GWYNETH’S LIFE LESSONS
She’s a Hollywood superstar, the world’s most famous wellness guru and a happily married mum-of-two who this week celebrates her 50th birthday. But despite her success and happiness, Gwyneth Paltrow has faced personal and professional heartache over the years. Here, Closer looks at the life lessons she’s learnt along the way...
‘BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU DO’
Her successful career as an actress has earned her global recognition, and she boasts an incredible 16 awards to her name – including an Oscar, a Golden Globe and an Emmy. But in 2017, Gwyneth announced that she would be stepping away from her day job so that she could focus on Goop, her modern lifestyle brand, which she launched in 2008. Two years later, she announced, “I’ve had a lot of good luck with a lot of hard work, which led to a really good film career. At a certain point, I felt like it wasn’t what I wanted to do.”
And earlier this year, Gwyneth reiterated, “I really love what I do now. I love how immediate it is and how we’re able to create products out of thin air that we believe in so much.”
‘BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS’
After a string of high-profile romances with the likes of actor Ben Affleck, Canadian rocker Bryan Adams, and an engagement to her Seven co-star Brad Pitt, Gwyneth married Chris Martin in 2003.
But after welcoming two children together, her marriage to the Coldplay singer, 45, sadly ended 11 years later. They famously announced that they would be “consciously uncoupling” and now even go on holiday together with each of their new partners.
“Some days it’s not as good as it looks,” Gwyneth admitted in a recent interview. “But I think it’s driving towards the same purpose of unity and love and what’s best for our kids. You have to have radical accountability. You have to know that every relationship is 50/50.”
‘LEARN HOW TO ACCEPT YOURSELF IN A MORE LOVING WAY’
Gwyneth got her first big break in the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen novel Emma, and was subsequently cast as the beautiful leading lady in the likes of Sliding Doors and Shakespeare In Love.
But the star admits that she sometimes finds it difficult to accept her body and looks now that she’s getting older.
“Unfortunately, we’re always looking at ourselves with a critical eye. I want to show up for myself in a more loving way, because it’s all going south from here!” Gwyneth laughed. “But it’s about bringing a wider spectrum of acceptance.”
She added, “I would never want to go back to my 20s, or even my 30s for that matter. I am so grateful for the wisdom that comes with age.”
