She starred as Strawberry Alice for 1992 's Unforgiven and as Ruth DeWitt Bukater in the 1997 film Titanic . She is known for her roles as Strawberry Alice , the madame prostitute in Unforgiven ( 1992 ) , directed by Clint Eastwood ; and Ruth DeWitt Bukater , the mother of Kate Winslet 's character in Titanic ( 1997 ) ; directed by James Cameron .