Early life and education

Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and film producer/director Bruce Paltrow. Her father was Jewish and her mother is from a Christian background, and Paltrow was raised with "both Jewish and Christian holidays" (her brother had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony).

Her father's Ashkenazi Jewish family immigrated from Belarus and Poland, while her mother has Pennsylvania Dutch (German), and some white Barbadian (English), ancestry. Paltrow's paternal great-great-grandfather, was a rabbi in Nowogród, Poland, and a descendant of a the well known "Paltrowicz" family of rabbis from Kraków, whose best known descendant is R. David HaLevi Segal. Paltrow's younger brother is director and screenwriter Jake Paltrow. Her half-cousin is actress Katherine Moennig (through her mother). She is a second cousin of former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08) (through her father). Her uncle is opera singer and actor Harry Danner.

Paltrow was raised in Santa Monica, 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, before dropping out to act. She is an "adopted daughter" of Talavera de la Reina (Spain), where at 15 she spent a year as an exchange student and learned to speak Spanish.

Career

1989-95: Early acting work

Her acting debut was in High (1989), a TV film her father directed, and after spending several summers watching her mother perform at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, Paltrow made her professional stage debut there in 1990. Her film debut followed with Shout (1991), starring John Travolta; and she was cast by Steven Spielberg in his film Hook (1991) as the young Wendy Darling.

Paltrow's next roles were in the made-for-television movies Cruel Doubt (1992) and Deadly Relations (1993). Her first plum feature film role was in the noir drama Flesh and Bone (1993) as the much-younger girlfriend of James Caan. In 1995, she played Brad Pitt's wife in the hit thriller Se7en. Her performance earned her a Satellite Award nomination. Also in 1995, she appeared in Moonlight and Valentino and Jefferson in Paris.

1996-2001: Breakthrough and film stardom

In 1996, Paltrow played the title character in Emma to critical acclaim, particularly in the United Kingdom, where her perfection of the English accent was appreciated. She had leading roles in several films throughout 1998, including Sliding Doors and the adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations with Ethan Hawke, Robert De Niro, Anne Bancroft and Chris Cooper. She also appeared in two thrillers, Hush, opposite Jessica Lange, and A Perfect Murder, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film, Dial M for Murder. In the latter film, Paltrow starred opposite Michael Douglas, playing Emily Taylor, who was based on Grace Kelly's character from the original film, though the film was met with mixed reviews. She was also considered for the role of Rose DeWitt Bukater in the 1997 film Titanic.

In 1998, Paltrow starred in Shakespeare in Love, portraying the fictional lover of William Shakespeare, played by Joseph Fiennes. The film earned US$289 million in box office receipts, and Paltrow gained critical acclaim for her portrayal. Entertainment Weekly commented, "Best of all is Gwyneth Paltrow, who, at long last, has a movie to star in that's as radiant as she is." The New York Times summed up her performance as Viola thus: "Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first great, fully realized starring performance, makes a heroine so breathtaking that she seems utterly plausible as the playwright's guiding light."

The award-winning Shakespeare in Love earned Paltrow the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role from the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and the Academy Award for Best Actress, among other honors. Her Pink Ralph Lauren dress worn at the 71st Academy Awards in collecting her Oscar was extremely popular and was credited for bringing pink back into fashion.

In 1999, Paltrow co-starred alongside Jude Law, Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett in The Talented Mr. Ripley, which earned $80 million domestically and received positive reviews. She showcased her singing ability in 2000's Duets, which was directed by her father and co-starred singer Huey Lewis. The same year, Paltrow co-starred with Ben Affleck in the romantic drama Bounce as Abby Janello. In 2001, she played Margot Tenenbaum as part of an ensemble cast in the Wes Anderson film The Royal Tenenbaums and starred with Jack Black in the comedy Shallow Hal, where she had to wear a specially designed 25-pound fatsuit and heavy make-up.

2002-07: Career slowdown

Since the Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, Paltrow's film career has been less noteworthy and critical acclaim has waned. She said she was unequipped for the pressure, leading to several bad movie choices, agreeing with peers who believe the win is, in some ways, a curse. During this time, Paltrow rarely appeared in films, having taken a hiatus to raise her two children. In The Guardian, she said she divided her career into movies for love and films for money: The Royal Tenenbaums, Proof, and Sylvia fell into the former category, while she signed on to View from the Top and Shallow Hal for the latter.

In 2004, she starred in the science-fiction film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow opposite Jude Law. The same year, she was recognized as an outstanding woman in entertainment by Women in Film Los Angeles with the Crystal Award. In 2005, she starred in the film Proof as the depressed daughter of a brilliant, eccentric mathematician. The movie was based on the play of the same name, in which Paltrow also played the same character at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2002. For her film performance, Paltrow earned her second Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama. In 2006, she had small roles in Running With Scissors and Infamous, in which she sang Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?".

2008-present: Iron Man and Glee

In 2008, she appeared in the superhero film Iron Man as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's personal assistant, closest friend, and budding love interest. Iron Man was Paltrow's highest-grossing film to date, earning more than $585,000,000 worldwide, until she reprised her role as Potts in Joss Whedon's 2012 superhero film, The Avengers, which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. Paltrow said she was hesitant to appear in a big-budget project but she was won over by Robert Downey, Jr., the film's lead, and director Jon Favreau. She recalled a conversation with Downey, saying:

Robert called me and he said, "This is gonna be fun, and this is gonna be good." And then he said to me, "Don't you want to be in a movie that people see?" And I was like, "Whoa! What would that feel like?" And he's right. Moviemaking is not supposed to be a masturbatory exercise; it's supposed to be shared by other people.

In 2010, Paltrow reprised her role in the sequel to Iron Man, Iron Man 2. Later in 2010, she appeared in the musical Country Strong and recorded the song Country Strong for the film's soundtrack. The song was released to country radio in August 2010. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Paltrow performed another song from the movie, "Coming Home," which was nominated for Best Original Song.

Paltrow also appeared in Fox's Glee, as substitute teacher Holly Holliday, who fills in for Matthew Morrison's character when he falls ill. In her first episode, "The Substitute," she sang "Nowadays" from the musical Chicago with Lea Michele, CeeLo Green's "Forget You", and a mash-up of "Singin' In the Rain" and Rihanna's "Umbrella" with Morrison and the rest of the cast.

She later performed "Forget You" with CeeLo Green himself and several puppet characters provided by The Jim Henson Company at the 2011 Grammy Awards. She reprised her role twice more that season, performing "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by Gary Glitter, an acoustic version of "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, "Kiss" by Prince, and Adele's "Turning Tables".

In 2011, Paltrow appeared in the Steven Soderbergh thriller Contagion, in which she was part of an ensemble cast, including Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and her The Talented Mr. Ripley co-stars Matt Damon and Jude Law. The movie opened at number 1 at the US Box Office Weekend and received positive reviews. In 2012 she starred in the independent romantic comedy Thanks for Sharing with Mark Ruffalo and reprised her role as Pepper Potts in the film The Avengers, which broke records as the highest grossing U.S. opening weekend film of all time. It was confirmed that Paltrow will star as Dora Maar in Carlos Saura's Spanish film 33 días alongside Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso. The film began shooting in late 2012, for a 2013 release.

In April 2013, Paltrow was named People magazine's annual "Most Beautiful Woman". In 2015, she co-starred in the film Mortdecai, alongside Johnny Depp, Olivia Munn, and Paul Bettany. Paltrow was also featured on the track "Everglow", which was included in Coldplay's seventh studio album A Head Full of Dreams (2015).

Other projects

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 February 2009, Paltrow received a Grammy nomination for her reading of the classic bear books of author Bill Martin, Jr.

Paltrow had her singing debut in the 2000 film Duets, in which she performed a cover version of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'". The song was released as a single. The song went to number one in Australia, while Paltrow's rendition of the Kim Carnes classic "Bette Davis Eyes" reached number three.

In the 2006 film Infamous, she sang "What Is This Thing Called Love". On September 27, 2006, Paltrow sang with rapper Jay-Z during his concert at Royal Albert Hall. She sang the chorus for "Song Cry", from the rapper's album Blueprint. In an interview, she said she would be at the concert but not that she would perform. She was quoted as saying "I'm a Jay-Z fan. He's my best friend."

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.

In April 2009, Paltrow narrated Brown Bear & Friends, the first of several children's audiobooks that she would narrate by Bill Martin. The Brown Bear & Friends audiobook received a Grammy nomination in 2009 for Best Spoken Word Album for Children. Since, she has also narrated Bill Martin's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?, and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

In 2014 Paltrow partnered with Blo Blow Bar, teaming up with the brand's creative branch.

In October 2014, she hosted a Democratic fundraiser attended by President Barack Obama at her private residence in Los Angeles.

In 2015, Paltrow announced plans to build a private club called The Arts Club at the former Hustler Store location

Food writing and Goop

In October 2007 Paltrow signed for the PBS television series Spain... on the Road Again, which showcases the food and culture of Spain.

In September 2008 she launched the weekly lifestyle newsletter Goop, encouraging readers to 'nourish the inner aspect'. The website's title is derived from her initials. Each week, the newsletter focuses on an action: Make, Go, Get, Do, Be, and See.

In 2008 she 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. That year she wrote a foreword for a book by Ross Matthews, Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence.

Personal life

At the age of 24, Paltrow was engaged to actor Brad Pitt, whom she dated from 1994 to 1997. The engagement was called off, according to Paltrow, because she was not ready for marriage, and she later felt responsible for hurting Pitt since she was "such a mess" during that time in her life. Paltrow has since said that, as this was her first high-profile relationship with another celebrity, it taught her the need for public discretion about her romantic life; she told Biography magazine, "I said things about being in a relationship that felt wrong to me even as I was saying them."

Paltrow had an on-off three-year relationship with actor Ben Affleck from 1997 to late 2000. They first broke up in early 1999 but, soon after their breakup, Paltrow persuaded Affleck to star in the film Bounce with her; during the making of the film, which was shot in mid-1999, the couple started dating again and eventually broke up in October 2000.

In October 2002, Paltrow met Chris Martin of the British rock group Coldplay backstage three weeks after the death of her father, Bruce Paltrow. They married on December 5, 2003, in a ceremony at a hotel in Southern California. Paltrow and Martin have two children together: daughter Apple Blythe Alison Martin (b. 2004) and son Moses Bruce Anthony Martin (b. 2006). Paltrow explained Apple's unusual first name on Oprah, saying: "It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me - you know, apples are so sweet and they're wholesome and it's biblical - and I just thought it sounded so lovely and ... clean! And I just thought, 'Perfect!'." She explained her son's first name came from the song, "Moses", that her husband wrote for her before their wedding. Paltrow's father came from a long line of influential Eastern European rabbis, and that inspired Paltrow to raise her daughter and son in a Jewish environment. Paltrow cut down on work after becoming a mother. She also suffered from postpartum depression after the 2006 birth of her son. In March 2014, Paltrow announced that she and Martin had separated after ten years of marriage, describing the process as "conscious uncoupling". In April 2015, Paltrow filed for divorce from Chris Martin.

In 2013, The New York Times reported Paltrow to be a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation.

In August 2014, Paltrow started dating Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk.

Stalking incidents

In 2000, one Dante Soiu was charged after allegedly sending Paltrow sex toys and hundreds of unsolicited letters, many of a sexual nature; he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and was confined to a mental institution for several years.

In 2015, Soiu was arrested after sending Paltrow dozens of packages and letters between 2009 and 2015, including a cookbook, earrings, second-hand clothes, a letter making a reference to Paltrow "bowing to death," and another professing his desire to marry her. The trial took place in February 2016. Soiu admitted sending the letters, testifying that "he wanted his messages to show her unconditional love and friendship." Paltrow testified: "I felt very upset by it. It defied logic, and I found it very, very upsetting," Following jury deliberations, Soiu was acquitted of the charges on February 17.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Shout	Rebecca
1991	Hook	Young Wendy Darling
1992	Cruel Doubt	Angela Pritchard
1993	Deadly Relations	Carol Ann Fagot Applegarth Holland
1993	Malice	Paula Bell
1993	Flesh and Bone	Ginny
1994	Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle	Paula Hunt
1995	Higher Learning	Student	Uncredited
1995	Jefferson in Paris	Patsy Jefferson
1995	Moonlight and Valentino	Lucy Trager
1995	Seven	Tracy Mills
1996	Hard Eight	Clementine
1996	Pallbearer, TheThe Pallbearer	Julie DeMarco
1996	Emma	Emma Woodhouse
1998	Sliding Doors	Helen Quilley
1998	Great Expectations	Estella
1998	Hush	Helen Baring
1998	Perfect Murder, AA Perfect Murder	Emily Bradford Taylor
1998	Shakespeare in Love	Viola De Lesseps
1999	Talented Mr. Ripley, TheThe Talented Mr. Ripley	Marge Sherwood
2000	Intern, TheThe Intern	Herself	Uncredited
2000	Duets	Liv
2000	Bounce	Abby Janello
2001	Anniversary Party, TheThe Anniversary Party	Skye Davidson
2001	Royal Tenenbaums, TheThe Royal Tenenbaums	Margot Tenenbaum
2001	Shallow Hal	Rosemary Shanahan
2002	Searching for Debra Winger	Herself	Documentary
2002	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Dixie Normous in 'Austinpussy'	Cameo appearance
2002	Possession	Maud Bailey
2003	View from the Top	Donna Jensen
2003	Sylvia	Sylvia Plath
2004	Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow	Polly Perkins
2005	Proof	Catherine
2006	Infamous	Kitty Dean
2006	Love and Other Disasters	Hollywood Jacks	Cameo
2006	Running with Scissors	Hope Finch
2007	Good Night, TheThe Good Night	Dora
2008	Iron Man	Pepper Potts
2008	Two Lovers	Michelle
2010	Iron Man 2	Pepper Potts
2010	Country Strong	Kelly Canter
2011	Glee: The 3D Concert Movie	Holly Holliday	Uncredited
2011	Contagion	Beth Emhoff
2012	Thanks for Sharing	Phoebe
2012	The Avengers	Pepper Potts
2013	Iron Man 3	Pepper Potts
2015	Mortdecai	Johanna Mortdecai

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Thomas Jefferson	Jefferson's granddaughter	Miniseries; voice role
1999 2001/11	Saturday Night Live	Herself/Host / Various roles	5 episodes
2000	Clerks: The Animated Series	Herself	1 episode; voice role
2008	Spain... On The Road Again	Herself	Documentary; 13 episodes
2010	Marriage Ref, TheThe Marriage Ref	Herself - Panelist	Episode: "Gwyneth Paltrow/Jerry Seinfeld/Greg Giraldo"
2010-11; 2014	Glee	Holly Holliday	5 episodes
2011	Who Do You Think You Are?	Herself	Episode: "Gwyneth Paltrow"
2012	The New Normal	Abby	Episode: "Pilot"
2014	Web Therapy	Maya Ganesh	2 episodes

Discography

Singles

Singles	Year	Peak chart positions						Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
		US	US AC	US Country	AUS	NZ	UK
"Cruisin'"	2000	—	1	—	1	1	—	AUS: 2× Platinum	Duets
"Bette Davis Eyes"		—	—	—	3	—	—	AUS: Platinum
"Country Strong"	2010	81	—	30	—	—	—		Country Strong
"Me and Tennessee"	2011	—	—	34	—	—	63
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Featured singles

Single	Year	Peak chart positions					Album
		US	AUS	CAN	IRL	UK
"Forget You"	2010	11	24	12	20	31	Glee: The Music, Volume 4
"Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag"		—	—	—	—	—	Non-album singles
"Singing in the Rain / Umbrella"		18	23	20	10	22
"Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)"	2011	57	—	63	—	95	Glee: The Music, Volume 5
"Kiss"		83	98	80	—	—
"Landslide"		23	38	35	36	52
"Turning Tables"		66	—	66	—	75	Glee: The Music, Volume 6
"Happy"	2014	—	—	—	—	—	Glee: The Music, Celebrating 100 Episodes
"Party All the Time"		—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Other album appearances

Song	Year	Album
"Silent Worship"	1996	Emma
"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"	2000	Duets
"It's Only Love"	2002	C'mon, C'mon
"What Is This Thing Called Love?"	2006	Infamous
"Shake That Thing"	2010	Country Strong
"Coming Home"
"A Fighter"
"Travis"
"Over the Rainbow"	2011	Matthew Morrison
"This Woman's Work"		Every Mother Counts
"Waiting on June"	2013	The Highway
"Everglow"	2015	A Head Full Of Dreams

Music videos

Video	Year	Director
"Country Strong"	2010	Kristin Barlowe, Christoper Sims
"Me and Tennessee" (with Tim McGraw)	2011	Shana Feste

Published works

• Paltrow, Gwyneth (2011). My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness. Grand Central Life & Style. ISBN 978-0446557313.
• Paltrow, Gwyneth (2013). It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great. Grand Central Life & Style. ISBN 978-1455522712.
• Paltrow, Gwyneth (2011). Notes from My Kitchen Table. Grand Central Life & Style. ISBN 978-0752227894.

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Gwyneth Paltrow Charities

Gwyneth Paltrow supports the following charitable causes: World Poverty & Hunger, Cancer, Environment, Poverty.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]