To most moviegoers, Gwyneth Paltrow was "that English actress that used to be engaged to Brad Pitt." On March 21, 1999, that image was altered completely when the little known actress was awarded the Academy Award for her outstanding performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998). Gwyneth Paltrow, who in fact is not English, was born in 1973 in Los Angeles, the daughter of noted film director Bruce Paltrow and Tony award-winning actress Blythe Danner. article continued below.....

When Gwyneth was 11, the family moved to Massachusetts where her father began working in summer stock productions in the Berkshires. It was here that she received her early acting training under the tutelage of her parents. In 1991, she quit the University of California and began to actively pursue a career in acting.

She made her film debut with a small part in Shout (1991) and for the next 5 years had featured roles in a mixed bag of film fare that included Flesh and Bone (1993); Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994); Se7en (1995); Jefferson in Paris (1995); Moonlight and Valentino (1995); and Pallbearer, The (1996). It was her performance in the title role of Emma Woodhouse in Emma (1996) that led to her being offered the role of Viola in Shakespeare in Love (1998).

She broke her much publicized engagement to actor Brad Pitt in 1997 citing as the reason the fact that neither she nor Pitt felt that they could pursue their respective careers and at the same time maintain a happy marriage. They remain good friends. A tall, wafer thin, delicate beauty, Gwyneth Paltrow is a consummate professional and a highly skilled actress who appears to possess everything necessary to achieve super stardom.

• (1990) Graduated from The Spence School in New York, NY.
• (October 1998) Voted "Most Stuck-up" in Movieline's 100 Most
• (15 August 1998) Gave $21,000 watch to boyfriend Ben Affleck as a birthday present.
• (1998) One of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People
• (20 December 1996) Engaged to actor Brad Pitt
• (1996) Confirmed as the next "Calvin Klein" model.
• Daughter of Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow.
• Sister of Jake Paltrow
• Attended the University of California at Santa Barbara for one year.
• After spending a time in her early teens in Talavera de la Reina (Spain), she can speak a fairly good Spanish.
• Turned down the role of Emma Peel in the movie "The Avengers."
• Met with James Cameron for the role of Rose in "Titanic."
• A couple sued Gwyneth for an undisclosed amount claiming that the actress allegedly injured them during an April 1999 car accident.
• Was invited to ex-fiance Brad Pitt's wedding to Jennifer Aniston but refused to attend.
• Attended Madonna's wedding to Guy Ritchie in Scotland.
• Good friends with Madonna.
• Niece of Harry Danner and cousin of Hillary Danner.
• Attended Vassar College but dropped out her Senior Year to pursue an acting career.

• "Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick."
• "It changed me more than anything else. You don't want to get to that place where you're the adult and you're palpably in the next generation. And, this shoved me into that." - about her father's struggle with throat cancer.
• "It really changed my life. When we split up, something changed, permanently, in me. My heart sort of broke that day, and it will never be the same." - about her 1997 break up with Brad Pitt.
• "I try to remember, as I hear about friends getting engaged, that it's not about the ring, and it's not about the wedding. It's a grave thing, getting married. And it's easy to get swept up in the wrong things."

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