Gwyneth Paltrow, Happy Birthday: the life and career of an actress

Gwyneth Paltrow was born on September 27, 1972 in Los Angeles.in California, in a family very active in the world of cinema: his father Bruce Paltrow was a director and producer television and cinema, its Blythe Danner’s mother is an actress installed and younger brother Jake – director and screenwriter (directed his sister in a fantasy comedy-drama Good night, in 2007); Thus, Gwyneth’s interest in acting began when she was little, and she attended Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica (whose former students include other famous names such as Jack Black, Emily and Zooey, Deschanel, Kate Hudson, Jonah Hill, Liv Tyler and many others).

Gwyneth Paltrow’s debut on the small and big screen

After appearing in the TV movie High (1989), directed by her father, the actress made her film debut with Scream (1991), a musical starring John Travolta, and had a small role in Hook-Captain Hook (1991), directed by his godfather Steven Spielberg; he then starred in a crime mini-series with his mother. Cruel Doubt (1992).
Among Gwyneth’s first films, we remember a brief appearance in Malice-The Suspicion (1993), thriller with Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman, thriller noir Provincial murders (1993) with Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, biopic Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), historical drama Jefferson in Paris (1995), moonlight and Valentina (1995), crime drama Sydney (1996), which marked the directorial debut of Paul Thomas Anderson, a romantic comedy. Three friends, wedding and funeral (1996) with David Schwimmer, although most of these films were not very successful with the public and sometimes even with critics.

Roles of Initiation

Things are better with a thriller Seven (1995), directed by David Fincher and starring Paltrow alongside her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt as well as Morgan Freeman, to excellent reception; immediately after this, the American actress was chosen to play the role of the heroine of the same Englishwoman Jane Austen in the comedy Emma

(1996), based on the writer’s novel of the same name, received generally positive reviews.
Drama remains one of his cult works. Sliding doors (1998), a story of two parallel events that has become synonymous with the influence of chance on fate; followed by projects with more mixed reception, such as Paradise Lost (1998) with Ethan Hawke, modern adaptation Big hopes Charles Dickens, or Ideal crime (1998) with Michael Douglas and Viggo Mortensen, a remake with many changes of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s triumph and ultimate dedication came with the costume comedy-drama. Shakespeare in Love (1998) and the role of Viola, the muse of the English author and the inspiration for the character of the same name in twelfth Night: the film brought her an award (discussed) Oscar for Best Actressamid the discontent of those who would prefer Cate Blanchett to her Elizabeth and argues that Paltrow’s victory can largely be attributed to the influence of then-highly powerful producer Harvey Weinstein.

Dramatic roles

Paltrow’s dramatic roles include psychological thrillers. Mr. Ripley’s Talent (1999) with Matt Damon and Jude Law, based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith. Bounce (2000), a romantic drama about heartbreak, starring Ben Affleck, her life partner at the time, Possession – a romantic story (2002) with Aaron Eckhart, a sentimental detective drama based on the novel of the same name by Antonia Byatt. Silvia (2003), a biopic in which she plays poet Sylvia Plath, a film that may have wanted to compete for a new Oscar campaign, but was such a failure with audiences and critics that it was only directly distributed in Italy in 2009. on home video, and also flopped despite the presence of Jude Law and Angelina Jolie in the cast, the sci-fi film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), filmed using innovative technologies entirely in front of a blue screen, with the subsequent addition of all the scenery in computer graphics in post-production. This went a little better Proof (2005), which brought her a Golden Globe nomination, a sentimental drama that reunited the actress with John Madden (director Shakespeare in love), taken from a play she had already performed on the London stage. The romantic drama received praise from critics. Two lovers (2008) by James Gray starring Joaquin Phoenix, inspired by this story. sleepless nights Dostoevsky, and the thriller was also a good success Infection (2011) by Steven Soderbergh, a film that we know has unfortunately gained renewed popularity almost ten years after its release due to the Covid-19 pandemic, given that it depicts a disease outbreak considered to be very scientifically accurate , and the subsequent global spread of an unknown and deadly virus.

Comic roles

However, Gwyneth Paltrow’s filmography has no shortage of comedies and even very light roles: let’s first remember Tenenbaums (2001) by Wes Anderson, in which her heroine Margot Tenenbaum became, above all, aesthetically iconic, often quoted and imitated, with fur and double-layered eyes; then there’s a romantic comedy Love at first sight (2001) with Jack Black, for which she wears very heavy prosthetic makeup, a cameo in Austin Powers in the movie “Goldmember” (2002), romantic comedy Mistress among clouds (2003), with Mark Ruffalo, black comedy Running with scissors in your hands (2006), Ryan Murphy, action-comedy Mordecai (2015) with Johnny Depp.

Entering the Marvel Universe

After several years in which the actress took a step back from acting to devote herself to her family, and some less-than-satisfying professional decisions, Gwyneth Paltrow landed a role in a project that was announced several times and then canceled or postponed: it’s only natural iron Man (2008), a film that, perhaps a little surprisingly, became one of the greatest successes of its genre, certainly helping to establish the Marvel Cinematic Universe and definitively relaunching the career of its protagonist Robert Downey Jr., but bringing new blood to Gwyneth as well ; the role of Virginia “Pepper” Potts, Tony Stark’s personal assistanthas been the role that has occupied the actress most in film in recent years, and she also returned to Iron Man 2 (2010), Iron Man 3 (2013), but also Avengers (2012), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018)e Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Gwyneth Paltrow and music

Music played an important role in Gwyneth Paltrow’s career, as well as her life (she was married to singer-songwriter Chris Martin of Coldplay, who dedicated songs like Fix youand she sang the song herself Everglow); to the cinema Duets (2000), directed by her father Bruce Paltrow, set in the world of karaoke competitions, Gwyneth performs several covers, including Bette Davis’s eyes AND Cruise; to the cinema Infamous – Very bad reputation. (2006) in the film, the actress stars in a cameo role as singer Kitty Dean. A country strong (2010), in which she stars, she plays a disgraced country singer and has recorded several musical performances for the role, including Come home, also performed at the Oscars. One of the roles that changed her prices on the small screen was the role of teacher Holly Holliday in the cult series. Rejoicingin which she performed covers such as Kiss, Table Spin, Forget Youand an unforgettable mix-up between Singing in the rain AND Umbrella.

Entrepreneurial activity

Passionate about cooking, in addition to signing a couple of recipe books, she was one of the most distinguished actresses whose name, perhaps ahead of her time, was associated with lifestyle business

on behalf of Goop, with the goal of providing advice and information on all aspects of internal and external wellness, originally started as a newsletter and then grew into a real brand that produces and sells a large number of products, often, to be honest, widely ridiculed for their fancy names or purposes or are considered to be of questionable usefulness; However, recently this has become the main activity of Gwyneth Paltrow, who has almost completely abandoned acting and devoted herself to the entrepreneurial field.