Kate Winslet donates £17,000 to 12 year old girl

The Reading-born actress donated the money to Scottish mother Carolynne Hunter whose daughter Freya has severe complex health problems and disabilities, is non-verbal and blind and requires full-time oxygen and at-home nursing care.

Hunter from Tillicoultry, Scotland had previously launched a GoFundMe fundraiser earlier this week to help her pay the soaring running costs of the equipment that keeps Freya alive.

But just days into the campaign, she realised she'd hit the target of £20,000 after a donation of £17,000 marked “Kate Winslet and family” was paid to the fundraiser. 

Freya Hunter (Image: Carolynne Hunter/PA)

The donation was later confirmed as a contribution from the Titanic and Mare Of Easttown actress.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Hunter said: "Our journey as 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?”

Winslett is set to star in an upcoming Channel 4 feature film, I Am Ruth that sees her play Ruth, the mother of a character called Freya – played by Winslet’s own daughter, 22-year-old Mia Threapleton.

On her GoFundMe page, Ms Hunter said she has “no way of reducing” the energy in her home due to Freya’s needs and she faced a predicted annual fuel bill of £17,000 in January 2023 – up from just over £9,000 in October this year.