Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet accepted 25,000 pounds ($41,000) in libel damages yesterday over a British newspaper's claim that she had lied about her exercise regime.

The 34-year-old British star of Titanic and The Reader had sued over an article that appeared in the Daily Mail in January entitled "Should Kate Winslet win an Oscar for the world's most irritating actress?".

"I am delighted that the Mail have apologized for making false allegations about me," Winslet, who won the Oscar for The Reader, said in a statement.

"I was particularly upset to be accused of lying about my exercise regime and felt that I had a responsibility to request an apology in order to demonstrate my commitment to the views that I have always expressed about body issues, including diet and exercise.

"I strongly believe that women should be encouraged to accept themselves as they are, so to suggest that I was lying was an unacceptable accusation of hypocrisy."

Winslet's lawyer, Rachel Atkins, told the High Court in London that the story, which was accompanied by several naked photographs of the actress in various films, was offensive in tone.

The newspaper published an apology in September, accepting that Winslet had not lied about how much she exercised, and agreed to pay the damages and costs, Atkins said. The settlement was subsequently agreed in court yesterday.

(Agencies)