“Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a great red lipstick.” ~ Gwyneth Paltrow, Actress
Summary: After majoring in Art History at U. C. Santa Barbara, Gweneth Paltrow quit, realizing it wasn’t her passion. She made her film debut with a small part in Shout (1991) and for the next five years had featured roles in a variety of films. 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), for which she was awarded the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Since then, her roles have included The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Shallow Hal (2001), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Iron Man (2008), Two Lovers (2008), and Country Strong (2010). Paltrow has also been an advocate for women empowerment, claiming at Variety‘s Power of Women luncheon that “ambition” was an undesired trait in actresses during her early days in the industry, a belief that is being battled in Hollywood today.
Nationality: American
Industry: Entertainment & Activism
Q: You’ve been a thought leader in wellness—alternative health, exercise, diet, beauty—for years. How did you get interested in that in the first place? on womenshealthmag.com
A: When my father was diagnosed with cancer in 1998, I really started to think about the link between environmental toxins and cancer. What’s the impetus behind the way our bodies are no longer able to overcome all these skyrocketing diseases, from immune disorders to autism to diabetes and cancer? What is going on? I started asking questions, and the answers were and are horrifying: You look at, just for example, graphs correlating pesticide use with just about every kind of disease. It’s devastating. That exploration definitely started me down the path. I want to be healthy, to feel as good as I can.
