Gwyneth Paltrow

The daughter of actress Blythe Danner and director Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth was born Sept. 28, 1972, in Los Angeles. After attending the University of California at Santa Barbara, she made her first appearances in small roles in two 1991 films, Shout and Hook.

An early success was the mystery Flesh and Bone, wherein critics praised her regional Texas accent. She first tried out her British accent in the Jane Austen romance Emma, refined it in Sliding Doors and perfected it as the muse to a young Shakespeare in the Best Picture Oscar winner Shakespeare in Love (1998).

For that performance (part of it played in drag), Paltrow became one of the youngest Best Actress Oscar winners. Since that achievement, she's been seen in Duets (doing her own singing), The Talented Mr. Ripley, Shallow Hal, View from the Top and Sylvia (as Sylvia Plath).

Filmography