Gwyneth Paltrow

Birthday: 27 September 1972, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name: Gwyneth Kate Paltrow

Height: 175 cm

A tall, wafer thin, delicate beauty, Gwyneth Kate Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of noted producer and director Bruce Paltrow and Tony award-winning actress Blythe Danner. Her father was from a Jewish family, while her mother has German, and some English and Irish, ancestry. When Gwyneth was eleven, 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. She graduated from the all-girls Spence School in New York City and moved to California where she attended the UC Santa Barbara, majoring in Art History. She soon quit, realizing it was not her passion. She made her film debut with a small part in Shout (1991) and for the next five years had featured roles in a mixed bag of film fare that included Flesh and Bone (1993); Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994); Se7en (1995); Jefferson in Paris (1995); Moonlight and Valentino (1995); and The Pallbearer (1996). It was her performance in the title role of Emma Woodhouse in Emma (1996) that led to her being offered the role of Viola in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she was awarded the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She broke her much publicized engagement to actor Brad Pitt in 1997 citing as the reason the fact that neither she nor Pitt felt that they could pursue their respective careers and at the same time maintain a happy marriage. They remain good friends. Since then, her roles have included The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Shallow Hal (2001), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Iron Man (2008), Two Lovers (2008), and Country Strong (2010). Show less «

The simpler things are, the happier they are.

[on Madonna] She has evolved with so much wisdom and grace that I would say my favorite Madonna is t...Show more »

[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. (Style magazine, September 2006) Show less «

I sort of look at some peers of mine and I think, "No, you've got it all wrong!". I just want to tel...Show more »

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. Show less «

I am who I am. I can't pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year.

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

I try to remember, as I hear about friends getting engaged, that it's not about the ring and it's no...Show more »

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. Show less «

[on her 1997 separation with Brad Pitt] It really changed my life. When we split up, something chang...Show more »

[on her 1997 separation 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. Show less «

[on Johnny Depp] Whether it's Morgan Freeman [Se7en (1995)] at the beginning of my career or Johnny ...Show more »

[on Johnny Depp] Whether it's Morgan Freeman [Se7en (1995)] at the beginning of my career or Johnny Depp in my last movie [Mortdecai (2015)], I feel on-my-knees gratitude for being considered a good enough actor to work with actors of that caliber. Johnny is a true genius and when he works he envisages everything. You know I read the script and I thought it was really funny. I have always wanted to work with Johnny and I'm so lucky they asked me as he is amazing. We had so much fun on set that it was hard not to laugh. Show less «

I find Sex and the City (1998) irreverent and shocking. It's one step beyond how girls really talk. ...Show more »

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. Show less «

It would be a lot easier on Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston now had they not talked to the press abou...Show more »

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. Show less «

I'm very happy here [in London] and I really like the way the film industry works, everybody cares. ...Show more »

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. Show less «

My father found joy in feeding the people he loved - genuine, bursting happiness. He instilled in me...Show more »

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. Show less «

There are certain women in this business who have children and I just think, "You must never, never ...Show more »

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. Show less «

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

I find the English amazing how they got over 7/7. There were no multiple memorials with people sobbi...Show more »

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. Show less «

Women really need to examine why they're so vitriolic to other women.

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

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

The work gets more difficult as you get older. You learn more and you gather more experiences, there...Show more »

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

[on daughter Apple's accent] She says "Mummy" instead of "Mommy", I don't mind that. I will if she s...Show more »

[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. Show less «

I worked so much in my 20s and I really burnt the candle at both ends. I wasn't too picky about what...Show more »

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. Show less «

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

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

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

When you're having dinner with your kids and your husband and someone says something funny or your d...Show more »

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. Show less «

Even actresses that you really admire, like Reese Witherspoon, you think, another romantic comedy? Y...Show more »

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?". Show less «

[on the paparazzi] If I have my daughter in the car and they are making me nervous, I'll do whatever...Show more »

[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. Show less «

Brits are far more intelligent and civilised than Americans. I love the fact that you can hail a tax...Show more »

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. Show less «

I love the English way, which is not as capitalistic as it is in America. People don't talk about wo...Show more »

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!". Show less «

I'm glad that some day my children will be able to see my father and hear his voice, get a sense of ...Show more »

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. Show less «

[on her father's (Bruce Paltrow's) struggle with throat cancer] It changed me more than anything els...Show more »

[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. Show less «

I realised life is so short and precious, you should do things that make you feel inspired, that pus...Show more »

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. Show less «

British people don't seem to ask each other out on dates. If someone asked you out they're really go...Show more »

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. Show less «

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow's FILMOGRAPHY

Gwyneth Paltrow'S roles

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