Welp, now I feel crazy-old because I remember when InStyle began and how good the magazine used to be, and yes, I even remember when Gwyneth Paltrow appeared on the 1999 cover. And now, 20 years later, she’s doing something for the 25th anniversary of the magazine. Back in the ‘90s and the early ‘00s, magazines were experiencing a huge growth, and print media was everywhere. Then blogs like this came around and many magazines died off or just changed strategies. In any case, I haven’t picked up an actual physical copy of InStyle in years, but I do read the InStyle site often enough. It’s well-run. Anyway, Gwyneth is here, 20 years later, and her profile focuses a lot on what’s changed for her 20 years later. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
When she did the cover in ‘99: “I felt very honored to be on the cover in January 1999. I was 26, and it was at a time in my life when everything was going absolutely crazy. I was becoming super famous. People started recognizing me on the street, especially after Shakespeare in Love [for which Paltrow earned a best actress Oscar in 1999]. You know, I still remember one of my favorite lines: “I will have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love. Love above all.”…There’s this optimism that comes from having your whole life ahead of you and not knowing what’s going to happen. Back then everybody was telling me, “You’re going to be something.” I was like, “I don’t know, but I guess I’m on this train.” It’s funny: Now I see the kind of energy I had then in my daughter.
Her London years: “I loved my London years. There was so much mystery around everything, from the humor to the traditions to the architecture to the snacks — I liked that Marmite on a crispy thing. [laughs] I had my kids [Apple, 15, and Moses, 13] there. And I completely changed as a woman. Having children was so extraordinarily profound. It turned my world completely upside down in the best possible way. I think women understand that there are different chapters to our lives. My life looked a lot different in that decade than it did in my 20s, when I was very immersed in acting. In my 30s my focus was my kids. I was home most of the time. I was cooking with my kids and starting [lifestyle brand] Goop. I was very happy doing the school runs and being domestic.
Marrying Brad Falchuk: “Married life has been really good. We took a year to let everybody [in the family] take it in and let the dust settle. And now we’re moving in together this month. I adore my husband. He’s brilliant and deeply kind. I feel like he’s a real equal too. And he pushes me in the best ways. I really like being married. It’s fun.”
She’s not an influencer: “I don’t think of myself as an influencer. I’m a little bit allergic to the word. I like the concept of people finding somebody in the world who resonates with them. But it also makes me a little nervous. I feel like I’m more of a connector. It’s weird to metabolize that and to understand that you do have influence. It can make me slip into a more corporate version of myself sometimes. And I don’t love that. It’s weird! That’s not who I am or what my sense of humor is like. So I’ve tried to say “F–k it” in certain ways too.
Being almost 47: “I’m almost 47 now. At this stage I’ve realized the secret to wellness is a little bit of everything. It’s sleep. It’s hydration. It’s nutrition and exercise. It’s not being toxic. It’s watching your tongue. It’s being around people who love you and who are honest with you. It’s about seeing Dr. Dray — the dermatologist, not the rapper — in London or Paris, whenever I can get over there. And drinking is part of my wellness program too. [laughs]
How I’d describe myself in three words: Still very optimistic, Integrated, and Humble
Gwyneth Paltrow describing herself as “humble” is a g–damn trip, let me tell you. If we took a poll of the celebrities we believed to have the least amount of humility, Gwyneth would be top of the list. As for Gwyneth and Brad finally moving in… again, I don’t hate that they took their time and really focused on the health of their kids, and I suspect that it was all about Brad’s kids not really accepting Gwyneth (given that Brad left his wife for her). My issue was always with Gwyneth’s bragging that living apart from one’s husband is the ONLY thing that makes sense.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and InStyle.
She does the Ivanka trump thing of using words to seem smart but not really succeeding—architecting, metabolizing ideas, being allergic to words … it’s all just blabber designed to impress.
I bet she and Princess Trump would be BFF if they hung out. I could see them now:
Ohhhhh Ivanka, your comments at the summit were so on point.
Oh thank darling. You did splendidly on your advice for $500 face cream to women out there. I’m so glad we are pushing the remake agenda forward.
Something really weird and random? This comment about London:
I had my kids [Apple, 15, and Moses, 13] there.
Ummm, the boy was born in New York. Is that like a…problem for her? She’s so weird.
(I remember because I was in NYC at the time and joked with my friend that it was such an honour to be here for this historic occasion. 😂)
I took her to mean that she *had* her kids there with her, not that she actually gave birth to them there but it’s Goop so who knows! LOL
So true, Sandy, so true.
Yes she does that a lot. I think she’s trying to sound educated even though she’s not.
I think she sounds educated because she is articulate. How and when did being able to speak well become bad? I mean, Gwyneth is intolerable but good grief! Also, certain words that she uses may seem “highbrow” to some but may convey what she is thinking better.
On a side note, I nearly choked on my waffle when I read Goopy thought she was “humble.” She is nearly as humble as Trump.
She’s not using certain words correctly. As sandy upthread says she’s doing what Ivanka does, putting together language that she thinks sounds more highbrow but really isn’t.
What happened to “we live apart cause it’s healthier and my intimacy coach suggested it”?
that was so last week lol…
Wait wasn’t there a whole news cycle five minutes ago about how living apart kept the spark going and worked for them and OMG they are sooooooo modern and progressive and all that garbage?….and now they’re moving in together. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! 😂 Just more BS because she’s terrified the public will think less of her.
There’s literally nothing about her that is genuine. It’s all just this strange neediness and insecurity. She’s exhausting.
Hahahaha..omg I missed that! That’s frigging hilarious though. Classic Goop LOL!
She’s full of it. She can’t keep her stories straight.
She describes herself as humble? Good lord she’s insufferable. Gwynnie is many things, but humble isn’t one of them.
She really needs to get over herself. End rant.
Her husband looks like he’s the long-lost sibling of Luke and Owen Wilson.
That first photo is just the reason to avoid Instagram.
I’m happy for them, I think they’re soul mates.
Sure. But she ain’t humble!
Gwyneth Paltrow is a beautiful woman but in the 1990s she was gorgeous, she reminded me of Grace Kelly so much
Well, I decided to move in with my husband after we divorced! It worked out so well, we’re getting married again! Peace…whatever works for you, I’m all for it!
So, she listened to Kendrick’s track and only heard that word and not the lyrics.
Gotcha.
GOOP, ya ain’t ‘humble’.
I didn’t realize there was an overlap between his relationships.
How old are his children?
Yep, not sure when the GOOP feature on hooking up with married men comes out. 😬
His kids are teenagers. They were at the wedding but the sense I get from all this is that if GOOP tried to pull any “conscious family blending” with them on her website they’d tell her to go f**k herself.
Ha, I love it!
LOL there was an overlap with her relationship too
Assuming it’s financially feasible, this isn’t a bad way to transition a blended family.
I agree. I knew this was going to happen because I read real estate porn sites and I know he put his house on the market a couple of months ago and it sold. She shouldn’t have put that in the earlier interview about living together except for 3 days like it was some permanent thing when it wasn’t going to be.
And I’m not surprised he sold his house to move into hers.
I want Gwyneth to never not be famous. I enjoy her pretension so much. In the field of faux-real celebrities, it is refreshing to have one so removed and deluded as Gwyneth.
P.S.: Did Chris get the Knowles-Carters in the divorce? I haven’t read GP name dropping Beyonce like she used to…
P.P.S: Her new husband is so pretty.
I KNOW! She never passed up an opportunity to drop Bey’s name in the day, once even acting like she and Beyonce were on the same level. Sit DOWN, silly.
I think her current husband looks like Dobby w Bradley Cooper hair….:-/
The only thing humble about her are her not so humble brags.
On a side note her hair is looking a bit less one dimensional in that top photo, so maybe she is evolving.
Regarding the “humble” bit, totally reminds me of Lonely Island’s “Pop Star” film. So brilliant and underrated. Mariah’s humble brag in it is up with Gwyneth’s here.
I don’t care about Gwyneth but my gosh do I mourn over how pathetic InStyle has become. I loved that magazine from the time it started until maybe 5-10 years ago. I still have a few from the ‘90s that I like to look at for nostalgia. I want print back!
i think print magazines’ decline had a lot to do with the recession, as well.
gwyneth’s quip reminds me of candiace from ‘real housewives of potomac’ replying *myself* when andrew cohen asked her who the humblest member of her cast is when she appeared on his late night show lmao
I just don’t understand the rush to be married. If you need time to “transition” and blend the families, why wouldn’t you do that first, make sure it’s all going to work, and then have the wedding? If you’re hoping to be married for the rest of your lives (ha), what’s the rush? Enjoy a long engagement.
Exactly.
Wow, I thought for a second she was talking about Dr dray from YouTube (who’s awesome, but way too sensible for goop), but no, it’s another one. Her Dr dray sells eye cream for 50€.
As a Brit what the actual F is a “marmite crispy thing”?
Fellow Brit here! Hyacinth Bucket (or should I say bouquet) the only thing I could think of was Marmite flavoured rice cakes or twiglets?! I can’t imagine her eating either though 🤣.
Could she possibly be describing toast??!
Hahahah… humble! 😂 the news has been so depressing for so long and this gave me the belly laugh I needed. It’s the last adjective I’d use to describe her. The incongruity between how she views herself and how she is perceived by others is staggering. Bless her heart! 😂
Maybe in her own circles she’s considered humble. She comes from money, but I bet she hangs out with a lot of people who didn’t grow up rich but who are super rich now after making it big (or marrying big) in Hollywood. Sometimes people like that are the least humble people you’ll meet. You’d think they’d “remember where they came from” and all that, but in truth, they think they’re amazing and special because the *only* reason they are so successful is “hard work” — they don’t think luck was involved, they have no sense that sometimes people are just in the right place at the right time — and it makes them pretentious. Gwyneth didn’t have to work very hard at all to become rich(er) and famous — it was pretty much all handed to her on a silver platter. So maybe she has a small sense of how lucky she is and it makes her “humbler” than the people she generally associates with.