Winslet and husband confirm split

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet and her husband Sam Mendes have separated after nearly seven years of marriage, it was announced today.

The split, announced by their legal representatives, was said to be “entirely amicable”.

The couple – who are “saddened” by the split – separated earlier this year.

Their lawyer, Keith Schilling of legal firm Schillings, said: "Kate and Sam are saddened to announce that they separated earlier this year.

“The split is entirely amicable and is by mutual agreement. Both parties are fully committed to the future joint parenting of their children.”

He added: “They ask that the media respect the privacy of the family.”

He said there would be no further comment on the matter.

Winslet and Mendes tied the knot in a secret ceremony in the West Indies in May 2003, during a holiday.

The actress’s daughter from her first marriage, Mia, was present at the low key event.

The couple’s family were not present at the private ceremony, just three of their friends.

They made their first UK public appearance together in 2002 when they attended the premiere of Mendes’s second film, 'The Road To Perdition'.

Winslet had been married for little over three years to assistant director Jim Threapleton, but they divorced in December 2001.

Winslet and Mendes became an item within two months of her split from Threapleton.

Mendes’s past loves have included actresses Jane Horrocks and Rachel Weisz.

The couple had a son named Joe in December 2003.

Last year Winslet won a Best Actress Oscar for 'The Reader' - after being nominated for an Academy Award five times previously without success - propelling her into the movie star super league.

The actress said she had been rehearsing her acceptance since she was a child.

The couple have split their time between Greenwich Village in New York and a home they have in Gloucestershire.

Mendes, 44, won his best director award in 2000 for his movie debut 'American Beauty'.

The pair worked together on Mendes’s fourth film 'Revolutionary Road' in 2008. He said of the experience: “It was very exhilarating to finally work with my wife and I saw a side of her I just didn’t know.”

Mendes’s next project will be the forthcoming 23rd James Bond film, which is expected to go into production later this year.

The couple have tended to shy away from the celebrity party circuit and tended to concentrate on home life.

Winslet, 34, said last year: “As a family we do normal things that other families would.

“It’s important to us that the children are just regular kids, so we go to the park, kick a ball around, go to a museum, watch a movie together or just hang out at home playing Monopoly.”