Actress Kate Winslet has said women should celebrate "being a real body shape" after a recent film suggested she "sit up straighter to hide her belly rolls."

Speaking about her upcoming film Lee, Winslet said it was her job to be like her character - fashion model turned World War II photographer Elizabeth 'Lee' Miller.

"She wasn't lifting weights. She was eating cheese and bread and drinking wine, and she wasn't doing much of that. So of course, her body would be soft," Winslet told the BBC.

She said women should celebrate "being in true shape, being soft and maybe having a few extra curves".

"We are used to not necessarily seeing this and enjoying it. The strange instinct is to see it and criticize it. It's interesting how many people like labels for women. Life is too short. I don't want to look back and say 'why did I worry about that' and so guess what - I don't worry anymore," she said.

Winslet (48) has spoken out against female body shaming in the past.

In a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar UK, Winslet spoke of being told to sit up straighter to hide her "tummy rolls" while filming Lee.

"There's a part where Lee is sitting on a bench in a bikini," Winslet said. "And one of the team came out in the middle and said, 'You might want to sit up straighter.' So you can't see the twists of my stomach? No, for the life of you! It was intentional."

Winslet was asked if she minded looking "less than perfect" on screen, to which she replied: "The opposite. I'm proud of it because it's my life on my face and that's what matters. I wouldn't think of covering that up."