To be fair, she did have a movie coming out.
Hell, Adam Levine just got Sexiest Man Alive (and a Proactiv commercial). I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that he’s on a hit TV show.
I didn’t care much for her portrayal of Polly in Sky Captain (although she looked fantastic), but I’ve always wondered whether the fault lies with her or the director.[sup]*[/sup]
- Or whether the necessary style of acting is so passé that no actress these days could really pull it off.
Around 1999 or 2000, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck showed up for lunch at the restaurant where I was working. I didn’t serve them but spent enough time right next to them running through the course of my duties while they ate.
She was at the height of her powers, I would say, yet, to the extent that we can discern a stranger’s personality through his or her body language, facial expressions, etc., I was struck by how normal and unassuming she seemed. No airs, no attitude, no “Hey, look at me!” or “Stop looking at me!” There wasn’t a single vibe-wave to suggest she might be anyone special at all. Nothing. They made no fuss and ate amongst the commoners.
Remarkable, I thought, for someone who had just won an Oscar and can get Spielberg on the phone. Just a woman eating a sloppy cheddar chicken sandwich and fries, no modifications.
Their server said they were as pleasant as could be.
Of course, she might have parked her broom in the handicapped spot outside, so who knows?
Also, a few years ago she did a foodie/road trip TV series through Spain and I found her to be rather down-to-earth on that show, as well. Of course, that is edited television, so, again, who knows?
She seems pretty down to earth here:
I think the hate comes from her name. It’s sorta snooty sounding and is a cross between Gwen and Kenneth with the cutesy Y in it instead of an E.
My thoughts exactly, right down to the not realising people hated her until I read the *Cracked[/i article.
Here are some things she has said (cribbed from her IMDB page) that might give you an idea of why so many people despise her:
‘There are certain women in this business who have children and I just think, “You must never, never see them!” You can’t do movies back to back and see your child if they go to school.’
‘Even actresses that you really admire, like Reese Witherspoon, you think, another romantic comedy? You know. You see her in something like Walk the Line (2005) and think, “God, you’re so great!” And then you think, “Why is she doing these stupid romantic comedies?” But of course, it’s for money and status. I just think, “Wouldn’t it be great if all of those movies people went to see were about real women?”’
‘I love the English way, which is not as capitalistic as it is in America. People don’t talk about work and money. They talk about interesting things at dinner parties. I like living here because I don’t tap into the bad side of American psychology, which is “I’m not achieving enough, I’m not making enough, I’m not at the top of the pile!”’
‘I’m very happy here [in London] and I really like the way the film industry works, everybody cares. I like that it doesn’t have this big capitalistic feeling. When you do something in L.A. you really feel the crew are punching the clock.’
‘I sort of look at some peers of mine and I think, “No, you’ve got it all wrong!” I just want to tell them all to have babies and be happy and not get sucked into that Hollywood thing.’
‘Brits are far more intelligent and civilised than Americans. I love the fact that you can hail a taxi and just pick up your pram and put in the back of the cab without having to collapse it. I love the parks and places I go for dinner and my friends. It’s a pretty city, you know.’
‘It would be a lot easier on Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston now had they not talked to the press about each other and everything to begin with. I learned my lesson at 24.’
‘I’d rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a tin.’
The problem is that she thinks she’s superior to her peers, to the society that gave her such success, to the working stiffs on film crews, to people who eat food she disapproves of. She thinks she’s some sort of sage who knows how others should live their lives, and says so without any sense of humility.
LOL @ the contempt for “big capitalism”. Cunt, you’re thousands of times richer than me. If you despise capitalism that much, then give me your money. Hey, that’d be sooo liberal and progressive !
(but I guess I can wait forever)
:D:D:D There ya go! An observation in perfect Gwyneth Paltrow mode! “Those tiresome poor people grubbing for a living, how can they even AFFORD an app? How can they afford cell phones, anyway? And why are they wasting their time, looking at what they can never have, fantasizing about the cute things Their Betters can afford? They should be looking for discounts at K-Mart.” :p:p:p
It’s a perfectly normal Welsh name.
Huh? I said the reason to have an app showing upscale locations across the country is to see upscale fancy things across the country so complaining about Paltrow talking upscale fancy things in that app seems pretty stupid.
It’d be like me buying a copy of Architectural Digest and then being pissed at some actor for having his house in there when I live in a yurt. If I didn’t want to look at fancy homes, why am I buying the magazine? And who do I think lives in these homes, Burger King cashiers?
Yes, but you are seeking out a relatively obscure magazine, and Gwyneth P. is much more out there. She’s featured in magazines, on the internet, on message boards, on TV, displaying her elite lifestyle choices. If one reads about celebrities, it’s hard not to read about her, too. (The poor watch TV and read People, Star, and tabloids. Should they stop doing this, stop tormenting themselves? The economy would REALLY collapse!) It’s her smugness, her entitlement, her so-far-above-it-all attitude. Other rich celebrities live in the same bubble, I would think, but they don’t loudly blab about it to the extent G.P. does.
Julia Roberts, for example, could afford to buy $500 ornaments for her Christmas tree, but she’s never rubbed the public’s nose in her excess. Her life is private. In comparison,
Gwyneth P. for example, would find “the dearest little hand-crafted ornaments, hand painted with 24K gold, in a little shop I came across in Portugal”. Then put up pictures of her bedecked expensive tree: smug, smiley, all isn’t-it-all-wonderful?
That woman is definitely my type. If she ever dumps that loser rock star, I’m all over that.
Reviving this zombie because you now have your chance, given her recent announcement.
But I suspect her use of the phrase “conscious uncoupling” to describe her divorce is an example of what got this thread started in the first place.
ETA: by the way, I resent the reference to Chris Martin as a “rock star.” Pop star, maybe, but nothing about that guy is rock n’ roll 
Then let’s go and burn Johnny Depp, George Clooney and Brad Pitt at the stake for accepting the Sexiest Man Alive moniker.
I’ll take the loser rockstar… 
Architectural Digest should rid you of thinking that no one but Gwen displays their excesses.
I must apologize. I’ve so misjudged Ms. Paltrow. I had no idea how dificult her life is. She barely has time to take care of her kids what with doing an entire movie a year. Why just read her quotes here
What a pretentious bitch. And the kids are named Apple and Moses? Even more evidence of her douche-baggery.
Sorry to post again but I just found this site of her
[quotes]
(45 Hilariously Ridiculous Gwyneth Paltrow Quotes That Will Make You Want To Punch Something | Thought Catalog). Some of the best: