Gwyneth Paltrow (NFSC UK)

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GWYNETH PALTROW

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GWYNETH PALTROW Valerie Milano

ECW Press

The publication of Gwyneth Paltrow has been generously supported by the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program. © Valerie Milano, 2000. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW PRESS. CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA

Milano, Valerie Gwyneth Paltrow ISBN 1-55022-407-7

i. Paltrow, Gwyneth. 2. Motion picture actors and actresses United States - Biography. I. Title. PN2287-P227M54 2OOO J()l.^'o28'o()2 000-930436-3

Front cover photo by Tammy Calder / Shooting Star. Back cover photo by Paul Jasmin / Visages. Cover design by Guylaine Regimbald. Interior design by Yolande Martel. This book is set in Electra and Fairfield. Printed by Printcrafters Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Distributed in Canada by General Distribution Services, 325 Humber College Blvd., Etobicoke, Ontario Mgw 703. Distributed in the United States by LPC Group, 1436 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60607. U.S.A. Published by ECW PRESS, 2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario M4E iE2. ecwpress.com PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA

Contents

Introduction 9 1

The Stuff of Which Dreams Are Made 13

2

Destination Hollywood 21

3

The Big Screen 33

4

Reaching for the Stars 4.1

5

Love and Consequences 51

6

The Turning Point 63

7

A Star in Her Own Right 75

8

Box Office Bombs 83

9

Life in the Spotlight 91

10

The Big Breakup 99

11

Flying Solo 107

12

Back in the Game 117

13

Shakespearean Pursuits 129

14

The Talented Miss Paltrow 143

15

Accolades and Awards 157

16

The Big Prize 173 Filmography 187 Works Consulted 205

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Introduction

WELL BEFORE CELEBRATING HER 3OTH BIRTHDAY, Gwyneth Paltrow has

lived what by all appearances is a charmed, fairy-tale existence. By the time she turned 26, she had appeared in 20 feature films and won an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her personal life seems just as rich as her professional one, with highly publicized romances with perennial heartthrob Brad Pitt and movie-star-of-the-near-future Ben Affleck. And if those relationships didn't endure, well, Paltrow always exudes that particular kind of confidence that leaves the lasting impression that these dalliances were mere learning experiences, necessary emotional interludes before finding the person who will inevitably be the true great love of her life. Because, after all, isn't that what happens to a princess? And make no mistake, as Hollywood peeks around the corner at the brave new millennial world, Paltrow is first among the vanguard of actors on whom the hopes of Hollywood Future lie. Certainly, she has the pedigree — as the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and director/producer Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth is seen by many as Hollywood royalty, the scion of artistic and literate parents who are not only respected by their peers but admired for successfully balancing their professional and personal lives while raising unusually gifted, cultured, and responsible children. Neither Gwyneth nor her brother Jake are likely to ever make headlines bouncing in and out of rehab centers or getting arrested for trashing hotel rooms. But at the same time, the very values that keep Gwyneth Paltrow grounded also keep her at a wary distance from the celebrity machine. No doubt because she was literally raised around a movie set, Paltrow tends to project an intriguing air of aloofness toward her fans and the media, making her a bit of an enigma. Thus, it's more than just her fair complexion and patrician looks that have prompted others to dub her the new Grace Kelly of her generation.

Introduction From the earliest days of her career, Paltrow has been known to ooze an ever-so-slight reserve that has been interpreted as coolness by some and self-protection by others. More than likely, Paltrow is simply trying to follow the example set by wise parents who never let the glamour of show business intrude upon their private lives and who kept what they did in proper perspective in relation to who they were as people. That said, not even the most sage of parents can completely prepare their children for life away from the nest — especially when said child becomes romantically involved with one of the most desired men in the world. Paltrow's relationship with and engagement to Brad Pitt thrust her into the white-hot glare of the media in a way that could have embittered the most amiable of souls. But again, Paltrow's breeding won out, and she not only survived the experience but also seemed to emerge the better for it: not only more mature but with her humor and dignity more deeply honed. Perhaps more than anything,.it is Paltrow's ability to maintain grace under pressure that sets this Hollywood princess apart from her peers. Her maturity, combined with obvious talent and proven screen presence, puts her squarely at the head of the Hollywood class of 2000 and makes her someone worth getting to know beyond the press releases and sound bites.

11

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1 The Stuff of Which ^Dreams ^Are JVlade

IT'S MARCH 21, 1999, and the stage is set for the yist Annual Academy Awards. When Gwyneth Paltrow steps out of her limousine, she pauses for the briefest of moments to look at the scene taking place outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, one of Los Angeles's grandest theater showplaces. Rolled out at her feet is the red carpet, which at the moment is filled with the movie world's best and brightest. On one side of the carpet, stardust-glazed fans, compressed together on bleachers, seem to shriek louder with each new famous face who walks past. On the other side, the photographers and press are lined up, desperately calling out to the stars and beseeching them to strike a pose in their direction so that they can obtain the money shot their publications expect. There are so many celebrities flowing past, it's hard for the fans and media to know whom to call out to first. Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres, who are celebrating their one-year anniversary, are there, and so is Geoffrey Rush and Paltrow's fellow Best Actress nominee, Gate Blanchett. Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, and power couple Warren Beatty and Annette Benning can be spotted, too. But even in the overflow of arrivals, Paltrow seems to move as though backlit by an aura of expectation. Accompanying Paltrow, one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelorettes, is her father, Bruce Paltrow, who follows a step or two behind his daughter, soaking in each step she takes with poignantly apparent parental pride. At one point, Bruce gallantly steps forward to shield Gwyneth from a potentially embarrassing photo op when one of her bra pads abruptly slips. Papa Paltrow acts as a human screen while his daughter hastily rearranges the undergarments of her flowing pink gown. As she moves slowly down the carpet, waving to fans, being bathed in bursts of flashbulbs, and graciously answering questions for a dozen broadcast reporters, Paltrow refuses to acknowledge her position as front-

14

Qwyneth Paltrow

Paltrow's father escorts her to the 1999 Academy Awards ALEC MICHAEL / GLOBE PHOTOS

runner for the Best Actress Award, saying over and over how honored she is just to be there. A half hour before the Academy Awards are to begin, all those wanting to make a fashionably almost-late entrance converge on the carpet, creating a mob of sequins and tuxes. Nervous network staffers, anxious to get everyone in their seats by the start of the live telecast, plead with those still outside to please get inside. At one point, a loudspeaker squawks insistently, "Mr. Nolte, the doors are closing. Please enter the theater." As Paltrow and her father leave the deafeningo noise and disconcertingo chaos of the red carpet area behind them, the atmosphere subtly changes. As the telecast begins, a mist of anxious excitement is suddenly felt; over the next few hours, the lives of a lucky few in the audience will be changed forever. And in the case of Gwyneth Paltrow, it seems inevitable that the night will ultimately belong to her, because no other actor, male or female, has come so far so fast. In fact, Paltrow's life has been so charmed that, had it been a movie, she probably would have turned down the part for lack of believability. Indeed, the story of Paltrow's life really is the stuff of which dreams are made.

The Stuff of ^Which 'Dreams