Gwyneth
Paltrow
THE name Gwyneth Paltrow used to precede such
phrases as "Brad Pitt's fiancée" or "the daughter of Blythe
Danner." These days, however, that name clambers up onto the movie screen
all by itself, and with increasing regularity.
The lithe, WASPy Paltrow is indeed the daughter of
Blythe Danner, the Tony-winning stage and screen actress, and television
producer Bruce Paltrow (St. Elsewhere). Gwyneth was born in Los Angeles,
where she lived until the family relocated to New York, 11 years later. Summers
were spent in Massachusetts' Berkshires, where Danner acted in summer-
stock theatre. Paltrow's thespian genes expressed themselves early, beginning
with a walk-on appearance at age 5 and followed by increasingly larger roles
during subsequent summers. In 1991, a well-received co-starring performance
opposite Danner sparked Paltrow to dump her art history studies at University of
California at Santa Barbara to pursue an acting career. Mom and Dad grudgingly
gave their consent.
Paltrow's big break came later that summer, when she
and her father went to see Silence of the Lambs with pals Steven
Spielberg and Kate Capshaw. While standing in line, Spielberg pondered Paltrow's
presence, then he offered her the part of young Wendy in his big-budget Peter
Pan-derivative, Hook (1991). She accepted on the spot. Soon thereafter,
Paltrow landed a lead role in a mini-series, Cruel Doubt (1992), only to
return from a European vacation to learn that Danner had accepted the co-starring
part. Paltrow —
who longed for a legitimate career —
worried that Hollywood wouldn't credit her for finally earning a role without
pulling familial strings.
Paltrow's flow of work suddenly became a flood. In
1993, she played a doomed student in the thriller Malice, which featured
Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman, and she played James Caan's smart-mouthed
girlfriend in Flesh and Bone. She went on to play in Mrs. Parker and
the Vicious Circle (1994), as a star-struck hanger-on; Jefferson in Paris
(1995), as Nick Nolte's presidential daughter; and Moonlight and Valentino
(1995), as Elizabeth Perkins' sister. In each, Paltrow made her small scenes
count, and Hollywood took notice.
The movie that secured Paltrow's fame was Seven
(1995) —
and not just because of her performance as a sensitive woman in a heartless
film. She and co-star Brad Pitt fell head over heels in love during production,
and Paltrow became a worldwide celebrity by association. The media barrage came
just as Paltrow was ascending to above-the-title status in her own right, and
their eventual break-up did little to break her stride.
In 1996, Paltrow starred opposite David Schwimmer in
the paltry black comedy The Pallbearer and headed the cast of the well-
received film adaptation of a Jane Austen classic, Emma. She kicked off
1997 with an appearance as a waitress-
prostitute in Hard Eight, co-starring with Samuel L. Jackson. The year
1998 yielded a diverse array of outings for the up-and-comer: she gave a
luminous performance as Ethan Hawke's ice-queen obsession in Great
Expectations; did little to advance her career as Jessica Lange's thorn-
in-
the-
side daughter-in-law in the campy psycho-
thriller Hush; charmed in the surprisingly refreshing English dramedy Sliding
Doors; scrambled for her life as the elegantly adulterous wife of a murder-
minded Michael Douglas in the Dial M for Murder knock-off A Perfect
Murder; and acted as muse to history's most famous bard in Shakespeare in
Love. For her solid performance in the latter film, Paltrow snagged a Best
Actress Oscar. A slower-paced year, 1999 offered a jewel of a role in director
Anthony Minghella's beautifully executed noir The Talented Mr. Ripley, in
which she co-starred with fellow easy-on-the-eyes actors Matt Damon and Jude Law.
Coming down the pike is the karaoke-bar comedy Duets,
which her father will helm. One telling result of her nonstop work, critical
adulation, and high-profile social life? Over the last few years, an ever-growing
number of articles have identified Blythe Danner as "Gwyneth Paltrow's
mother."
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