(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Thandie Newton was left speechless when a fellow actor commiserated her for not being Kate Winslet.

The actress is proud of her roots. She was born and raised in England to a Zimbabwean mother and British father.

Thandie has enjoyed a wealth of success in Hollywood, and doesn't let her ethnicity define her. However, the raven haired beauty says unfortunately other people do, even in moments when she should be enjoying her achievements.

The 38-year-old star was once compared to fellow British actress Kate.

"I remember this guy came up to me once, an actor whose name I won't mention, but a black British actor came up and said, Congratulations Thandie, you've done really well, although you know if you had been Kate Winslet your life would have been very different,' meaning that if I'd been white," she explained in an interview with Pride magazine.

"I mean I don't know what he was trying to say. And I just thought wow.'"

Thandie looked to Michael Jackson for inspiration as a youngster.

The stunning star says the late music icon made her feel accepted.

"I think it's really important for young people's sense of self, to feel mirrored and represented. I think it's crucial," she said. "When I was a kid I would have to send off for my Michael Jackson posters. He was everything. He was all there was.

"I'd listen to some Thriller with my massive earphones plugged into the stereo; I would just spend all afternoon listening to that album over and over again. I was pretty cut off, it wasn't like I was living in London, so I was really disconnected from any black community." (C) Cover Media