Kate Winslet lends a hand during cost of living crisis with £17k donation to child's life support energy bill

Not all heroes wear capes, although Kate Winslet has worn capes in her period drama forays such as Sense and Sensibility and Ammonite.

The actress has donated £17,000 to a woman facing an astronomical energy bill to operate life support equipment for her daughter.

This generous donation was made on the family’s GoFundMe page to ensure 12-year-old Freya, who has cerebral palsy and relies on receiving oxygen for chronic breathing problems, can have the life-saving treatment she urgently requires each day.

Carolynne Hunter, who lives with her daughter Freya in Tillicoultry, Scotland, was warned by Clackmannanshire council that her energy bill could hit high sums next year.

The Titanic star intervened when she heard of their struggle on the BBC. Kate donated the money and also contacted them to wish them well.

Hunter, 49, said: “Our journey as a family has been very traumatic and I just feel done at this point in my life.

“When I heard about the money I just burst into tears – I thought it wasn’t even real. I’m still thinking: is this real?”

She said she worried that possible winter power cuts in the event of reduced gas supply – a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine – could put Freya’s care at risk.

This isn’t the first time Kate has been a hero. She was staying with Richard Branson and his family in 2011 at his palatial Virgin Islands estate when a fire broke out.

Kate sprang into action and picked up Richard’s mother, who was 90 at the time, to save her from the flames. Fortunately no one was injured in the fire, which destroyed much of the building.

Winslet is patron of the Family Haven, a charity formed to help disadvantaged and vulnerable families in Gloucestershire. Her generous spirit has ensured one family can sleep much easier.

Kate is more impressive in real life than even in some of the incredible Oscar and Emmy-winning roles she has depicted.