Biography
To most moviegoers, 'Gwyneth Paltrow' (qv) was "that English
actress that used to be engaged to 'Brad Pitt' (qv)." 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)_ (qv). Gwyneth Paltrow,
who in fact is not English, was born in 1972 in Los Angeles, the
daughter of noted film director 'Bruce Paltrow' (qv) and Tony
award-winning actress 'Blythe Danner' (qv). 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)_ (qv) and for the next 5 years had
featured roles in a mixed bag of film fare that included _Flesh and
Bone (1993)_ (qv); _Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)_
(qv); _Se7en (1995)_ (qv); _Jefferson in Paris (1995)_ (qv);
_Moonlight and Valentino (1995)_ (qv); and _Pallbearer, The (1996)_
(qv). It was her performance in the title role of Emma Woodhouse in
_Emma (1996)_ (qv) that led to her being offered the role of Viola
in _Shakespeare in Love (1998)_ (qv). She broke her much publicized
engagement to actor 'Brad Pitt' (qv) 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.
Biography courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).
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