Kate Winslet Accepts Settlement in Libel Case Over Faux Weight Woes

Movie star Kate Winslet accepted a settlement Friday in her libel suit against Grazia, a weekly Women's magazine which published a false report that the actress had sought medical help for weight loss.

In a three page spread in their most recent issue, Grazia apologized to Winslet for the false reports, and for their suggestion that the actress was concerned about her figure. The apology stated that the article on Winslet, which appeared in issue 102 of Grazia, was published "in good faith," but that their source for the information proved to be false.

The magazine had published a quote from Los Angeles based herbalist Dr. Yi Pan, in which he said that he had treated Winslet for her weight. Winslet was treated by Dr. Pan at the Chinese Healing Institute in Santa Monica, California, but in a statement to the press on the red carpet at last week's BAFTA awards, the actress said the claim that her treatment was related to weight was "completely untrue."

In a statement to the public, Grazia announced that they are "satisfied that she did not go to a doctor seeking any treatment for weight loss." The magazine confirmed that the actress had in fact consulted staff at the Institute in connection with a neck problem, as Winslet's lawyer Rachel Atkins had claimed at a hearing earlier this month at London's High Court.

The five-time Oscar nominated actress is an outspoken critic of Hollywood's obsession with thinness and body image, and has become a role model for curvaceous women around the world.

Winslet recently told members of the press "I will continue to say what I feel about this issue of women being thin and emaciated. It's just out of control. I know I'm a role model to young women. It's a role that I take very, very seriously and I would never want anyone to ever think I was a hypocrite in doing something like going to a diet doctor, for goodness sake."

When the story surfaced in Grazia, Winslet told reporters that she was "very upset."