Mini Biography

The daughter of noted producer Bruce Paltrow and Tony award-winning actress Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow was born in 1972 in Los Angeles. When Gwyneth was 11, the family moved to Massachusetts where her father began working in summer stock productions in the Berkshires. It was here that she received her early acting training under the tutelage of her parents. After graduating from the all-girls Spence School in New York City, she moved to California where she attended the University of California in Santa Barbara, majoring in Art History. She soon quit, realizing it was not her passion. In 1990 she made her stage debut in the Williamstown Theatre play, "Picnic". In 1991 she appeared in her first film, Shout (1991), with John Travolta. That same year she met Steven Spielberg, who gave her a small part in his film Hook (1991). Her next roles were in made-for-television films, until she won rave reviews for her performance in Flesh and Bone (1993). In 1994, she entered a relationship with Brad Pitt, the older (by nine years) superstar who gave her a career boost by choosing her to play his wife in the hit thriller Se7en (1995). But it was the title role of Emma Woodhouse in Emma (1996) that fully tapped in to Gwyneth's capabilities and made her an in-demand actress. She and Pitt broke off their much publicized engagement in 1997, citing as the reason the fact that neither felt that they could pursue their respective careers and at the same time maintain a happy marriage. They remain good friends. Meanwhile, Gwyneth's career has gone through the roof with the release of five glossy films in 1998, including Great Expectations (1998), Sliding Doors (1998), A Perfect Murder (1998), and John Madden's masterpiece Shakespeare in Love (1998). Gwyneth's outstanding performance as Viola in the last film marked her greatest career triumph to date. She won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Spouse

Chris Martin

(5 December 2003 - present) 2 children

Trade Mark

Often plays British characters

Blonde hair and blue eyes

Deep sultry voice

Trivia

1990: Graduated from The Spence School in New York City.

October 1998: Voted "Most Stuck-up" in Movieline's 100 Most.

15 August 1998: Gave $21,000 watch to boyfriend Ben Affleck as a birthday present.

1998: One of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People.

20 December 1996: Engaged to actor Brad Pitt.

1996: Confirmed as the next Calvin Klein model.

Attended the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) for one year as an Art History major.

After spending a time in her early teens in Talavera De la Reina, Toledo, Spain, she can speak fairly good Spanish.

Turned down the role of Emma Peel in the movie The Avengers (1998).

Met with James Cameron for the role of Rose in Titanic (1997).

A couple sued Gwyneth for an undisclosed amount claiming that the actress injured them during an April 1999 car accident.

Spends Thanksgiving every year with Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw at their home in the Hamptons.

As part of research for her role as an obese woman in Shallow Hal (2001), wore the 200-pound latex "fat" suit she used for the film to a bar where people refused to make eye contact with her and treated her rudely. She said that this experience made her saddened by the injustice faced by overweight people in society.

Has been friends with Maya Rudolph (of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) fame) since she was seven.

Sticks to a macrobiotic diet.

Owned a flat in London, England, UK.

Older sister of Jake Paltrow; first cousin of actress Katherine Moennig, whose roles include Jacqueline 'Jake' Pratt on "Young Americans" (2000) and Shane McCutcheon on "The L Word" (2004), and Hillary Danner; niece of Harry Danner.

2002: TV commercials and print ads for Spain's department store chain El Corte Inglés' spring line.

Did her own singing in the movie Duets (2000).

Went to Crossroads High School in Santa Monica for one year.

13 April 2003: Attended the ceremony in Talavera De la Reina, Toledo, Spain, in which she was named "adopted daughter". She first visited the town as a young schoolgirl and has since frequently returned to it, enamored - she says - of the people, the food and the countryside.

Played Thomas Jefferson's daughter in Jefferson in Paris (1995). Her mother, Blythe Danner, played Jefferson's wife, "Martha", in 1776 (1972), just before Gwyneth was conceived. In the Ken Burns miniseries, "Thomas Jefferson" (1997), she played his granddaughter.

2002: Nominated for a London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in "Proof", performed at the Donmar Warehouse in London, England.

Daughter, with Chris Martin, Apple Martin (Apple Blythe Alison Martin), was born on 14 May, 2004, in London, England, UK.

She and her husband Chris Martin purchased Kate Winslet's North London home in Belsize Park.

Her mother Blythe Danner is of Anglo-Saxon descent and her father Bruce Paltrow, being Ashkenazi Russian Jewish, had many generations of rabbis in the family tree.

Her mother, Blythe Danner, was about five months pregnant with the future actress when she appeared in "Columbo: Étude in Black (#2.1)" (1972) . The episode also starred John Cassavetes, and aired during the show's first season.

Her name can be heard over the P.A. system in many episodes of the medical drama "St. Elsewhere" (1982). Gwyneth's dad, Bruce Paltrow, was the producer of the series.

Turned down the role of Rachel Keller in The Ring (2002).

Is a best friends with Madonna.

Spent 70 hours in labor awaiting the birth of her first child.

Revealed that she named her daughter Apple, because apples are whole, sweet and crisp. The baby's middle name honors her grandmothers, Blythe Danner and Alison Martin.

Attended St. Augustine By The Sea (where she met Maya Rudolph) in Los Angeles and the Spence School in New York City.

October 2002: Met husband Chris Martin when she attended his band's (Coldplay's) concert.

She does not employ a nanny to take care of her daughter, a rarity among actors in the film business.

October 2005: Expecting her second child with husband Chris Martin.

Signed a contact with Estée Lauder for $10 million to promote its new line of fragrance, "Pleasures".

Gave birth to her second child, a boy named Moses Martin (Moses Bruce Anthony Martin), in New York City at 9 a.m., weighing 8 lbs., 4 oz (8 April 2006).

Her son, Moses Martin, is named after a song Chris Martin wrote for her and appears on Coldplay's "Live 2003" album. Moses is also her father's Hebrew name.

She speaks French quite well, having spent a summer in Paris when in her early twenties.

Is good friends with Helena Christensen, who was one of the first people to visit Gwyneth in the hospital, after she gave birth to her son, Moses Martin (Moses Bruce Anthony Martin).

Long-time close friendship with actress Mary Wigmore, who also appeared (albeit briefly) in Paltrow's films The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and Shallow Hal (2001).

Was Maid of Honor at Madonna's wedding to Guy Ritchie.

Her godfather Steven Spielberg is also the godfather of Drew Barrymore.

Godparents of her daughter, Apple Martin, are Simon Pegg, Mary Wigmore, and Chris Martin's Coldplay band-mate, Jon Buckland.

Was originally signed on to play Ava Gardner in The Aviator (2004), but dropped out.

Auditioned for "Vickie" in Reality Bites (1994), but lost out to Janeane Garofalo.

She earns $3 million per year endorsing Estée Lauder on television and in print advertisements.

Was hospitalized and then released (14 January 2008).

Attended Brown Ledge Summer Camp in Vermont.

Practices yoga.

When she played Sharon Stone on "Saturday Night Live" (1975), Stone felt offended and criticized her performance (1999).

Had suffered post-partum depression following the birth of her son, Moses Martin [April 15, 2008].

Attended the Spence School in Manhattan, an elite private girls' school that was also attended by Emmy Rossum and Kerry Washington.

Attended the 55th Tony Awards. She can be seen dancing with the revival cast of "The Rocky Horror Show" during "The Time Warp".

2008 Ambassador for the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF)'s Women's Cancer Research Fund.

Gwyneth's brother, Jake Paltrow's birthday is a day before hers (9/26 and 9/27, respectively).

Born at 5:25 PM (PDT).

Friend of Cameron Diaz, Stella McCartney, Liv Tyler, Reese Witherspoon and Tracy Anderson.

Returned to work ten months after giving birth to her daughter, Apple Martin, in order to begin filming Running with Scissors (2006).

Her friendship with Winona Ryder ended in the late 1990s.

Returned to work eleven months after giving birth to her son, Moses Martin, in order to begin filming Iron Man (2008).

Was six months pregnant with her son, Moses Martin, when she completed filming The Good Night (2007).

Two of her ex-boyfriends have been named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine: Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck.

Replaced Charlize Theron in the role of Greta Wegener in The Danish Girl (2014), but after dropping out of the project herself she was replaced by Marion Cotillard.

Was awarded the 2,427th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by Tim McGraw, accompanied by her Country Strong (2010) co-star Faith Hill and "Glee" (2009) co-star Matthew Morrison (13 December 2010).

Second cousin of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was injured in the 2011 Tucson, Arizona shooting. Their fathers are first cousins.

Was in attendance at the wedding of Reese Witherspoon to Jim Toth (26 March 2011).

Auditioned for the role of Kelly Taylor in "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990), but lost the part to Jennie Garth.

Auditioned for the role of Susannah in Legends of the Fall (1994). She lost the part to Julia Ormond, but Brad Pitt was so impressed with Gwyneth that he later hand-picked her to play his wife in Se7en (1995).

Is a lifelong friend of Norman Lloyd, who knew her mother, Blythe Danner, for exactly 40 years, right around the same time she was born.

Her mother, Blythe Danner, was pregnant with her during production of 1776 (1972).

Good friends with Mario Batali.

Lives in the same apartment building, in TriBeCa, as Meryl Streep (2012).

Personal Quotes

Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.

[on her father's (Bruce Paltrow's) struggle with throat cancer]: It changed me more than anything else. You don't want to get to that place where you're the adult and you're palpably in the next generation. And, this shoved me into that.

[on her 1997 break up with Brad Pitt]: It really changed my life. When we split up, something changed, permanently, in me. My heart sort of broke that day, and it will never be the same.

I try to remember, as I hear about friends getting engaged, that it's not about the ring and it's not about the wedding. It's a grave thing, getting married. And it's easy to get swept up in the wrong things.

I find "Sex and the City" (1998) irreverent and shocking. It's one step beyond how girls really talk. I would do a cameo on that show in a flash.

I realised life is so short and precious, you should do things that make you feel inspired, that push you and teach you something. I'd rather not have a big house, a huge closet of clothes, diamonds and a private plane, and instead a body of work that I'm proud of.

I'm glad that some day my children will be able to see my father and hear his voice, get a sense of who he was. One of the things that disturbs me the most about the fact that he's dead, is that I feel like a statistic. I sort of feel like one of those people who was unfortunate and lost their father when they were 30, and life goes on. But he was so unique and so incredible, I don't like to think about it in those terms.

I worked so much in my 20s and I really burnt the candle at both ends. I wasn't too picky about what I did and I was lucky that I did some really good films, but I also did some really rubbish films, I think part of the downside about being so successful and winning the Oscar at the age of 26 is that I sort of became insouciant about the things that I chose. I thought, "Oh, I'll just try this, it'll be fun or I'll do that for the money". Things like that now I would absolutely never do.

The simpler things are, the happier they are.

The work gets more difficult as you get older. You learn more and you gather more experiences, there is deeper pain and higher highs.

There are certain women in this business who have children and I just think, "You must never, never see them!" You can't do movies back to back and see your child if they go to school.

Our marriage is between us. If we decide to continue being together or not, it's our business.

[on being pregnant while filming Proof (2005)] It was very, very difficult. I was trying not to barf. I felt terrible.

Even actresses that you really admire, like Reese Witherspoon, you think, another romantic comedy? You know. You see her in something like Walk the Line (2005) and think, "God, you're so great!" And then you think, "Why is she doing these stupid romantic comedies?" But of course, it's for money and status. I just think, "Wouldn't it be great if all of those movies people went to see were about real women?"

I love the English way, which is not as capitalistic as it is in America. People don't talk about work and money. They talk about interesting things at dinner parties. I like living here because I don't tap into the bad side of American psychology, which is "I'm not achieving enough, I'm not making enough, I'm not at the top of the pile!"

I'm very happy here [in London] and I really like the way the film industry works, everybody cares. I like that it doesn't have this big capitalistic feeling. When you do something in L.A. you really feel the crew are punching the clock.

I sort of look at some peers of mine and I think, "No, you've got it all wrong!" I just want to tell them all to have babies and be happy and not get sucked into that Hollywood thing.

I find the English amazing how they got over 7/7. There were no multiple memorials with people sobbing as they would have been in America. There, they are constantly scaring people but at the same time, people think nothing of going to see a therapist.

Brits are far more intelligent and civilised than Americans. I love the fact that you can hail a taxi and just pick up your pram and put in the back of the cab without having to collapse it. I love the parks and places I go for dinner and my friends. It's a pretty city, you know.

British people don't seem to ask each other out on dates. If someone asked you out they're really going out on a limb, whereas in America it happens all the time. Someone will come up to you and ask you for dinner and you'll say, "Sure!" It's no big deal and no weight should be attached to it. It's only dinner, for God's sake. Yet in Britain, mostly what happens seems to be that people meet at work. If there's a little something there, then they hang out together and, all of a sudden, they're boyfriend and girlfriend.

It would be a lot easier on Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston now had they not talked to the press about each other and everything to begin with. I learned my lesson at 24.

[on daughter Apple's accent] She says "Mummy" instead of "Mommy", I don't mind that. I will if she starts saying "basil" and "pasta" the English way, as that really drives me nuts.

[on the paparazzi] If I have my daughter in the car and they are making me nervous, I'll do whatever I have to do. I keep a whole log. I take pictures of their cars, write down license plate numbers, everything. If they do it again, I can go to the police. I know my rights and, believe me, I will have them arrested. I will stop at nothing.

[in Style magazine, 9/06, on Madonna] She has evolved with so much wisdom and grace that I would say my favorite Madonna is today's Madonna. She's a beautiful product of all her explorations and incarnations.

I'd rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a tin.

My father found joy in feeding the people he loved - genuine, bursting happiness. He instilled in me the idea that a meal made for your family is an expression of love.

[on the "scenery" in View from the Top (2003)] It's like, all of a sudden, I'm in underwear for half the movie.

When you're having dinner with your kids and your husband and someone says something funny or your dying laughing because your three-year-old made a joke, it doesn't matter what else is going on. That's real happiness.

 

Salary

Shakespeare in Love (1998)	$750,000
Possession (2002)	$5,000,000
View from the Top (2003)	$10,000,000