daughter, 15-year-old Mia, is a bit jealous of mom — and frankly, so are we.

Liam Hemsworth / Justin Timberlake
Liam Hemsworth / Justin TimberlakeGetty Images; Evan Agostini/Invi

That's because Winslet stars alongside a couple of easy-on-the-eyes leading men in her upcoming flicks. In the "Dressmaker," the 40-year-old romances a character played by 26-year-old Liam Hemsworth — not that she was aware of his age.

"Because I'm not a Google person, I didn't even know how old Liam is," she confessed. "I mean I know he's not 30, which probably explains why my teenage daughter was so envious of me."

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And if that's not enough for Mia to fret over, there's the fact that mom is acting opposite Justin Timberlake in a film set to be released next year.

"It does seem a little mean, doesn't it?" Winslet said of the situation. "It's OK, she loves me. She forgives me, and she has said, 'Mum, if you don't let me come on to that set, I'm never going to speak to you again.'"

And if that's the case, Mia may be the one out for revenge soon.

See more from Winslet when "The Dressmaker" opens in select cities Friday.

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