GWYNETH PALTROW — Actress and CEO of GOOP

If you were not yet born during the days of movies like “Seven” and “Emma”, you would at least have heard of recent movies like “Iron Man”, “The Avengers”, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Avengers: Infinity War”. These movies span from the year 1995 to 2018 and all these movies and many more have been graced by the magnificent touch of an American Actress named Gwyneth Paltrow. If the name just rang a bell to you now, you may think her role stops at the above listed movies. But by the time you finish reading this piece, you will realize that you just read about a multi-talented and vibrant woman whose influence and mentorship has gone far and wide as an actress, businesswoman, socialite, lifestyle guru, singer, and food writer.

Early life of Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow is the daughter of Award-winning actress Blythe Danner and Television producer Bruce Paltrow. She was born on September 27, 1972 in Los Angeles and raised in Santa Monica, California, where she attended Crossroads School, before enrolling in the Spence School, a private girls’ school in New York City. Later, she briefly studied anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Paltrow grew up in acting and she started getting acting roles right from early age.

Early Acting Career

Gwyneth Paltrow made her stage debut at an early age of 5 in a theater in Massachusetts’ Berkshire Mountains, where her mother performed in summer stock. No surprise here since acting runs in the family. Her impressive performance and zeal began to win her small film roles, beginning with Shout and Hook in 1991. Considering the relatively smooth entrance she made into this industry, she continued to develop more interest. Later, Paltrow decided to abandon her art history studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara to pursue acting full time. This decision paid off because Paltrow later won series of roles in movies like “Malice” (1993), co-starring Nicole Kidman and Alec Baldwin, “Flesh and Bone” (1993) and “Jefferson in Paris” (1995), co-starring Nick Nolte. In 1995, Paltrow appeared in the controversial film “Se7en”, with Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt.Paltrow continued to win starring roles in more movies like “The Pallbearer” (1996), “Emma (1996)”, “Great Expectations” (1998), “Sliding Doors” (1998) and “A Perfect Murder” (1998), with Michael Douglas. She proved to the world that she is indeed a superstar with an inspired performance in 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love”, as the immortal Bard’s purported muse. The role won her a Best Actress Oscar and made her one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Role in the Entertainment Industry

In 1999, Paltrow starred with Matt Damon in director Anthony Minghella’s lush production of The Talented Mr. Ripley, a novel by Patricia Highsmith. In 2000, she starred in the karaoke comedy-drama Duets, directed by her father, Bruce Paltrow, and the romance Bounce, opposite Affleck. Following her 1998 Academy Award win, Paltrow took part in several less than memorable roles. In 2003, Paltrow played in the biopic Sylvia, the story of the talented poet and author Sylvia Plath, as the main character. Paltrow portrays the character Pepper Potts making her first appearance in Iron Man (2008), and later also in Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and in Avengers: Infinity War (2018). She will reprise her role in Avengers 4, set for release on May 3, 2019.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Other Projects and Her Influence

Aside being a super-star and award-winning actress, Gwyneth Paltrow has initiated various innovative projects and exhibited her multi talent in other spheres of life. This includes the influence of her company, GOOP on the lifestyle of numerous people worldwide. She is also an amazing singer and a writer of some wonderful cookbooks.

GOOP

In September 2008, Paltrow launched her weekly lifestyle newsletter Goop, encouraging readers to “nourish the inner aspect”. Goop has expanded into a web-based company. According to Paltrow, the company’s name came from someone telling her successful internet companies have double O’s in their name. So, she simply placed double O’s between G and P. Goop sends out weekly newsletter on various topics ranging from parenting to fashion tips. Now, Goop has expanded into eCommerce, collaborating with fashion brands, launching pop-up shops, launching a wellness summit, a print magazine and a podcast.

Food

In October 2007, Paltrow signed for the PBS television series Spain on the Road Again, which showcases the food and culture of Spain. In 2008, Paltrow co-wrote the book “Spain: A Culinary Road Trip with Mario Batali”. In 2011, she wrote a book titled “My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family and Togetherness”. That same year she penned the book Notes from the Kitchen Table. Two years later she published a book titled “It’s All Good: Delicious Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great”, which promoted an elimination diet which was noted to be unsupported by medical evidence. That year she wrote a foreword for a book by Ross Matthews, “Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence”.

Fashion

In May 2005, Paltrow became the face of Estée Lauder’s Pleasures perfume. She appeared in Chicago on August 17, 2007, to sign bottles of the perfume, and on July 8, 2008, she promoted Lauder’s Sensuous perfume in New York with the company’s three other models. Estée Lauder donates a minimum of $500,000 of sales of items from the “Pleasures Gwyneth Paltrow” collection to breast cancer research. In 2006, she became the face for Bean Pole International, a Korean fashion brand and in 2014, she partnered with Blo Blow Bar, teaming up with the brand’s creative branch.

Activism

Gwyneth Paltrow is a Save the Children artist ambassador, raising awareness about World Pneumonia Day. She is on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization that works to alleviate poverty in New York City. In October 2014,she hosted a Democratic fundraiser attended by President Barack Obama at her private residence in Los Angeles. These and many other activities keep her on the list of influential women in United States.