Why Gwyneth Paltrow Eventually Wants To Give Up Her Famous Lifestyle
Gwyneth Paltrow successfully transitioned from an A-list Hollywood star to the owner of the health and wellness brand Goop. She took a hiatus from acting to focus on her company, and the decision paid serious dividends. "Well, you know, my life has been skewing far more heavily towards my business," she told Extra in 2017. The following year, The New York Times valued her company at around $250 million. That left question marks surrounding the "Iron Man" star's return to the silver screen. "I'm not sure how I'll feel about acting going forward," Paltrow told Extra.
By 2019, Paltrow reprised her role as Pepper Potts for "Avengers: End Game" but announced she would be stepping away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A few years later, Paltrow made it clear that she found Goop more rewarding than acting. "I really don't miss it at all," she said when asked about leaving her acting career while appearing on "Today" in 2022. "I don't daydream about the movie business at all," Paltrow added while discussing how much fulfillment she received working on the wellness brand.
While Paltrow mostly stepped away from the cameras, she has stayed in the spotlight with Goop. According to the "Se7en" actor that could all change once she gets older. "Or I might be like, 'F*** this.' I might just disappear, and no one will ever see me again," Paltrow told Bustle in October 2023. Over the years, Paltrow has openly discussed becoming disenchanted with Hollywood and the limelight.
Gwyneth Paltrow's negative memories about Harvey Weinstein
Despite an impressive filmography, Gwyneth Paltrow grew tired of Hollywood fairly early in her career. "Part of the shine of acting wore off, you know, being in such intense public scrutiny ... being criticized for everything you do, say and wear," the "Emma" star said while appearing on "Quarantined with Bruce" on SiriusXM in 2020. Even though she had a successful career, Paltrow has a lot of negative memories about her time in Tinsel Town. "You know, to be totally candid, I had a really rough boss for most of my movie career at Miramax," she said, referring to working with disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
Paltrow was among a number of actors — including Angelina Jolie — who came forward to The New York Times in 2017 about how Weinstein had allegedly harassed them. She recalled a meeting with Weinstein where he invited her to his bedroom, and tried to give her a massage. Years earlier, in 2010, Paltrow had spoken about an uncomfortable encounter with a movie executive — although she did not use any names at the time. "When I was just starting out, someone suggested that we finish a meeting in the bedroom, she told Elle (via the Huffington Post). "I left. I was pretty shocked."
In fact, Paltrow's most successful era of her career was tainted by negative memories.
Gwyneth Paltrow kept her Oscar hidden
Long before Gwyneth Paltrow had stepped away from Hollywood, the "Sliding Doors" star had dropped hints that she was dissatisfied with being part of the world of acting. During an interview in 2005, Paltrow spoke about where she kept the Oscar she received in 1999 for "Shakespeare in Love." The actress told Contact Music, "I keep it tucked away at the back of the bookshelf in my bedroom because it weirds me out ... It's associated with a tough time in my life."
Around the time she took home the Oscar, Paltrow had started to display diva behavior and needed to be put in place by her father, late veteran TV producer and director Bruce Paltrow. "I was just believing my own hype, thinking that I was super awesome. And he was like, 'You're getting weird, You're acting like a d***,'" she recalled to Marie Claire UK in 2017. The "Iron Man" actor was grateful for her father's intervention. "There is nothing worse for the growth of a human being than not having obstacles and disappointments, and things go wrong," Paltrow said.
With the bad taste that Paltrow's acting career left in her mouth, she wound up prioritizing working on Goop but did not officially retire from acting altogether. She appeared on 15 episodes of the series "The Politician" but ensured the filming process was as short as possible. "She simply doesn't have time," co-star Ben Platt told Variety in 2019.