Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27, 1972) is an American actress.

The daughter of Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner, Paltrow dropped out of her university to follow an acting career. She began her career in theatre in 1990, and made her film debut the following year. Her early films include such successes as Se7en (1995), Emma (1996), in which she played the title role, and Sliding Doors (1998). Her performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998) brought her widespread recognition; she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, for Outstanding Lead Actress and as a member of the Outstanding Cast, among other awards and nominations.

She followed this success with roles in such films as The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Shallow Hal (2001). She also starred in the film Duets (2000), produced and directed by her father, Bruce Paltrow, and sang on two singles released from the film's soundtrack, which were hits in some countries. She received a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama for Proof (2005). More recently she appeared in the box-office success Iron Man (2008).

Her personal life has often been scrutinized in the media; she dated Brad Pitt from 1995 until 1997, and married Chris Martin, the lead singer of British rock band Coldplay, in 2003. They are the parents of two children. Paltrow has commented that she curtailed her work commitments following the birth of her first child.

Early life

Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Blythe Danner, an actress, and Bruce Paltrow, a film and television director, writer, and producer. Paltrow's father was of Ashkenazi Russian Jewish descent and her mother is a Quaker of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Paltrow was raised in Santa Monica, she attended Crossroads School before moving and attending The Spence School, a private girls' school in New York City which was also attended by Emmy Rossum, Kerry Washington and Sally Pressman. Later she briefly studied art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, before dropping out to pursue a career in acting. Paltrow has a younger brother, Jake Paltrow, and is a cousin of actress Katherine Moennig, who is best known for her roles as Jacqueline "Jake" Pratt in Young Americans and Shane McCutcheon in The L Word. She is an "adopted daughter" of Talavera de la Reina (Spain), where at age 15 she spent a month as an exchange student and learned some Spanish. Paltrow was childhood friends with Saturday Night Live's Maya Rudolph. 1

Early career: 1990–1994

Paltrow made her professional stage debut in 1990. Her most recent stage appearance was in Proof at London's Donmar Warehouse. Her debut film was Shout (1991). She also appeared in Hook (1991), Malice (1993), and Flesh and Bone (1993).