Everything you need to know about Sky Original, Lee starring Oscar-winning Kate Winslet
Lee will see Kate Winslet star as pioneering American war correspondent and photographer, Lee Miller, and the much-anticipated film premiered in UK & Irish cinemas from 13 September and is available on Sky Cinema now,.
Lee tells the story of Lee Miller (Winslet), American photographer. Determined to document the truth of the Nazi regime, and in spite of the odds stacked against female correspondents, Lee captured some of the most important images of World War II, but they came at an enormous personal price.
Joining Winslet is Andy Samberg playing Life Magazine photographer David E. Scherman; Alexander Skarsgård playing English Surrealist painter, photographer, poet and biographer Roland Penrose; Marion Cotillard playing Solange D’Ayen, the fashion director of French Vogue and close friend of Miller’s: Josh O’Connor playing Tony, a young journalist and Andrea Riseborough playing British Vogue Editor Audrey Withers.
Directed by Ellen Kuras. Produced by Kate Solomon and Kate Winslet, with Troy Lum, Andrew Mason, Marie Savare and Lauren Hantz. Executive Producers are Julia Stuart and Laura Grange, Finola Dwyer, Thorsten Schumacher, Billy Mulligan, John Hantz, Jason Duan, Crystine Zhang, Lem Dobbs, Liz Hannah, John Collee and Clare Hardwick.
Watch the trailer
The trailer
On 15 July 2024, Sky released the official trailer for upcoming Sky Original film Lee.
The powerful trailer sees Kate Winslet in her role playing Lee Miller, one of the most important photographers of her time, as she embarks onto the front line of WWII to capture some of the most significant wartime images for British Vogue.
The trailer also gives audiences a glimpse at Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård, Marion Cotillard and Andrea Riseborough in their respective roles.
When will Lee air?
Lee aired in cinemas from 13 September and is available on Sky Cinema now.
Who’s in Lee?
Kate Winslet playing Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller
Andy Samberg playing Life Magazine photographer David E. Scherman
Alexander Skarsgård playing English Surrealist painter, photographer, poet and biographer Roland Penrose
Marion Cotillard playing Solange D’Ayen, the fashion director of French Vogue
Josh O’Connor playing Tony, a young journalist
Andrea Riseborough playing British Vogue Editor Audrey Withers
Noemie Merlant playing Nusch Eluard
Arinzé Kene playing Major Jonesy
Vincent Colombe playing Paul Eluard
Patrick Mille playing Jean D’Ayen
Samuel Barnett playing Cecil Beaton
Zita Hanrot playing Ady Fidelin
Where can I watch Lee in the UK?
Lee came to cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 13 September but you can watch it on Sky Cinema and NOW.
Lee will not be available to watch on Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ in the UK. It is only available on Sky and NOW.
Is Lee a movie?
Yes, Lee is a movie directed by Ellen Kuras and starring Kate Winslet.
Is it based on a true story?
In short, yes. Lee is a biographical drama based on the life of a real person – photographer and war correspondent Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller.
What is the age rating of Lee?
Lee's official rating in the UK, as certified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), is 15.
Due to the nature of the film, horror, violence and sexual violence are present throughout.
Kate Winslet TV shows and films
Want more Kate Winslet? Check out some of the TV shows and movies available on Sky and NOW that Kate Winslet has appeared in:
Mildred Pierce
The Holiday
And find even more suggestions here.
Who was Lee Miller?
Elizabeth “Lee” Miller (1907-1977) was a Poughkeepsie born fashion model, photographer and photojournalist who became best known for being the war correspondent in World War II for Vogue.
Miller’s relationship with the publication began in 1927 when she narrowly avoided being hit by a car thanks to the intervention of renowned Vogue publisher Condé Nast. This fateful encounter helped launch her modelling career, with her iconic appearance in a blue hat and pearls being the magazine’s conception of the “modern girl”. After a period of being one of the most sought-after models in New York, Lee desired to go back to her early love of art and found her calling in photography.
Studying and collaborating with the surrealist photographer Man Ray in Paris, the pair are credited with the development of solarization, (a happy accident, by Lee’s account). Lee eventually returned to New York and opened her studio there, where according to her son Anthony Penrose’s biography “The Lives of Lee Miller” “Being photographed by Lee Miller became quite the thing to mention at a cocktail party.”
When war was declared in 1939, Lee reconnected with Vogue to work as a war photographer, becoming one of, if not the first, female war correspondents. Her goal was to document war as historical evidence and provide context for events. Her surrealist roots shone through in her images, mixing art with journalism in provocative, and often horrifying, records of the events she witnessed. Amongst the events she recorded were the napalm bombing at St Malo, the liberation of Paris, the Battle of Alsace, and the horrific scenes at the concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau. She featured in an iconic picture from the era, (coincidentally taken on the date of Adolf Hitler’s suicide), where she is seen soaking in Hitler’s personal bathtub, intentionally soiling the floor with dirt from Dachau.
The war did not leave Miller unscathed. Her experiences – especially those of the concentration camps – would continue to haunt her for the rest of her life. In the years that followed she struggled with alcoholism, possibly triggered by PTSD and post-partum depression from the birth of her son. While she would occasionally still work for Vogue, she herself was generally the subject and she would eschew photography in favour of culinary pursuits, becoming a gourmet chef.
Miller died of cancer in 1977 at her home in Farley Farm House in East Sussex, England.
