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Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes Take Separate Planes
Filed under: Celeb Parents
You'll never catch Revolutionary Road's Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes, the director and her husband, cuddling up on an airplane. That's because the Hollywood power couple takes separate planes when they fly. That way, they reason, if there's a crash, one of them will still be around for the kids, Mia, 8 (Kate's daughter from her first marriage) and Joe, 5.
"Where possible, Kate and Sam do prefer to travel in separate planes," their spokesperson confirmed.
The couple's arrangement doesn't just stem from extreme caution. Mendes, 47, was originally booked on American Airlines flight 77 on 9/11, the airplane that was crashed into the Pentagon killing all 64 people. A late change of his plans saved his life. One month later, Winslet, 33, who is nominated for a best actress Oscar for The Reader, was on board a flight to Texas with her daughter when a man stood up and announced he was an Islamic terrorist and that they were "all going to die."
If you travel on a regular basis, do you ever consider separate flights? Have you done it? And if you don't, what steps have you taken to ensure your kids are cared for in the event of an accident?
Oscar Parents
Kate Winslet - Actress in a Leading Role, The Reader
Kate has a daughter, Mia Honey, with director Jim Threapleton, and a son, Joe Alfie, with her current husband, director Sam Mendes.
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Josh Brolin - Actor in a Supporting Role, Milk
Brolin has two children, Trevor and Eden, from his previous marriage to actress Alice Adair.
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Sean Penn - Actor in a Leading Role, Milk
His two children, Dylan Frances and Hopper Jack, are with actress Robin Wright.
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Meryl Streep - Actress in a Leading Role, Doubt
The actress has four children with husband Donald Gummer -- Henry, the eldest, was born in 1979 and Grace Jane, the youngest, in 1986.
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Robert Downey Jr - Actor in a Supporting Role, Tropic Thunder
Robert's has a son, Indio, with ex-wife Deborah Falconer.
Getty Images
Brad Pitt - Actor in a Leading Role, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Angelina Jolie - Actress in a Leading Role, Changeling
Arguably the world's most famous parents, Brangelina, both nominated for awards, have a total of six children -- most recently twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline. The twins were proceeded by Pax Thien (who the couple adopted from Vietnam), Shiloh Nouvel, Zahara (adopted from Ethiopia) and Maddox Chivan (adopted from Cambodia).
Getty Images
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Actor in a Supporting Role, Doubt
Hoffman's three children, Cooper Alexander, Tallulah and Willa are with longtime girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell.
Getty Images
Frank Langella - Actor in a Leading Role, Frost/Nixon
The actor has two children.
Getty Images
Melissa Leo - Actress in a Leading Role, Frozen River
She has a son with actor and former boyfriend John Heard.
Getty Images
Richard Jenkins - Actor in a Leading Role, The Visitor
Richard and Sharon R. Frederick, his wife of nearly 40 years, have two children -- Sarah Pamela and Andrew Dale.
Getty Images
"Where possible, Kate and Sam do prefer to travel in separate planes," their spokesperson confirmed.
The couple's arrangement doesn't just stem from extreme caution. Mendes, 47, was originally booked on American Airlines flight 77 on 9/11, the airplane that was crashed into the Pentagon killing all 64 people. A late change of his plans saved his life. One month later, Winslet, 33, who is nominated for a best actress Oscar for The Reader, was on board a flight to Texas with her daughter when a man stood up and announced he was an Islamic terrorist and that they were "all going to die."
Some of us might not even fly again after a history like that. But when you're an A-list movie star and a respected director, you really don't have much of a choice. They travel. A lot.
Parents taking separate planes isn't a new idea, but I'm not sure how common it really is. You tell us.If you travel on a regular basis, do you ever consider separate flights? Have you done it? And if you don't, what steps have you taken to ensure your kids are cared for in the event of an accident?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 5)
1-27-2009 @ 2:08PM
George said...I would hope they take seperate cars to the airport being they are far more likely to be killed in a car than in an airplane.
Reply
1-27-2009 @ 6:55PM
bestofficeins said...Well let's see if I had the money they have how about doing it the right way and purchasing your own jet and rent your pilot out. That would be the safest way your the only ones on the plane. Duh....
1-27-2009 @ 7:27PM
Duh! said...Why don't those two cheap millionaires charter a private jet like all of the OTHER millionaires??
1-29-2009 @ 3:46PM
Red Mary said...My husband and I do the same thing. I don't think it is crazy or eccentric. It's being proactive in case something did happen. You never know. Yes, terrorism is still a threat, but I think that the likelihood of that happening in comparision with a plane crash is much less.
1-27-2009 @ 2:12PM
Jimm said...Wow..yea they have had some horrible flying expereinces. Sounds like they are wise in flying separately. Good for them they are flying at all.
Reply
1-27-2009 @ 2:14PM
Tea said...doesn't surprise me...that is hollywood...they are so screwed up in the head!! weird people!!
Reply
1-27-2009 @ 2:44PM
Susan said...I don't understand why you think this is "weird" and how that "weirdness" is unique to people in Hollywood? The British Royal Family does not fly together in order to protect succession to the throne. After their past experiences, I would think it was a smart move to ensure at least one parent would survive for the children. I would call the "responsible", not "weird".
1-27-2009 @ 3:20PM
Tea said...it is weird..this happens to be an opinion..just like yours! I think it is weird...just like all the rest of Hollywood. Just like the other person said...they should have taken separate cars to the airport...they are more likely to get into a car accident and get killed than the airplane crashing....
1-27-2009 @ 7:14PM
scott said...The company I work for has a similar policy. Managers can not be on the same airplane. Nor can a crew of three or more be on the same flight. It's just a precaution in case the unthinkable happens.
1-27-2009 @ 2:24PM
Paula Dell said...That's how my husband and I fly every time unless we are flying as a whole family. May sound goulish, but you never know... Plus, I don't want to have to worry about fishing his big butt out of a frozen river ( just kidding, we do really fly separately, though.)
Reply
1-27-2009 @ 5:01PM
lisa shaeffer said...You made my day! I laughed out loud!!!
1-27-2009 @ 7:32PM
Lisa said...Very funny - I laughed too.
1-27-2009 @ 2:27PM
basketpam said...My family does the same thing, we never all fly on the same plane. We have several family businesses together and that's one of the reasons. I know of more than one family that have ALL been killed when their small plane has crashed. It's a very wise decision to take when you travel a great deal and have small children to consider.
Reply
1-28-2009 @ 5:25PM
Charity said...My husband and I also fly seperate when we fly. I think it is a really good idea for families with children. We travel quite frequently without our kids for day trips or 2-3 day trips and we do it as a safety precaution. And if the kids go we each take one child.
Reply
1-27-2009 @ 2:51PM
robinreiz said...Among the heartbreaking 9/11 stories was the husband and wife who each flew on one of the planes going Boston/San Francisco. So in the end, they both died anyway and lost the final opportunity to hold each other when they died. When it's your time....
Reply
1-27-2009 @ 2:59PM
Wendell said...To be completely safe, they shouldn't be together at all except when they get together to make more kids. Actually, after the plane in the Hudson story, I can't blame them for their flight philosophy.
Reply
1-27-2009 @ 3:12PM
briarrsctg said...I keep wondering why they put up these comment sections on issues that arent anyone's business. Each of us has gone through things that causes us to make decisions for our own lives that best suit us. It isn't for anyone else to comment on or judge. If they want to ride in separate planes, let them. it is their choice and it is their business. If you want to take the same plane, do it, it is your business but stop judging people for living their lives the way they want to. I am quite sure those of you who have chosen to judge have your own idiosyncrecies, maybe too much hand washing, fear of heights, friends you dont talk to, unresolved family issues, job problems, money problems that you should focus on. If those issues in your life were put up on a web site for people to tear apart I wonder how you would respond. Get a life people. When we stop feeding the media's sick desire to stir up trouble and gossip about other peoples lives, they will stop doing it and start doing responsible reporting about important issues in a more real and humane way.
Reply
1-27-2009 @ 6:03PM
Melissa said...Amen to briarrsctg.
Finally someone that has a brain.
1-27-2009 @ 6:59PM
stx001 said...Funny thing when you think about all this. If you state that putting information up about people shouldn't be done because it's their own business, and no one else's, then why did you stop to read it, let alone comment?
1-27-2009 @ 10:42PM
Arizonian4America said...Perfect response briarrsctg! I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks.