Kate Winslet donates £17k to mum of disabled girl facing rising bills

Carolynne Hunter, 49, received the generous donation from Kate Winslet when she shared her fears that she would not be able to afford her soaring energy bills due to the cost of running her daughter Freya’s life support.

12-year-old Freya, the youngest of Carolynne’s four children, has severe complex health problems and disabilities.

She has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal, blind and requires full-time oxygen for chronic breathing problems.

Freya also requires nursing care at home who monitor her heart rate and oxygen levels.

Carolynne, who lives in Tillicoultry, Scotland, launched a GoFundMe fundraiser earlier this week in a bid to raise money to help pay the running costs of the equipment that keeps Freya alive.

On the page, she explained that she has “no way of reducing” the energy in her home due to Freya’s needs.

She even says that her family have lived in “fuel poverty” to keep Freya “safe and comfortable”.

As bills soar, Carolynne says she was predicted an annual fuel bill of £17,000 in January 2023 – up from just over £9,000 in October this year.

Just days into the campaign, which had a £20,000 goal, a donation of £17,000 from “Kate Winslet and family” was paid to the fundraiser. 

Express.co.uk has contacted Kate Winslet’s representatives for comment.

At the time of writing, the fundraiser has raised almost £23,000.

It comes as Kate’s upcoming Channel 4 feature film, I Am Ruth, is set for release later this year. 

She plays Ruth, the mother of a character called Freya who is played by Winslet’s own daughter, Mia Threapleton, 22.

Winslet co-authored the film – which looks at the mental health crisis affecting young people in the UK – alongside Dominic Savage, series creator of the I Am anthology of standalone dramas.

The film’s synopsis describes it as an “honest and authentic portrayal of a mother and daughter’s increasingly strained relationship”.