Gwyneth Paltrow has been pretty quiet for a few weeks. I wonder what’s going on with her. Is she still manipulating Chris Martin? Is she chuckling over the Sony Hack, especially the Angelina Jolie parts? Or is she just focused on Christmas and Hanukkah? Who knows. Well, Gwyneth did sit down with CNBC to talk business this week. Because Gwyneth is, like, CEO of Goop Inc. All of her side projects are now her biggest focus and biggest money-makers. Gwyneth is actually a bit like Jennifer Aniston that way – after years of refusing to do product endorsements and ad campaigns, they’ve both spent the last three-to-four years “selling out” in big ways. Gwyneth is the face of Max Factor, Restorsea and Hugo Boss perfumes and more. Plus she’s got all of the Goop collaborations, Goop, and the Tracy Anderson stuff. And she’s invested in those blow-dry bars. So, obviously, CNBC wanted to talk to her about business. And Martha Stewart.

Gwyneth Paltrow isn’t just an Oscar-winning actress. This year she invested in the nation’s largest chain of blow-dry bars, Blo, with 50 locations and plans to add 30 next year. She’s not just an investor; she’s involved in shaping the look of the salons and the services they offer. “I think my strengths are in anything aesthetic so the look of the salons, trends, social media,” said Paltrow.

Paltrow said the investment happened organically, sparked by her investment in Tracy Anderson’s fitness business. “We were opening our flagship studio here in Brentwood in Los Angeles, and I thought wouldn’t it be great if we take this little space that we didn’t know what to do with and put a blow-dry bar in it for our clients,” says Paltrow. She said the response was so overwhelming that she and her partner in the venture, David Babaii (who is also her hairdresser), discussed opening more, and were introduced to Ari Yakobson, the CEO of Blo.

In addition to her partnerships in Blo and Tracy Anderson, she also runs lifestyle site Goop. Paltrow dismissed comparisons to Martha Stewart: “I don’t think of ourselves like that…. Goop is a very modern lifestyle brand, and it’s not eponymous and a collective of women.” Paltrow said the company is focused on “contextual commerce,” weaving lifestyle content and retail together as seamlessly as possible. “Obviously, Martha invented the category and we have a lot of respect for her, but we don’t consider ourselves … it’s a very different business in my mind.”

As for Stewart’s criticisms of Paltrow’s endeavor (Stewart has said publicly “If she were confident in her acting, she wouldn’t be trying to be Martha Stewart), the actress thinks they’re a good thing.

“I’m incredibly flattered, I mean it’s amazing. We’re a very nascent biz, and it’s amazing that she would regard us competition,” Paltrow said.

While Paltrow juggles her various ventures, she said she plans to continue to act in a movie each year. “In this chapter I’m very interested in the entrepreneurial side of me and raising my kids,” Paltrow says. “I do try to act when I can, and I really love it and hopefully it’s not an either/or situation.”

[From CNBC]

Ha, I wonder if all of this shilling to the peasants ever leaves a bad taste in her mouth. The thing is, it’s sort of working. Sort of. I never would have thought that Gwyneth Paltrow would truly have a gift for understanding what the peasantry might be interested in, but apparently she does. The peasants want Tracy Anderson gyms and blow-out bars. They want Goop collaborations with her favorite designers. They want contextual commerce, which is just the latest bulls—t business-speak term. “Contextual commerce” used to be called infomercials. There used to be a line between advertising and content, but with Goop, there is no line. Goop is just about the shill.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.