Kate Winslet is set to be named Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.
The Queen’s Birthday Honors list, which was published on Saturday, June 16, included the Oscar-winning actress, who is set to receive the honor in a ceremony known as an investiture at Buckingham Palace in 2012, according to the Associated Press.
Winslet, who won a Best Actress Academy Award for her role in the 2009 film “The Reader,” said that the honor made her “very proud to be a Brit.”
“I am both surprised and honored to stand alongside so many men and woman who have achieved great things for our country,” the 36-year-old actress said.
Actor and director Kenneth Branagh, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Sir Laurence Olivier in “My Life With Marilyn,” was made a knight and will be known as Sir Kenneth Branagh.
The Shakespearean actor said that he felt “humble, elated, and incredibly lucky” to receive the prestigious honor.
“When I was a kid, I dreamed of pulling on a shirt for the Northern Ireland football team,” the 51-year-old actor, who was born in Belfast said in a statement. “I could only imagine how proud you might feel. Today it feels like they just gave me the shirt, and my heart’s fit to burst.”
The list also included those who would be knighted in the next year and those receiving OBEs and MBEs, which are honors below knighthoods and CBEs. Among the recipients are songwriter Richard Stilgoe, who wrote songs for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most famous musicals, golfer Luke Donald and Sarah Burton, who designed Kate Middleton’s wedding dress.
The Queen’s honor list is released twice a year, on New Year’s Eve and on the Queen’s birthday in June and recognizes achievement and service in the United Kingdom.
Other celebrities who have been appointed to the Order of the British Empire include Catherine Zeta Jones, Helena Bonham Carter, Julie Andrews, Eric Clapton, Bono, Joan Collins, Joe Cocker, Judi Dench, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, Kylie Minogue, Helen Mirren, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, Kevin Spacey, Rod Stewart and Steven Spielberg.
