Summary
- Gwyneth Paltrow had a sensational start to her career in the late ’90s, starring in hit movies like Shakespeare in Love and Se7en.
- Paltrow continued to be a popular leading lady in the 2000s, starring in diverse films like Shallow Hal and The Royal Tenenbaums.
- Recently, Paltrow has taken a step back from acting to focus on her wellness brand Goop, but fans can still enjoy her acclaimed performances in films like Iron Man and the MCU.
Gwyneth Paltrow skyrocketed to superstardom in the late ‘90s when she delivered her Oscar-winning performance as Viola in Shakespeare in Love. Paltrow comes from a decorated Hollywood family — her parents are actress Blythe Danner and movie director-producer Bruce Paltrow, and she found immense success on the big screen with sensational roles in Se7en, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Royal Tenenbaums, and of course the aforementioned historical romance picture.
Paltrow continued remaining a presence on the big screen into the 2000s, most notably starring alongside Robert Downey Jr. in the 2008 smash hit superhero extravaganza Iron Man, in which she portrays the savvy and level-headed Pepper Potts. She would ultimately become a familiar face in the MCU and appeared in countless films in the franchise, further cementing her status as one of the entertainment industry’s most popular leading women.
With such a buzzed about career, fans have been wondering what’s happened to the actress in recent years, as her screen appearances have dwindled immensely, and she has seemingly stepped away from the spotlight. Let’s dive in and check out the impressive career of Gwyneth Paltrow and what she’s been up to.
Who Is Gwyneth Paltrow?
Gwyneth Paltrow made her acting debut at just 17-years-old when she appeared in her father’s 1989 made-for-TV-movie High. She subsequently landed roles in the romantic musical Shout and in her godfather Steven Spielberg’s fantasy hit Hook, portraying the young Wendy Darling. Her performance as James Caan’s much younger girlfriend in the neo-noir thriller Flesh and Bone further showcased her star power, with The New York Times declaring Paltrow a scene-stealer and that she “has her mother’s way of making a camera fall in love with her.”
Paltrow was swiftly establishing herself as one of Hollywood’s most buzzed about up-and-comers, and her part as Brad Pitt’s wife in David Fincher’s taut crime thriller Se7en truly put her on the radar of audiences all across the world. She received the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, but it was ultimately her acclaimed role in the 1998 period romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love that would cement her status as a cinema standout.
A Sensational Early Start
Paltrow became a bona fide leading lady when she starred opposite Joseph Fiennes as William Shakespeare’s fictional lover Viola in John Madden’s lauded hit Shakespeare in Love, for which she earned numerous accolades including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her career-defining portrayal. Entertainment Weekly praised the actress in their review of the engrossing picture and wrote, “Best of all is Gwyneth Paltrow, who, at long last, has a movie to star in that’s as radiant as she is.”
She followed up her success in 2001 with the psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley, in which she shared the screen with a decorated cast including Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Cate Blanchett, and appeared as the fiancée of a spoiled millionaire Lothario; the film received five Oscar nods and was a blockbuster triumph. This proved to be a lucrative and celebrated time for Paltrow, and she would remain a constant staple in Hollywood at the turn of the century.
Dynamic Leading Lady
At the dawn of the new millennium, Paltrow proved she wasn’t afraid to take on any genre and starred in a slew of diverse flicks such as the comedy Shallow Hal, the dramedy The Royal Tenenbaums, and the drama Proof; she earned her second Golden Globe nod for her performance as Anthony Hopkins’ depressed daughter in the latter picture. Paltrow experienced a brief career lull in the mid-2000s, a fact the actress herself acknowledged and attributed to feeling unequipped to handle the pressures of the entertainment industry, and she later agreed that winning an Oscar sometimes brought on a career curse.
She stepped away from the spotlight to focus on her family and become a mother, but went on to return to the big screen in spectacular fashion. Paltrow saw a massive resurgence in popularity when she took on the coveted role of Pepper Potts in the 2008 Marvel juggernaut Iron Man, portraying the love interest, close friend, and personal assistant to Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. She reprised the role in two direct sequels and three MCU films including Avengers: Endgame. Paltrow enjoyed the fact that Potts’ and Stark’s blossoming romance was reminiscent of a 1940s screwball comedy, and the high-profile role helped revitalize her star power.
Outside the MCU and Iron Man franchise, Paltrow would go on to briefly appear in Contagion (albeit only in the unforgettable opening scenes), Thanks for Sharing, Mortdecai, and Country Strong, the latter of which also showed off her vocal capabilities and garnered her a Satellite Award nomination.
A Hiatus from the Big Screen
After remaining a stready presence in Tinseltown for nearly 30 years, Paltrow announced her intentions to take a hiatus from acting to focus more on her wellness and lifestyle brand Goop, revealing in a statement in 2017: “I’m still going to do a little bit here and there, but [the company] really requires almost all of my time.” She remained true to her word, only appearing in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame the following two years, and in the Netflix original dramedy The Politician, portraying Georgina Hobart, the mother of lead star Ben Platt’s character.
In 2020, Paltrow executive produced and starred in the documentary series The Goop Lab, which explores alternative medicine and polarized viewers due to the company having made unsubstantiated health claims in the past. Nonetheless, the sex-therapy series was renewed for a second season and was nominated for two Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards and continued to elevate the buzz and popularity surrounding Goop. The actress’ most recent role was as Daphne in 2023’s American Horror Stories, and it may very well be the star’s last major performance (at least for now).
A Future Away from the Spotlight
After having previously expressed her interest in stepping back from the limelight, Paltrow once again hinted at her future plans to leave Hollywood behind in 2023, revealing to Bustle that if she decided to, “no one will ever see me again.” While she has yet to explicitly confirm her retirement, Paltrow’s acting hiatus remains intact as she does not currently have any upcoming acting projects announced. She expressed in an interview a few years ago that she would rather focus on her business aspirations and Goop and that she found the entertainment industry frustrating, having once expressed:
“I really liked acting. But at a certain point, it started to feel frustrating in a way not to have true agency, like to be beholden to other people to give you a job, or to create something, to put something into the world.”
While it remains to be seen whether Paltrow will fully commit to retiring, fans of the actress can find comfort in her extensive and illustrious resume and relive her magic on screen. With classics like Shakespeare in Love, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Royal Tenenbaums, and of course Iron Man and the MCU to choose from, audiences can still enjoy Paltrow’s most acclaimed performances while they await her next move.