She’s one of the biggest starts in Hollywood, but at one time she was formerly known as that blonde girl who was once engaged to Brad Pitt. Then Gwyneth Paltrow made a name for herself without the help of past famous beaus (Pitt and Ben Affleck) by maturing from Hollywood’s princess into one of the town’s more classier actresses, willing to take a chance on smaller art films for the improvement of her career rather than her bank account. Born in 1973 to renowned director Bruce Paltrow and award-winning actress Blythe Danner, we would be lying if we told you she didn’t have an upper hand in the business at an early age. At eleven, Gwyneth’s family moved to the East Coast and she attended the Spence School in New York. After graduating in 1990, Gwyneth moved back out west and enrolled at the University of California before abruptly quitting a year later to pursue a film career. When Steven Spielberg, a family friend, offered Gwyneth the role of Wendy in his upcoming Peter Pan film, “Hook,” she gladly accepted the small role in what would be her first legit film appearance. After another bit role as Brad Pitt’s wife in the David Fincher thriller, “Se7en,” Gwyneth began to receive more attention from the media, though her intimate relationship to the “Sexiest Man Alive” is probably more to blame.
In 1996, Gwyneth became the official model for Calvin Klein, strutting her blonde, slender and sexy image all over magazine ads and television commercials, but the struggling actress continued to build a respectable career with a number of Shakespearean and Elizabethan adaptations throughout the following years, most notably 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love,” for which she won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress. While Gwyneth appears to be the nicest women you will ever meet, rumor mills have been spinning out gossip for years that fingers the actress as an “ice queen,” ranked at the top of the list by Movieline magazine as the most stuck-up actress in Hollywood. Regardless of the images that the media portrays, most critics and fans still can’t seem to get enough of the timid blonde and her memorable performances. If she isn’t one of the most stuck-up actresses in the business, she’s certainly one of the most courageous. After a successful streak of critically-acclaimed roles during the late 90’s, Gwyneth suddenly switched gears and began appearing in less appealing Hollywood vehicles like “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Shallow Hal,” though she managed to shine like a star in those as well. Whether she’s portraying a hopelessly-in-love matchmaker, a chain-smoking artist or a suicidal poet, Gwyneth has been entertaining filmgoers for years while maintaining a sexy, plain Jane appearance that will continue to mesmerize men for years to come.
In 2025 she starred in “Marty Supreme” opposite Timothée Chalamet.
SELECT ROLES
“Se7en” (1995)
Gwyneth is excellent in this jarring thriller from David Fincher playing opposite Brad Pitt as his wife. “Paltrow delivers a nuanced yet powerful performance here as the sweet wife who is struggling to adapt to city life. It’s a small role in terms of screen time yet critical to the film..” Her chemistry with Pitt is palpable in this film.
Gwyneth’s Sexiest Roles
This tall beauty isn’t known for wild and sexy roles, though she certainly played some edgy characters. At 5’9″ with a beautiful face, nice figure and long, blonde hair, this tall beauty certainly had all the tools to be a leading lady in Hollywood. She’s stunning in her early roles even if she didn’t show off her body much. Check out how amazing she looked in “Se7en” and “Hard Eight” in the mid-90s. Still, she did go topless in a few roles like “Shakespeare in Love.”
The Gwyneth Paltrow “Cougar” Storyline Doesn’t Work In “Marty Supreme”
Gwyneth was very believable as a sexy cougar, but Timothée Chalamet was not believable as the guy who could seduce her.
Gwyneth Paltrow on the Web
Gwyneth Paltrow on Instagram
See the video clips and photos posted by Gwyneth.
1995 interview with Gwyneth
Gwyneth discusses her role in “Se7en.” She looks amazing but the interviewer is pretty lame.
Gwyenth Paltrow on the Screen
Gwyneth’s incredible career has spanned a little over a decade and has included a daring array of films that range from Shakespearean and Elizabethan period pieces to gritty, murder mysteries to little art-house films. Since her hardly memorable debut in Steven Spielberg’s “Hook,” Gwyneth first became a star opposite Brad Pitt in the David Fincher thriller, “Se7en.” After losing her head, literally, amongst such A-listers like Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth quickly became the next “It” girl and was offered a myriad of roles, some which she wisely denied (“The Avengers”) and others she could have improved on (“Titanic”) Regardless of her script choices, Gwyneth landed into a pile of period pieces that thrust her into stardom including “Great Expectations,” “Emma” and “Shakespeare in Love.” After winning both prestigious screen awards for her performance in “Shakespeare,” Gwyenth moved on to more mainstream films like “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” but never shied away from less appealing roles like “Shallow Hal” and “View From the Top,” both of which she had an emotional attachment too. Since then, Gwyneth has disappeared from Hollywood for the most part, taking time away for the birth of her first baby, but she has recently appeared in the successful, but quirky “Royal Tenenbaums,” the lesser known independent film “Sylvia” about the suicidal poet and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.”
Gwyenth Says
On being beautiful:
“Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.”