After I published a biography of Anna Wintour, I started thinking about other public figures who have had real impact on culture. I kept coming back to Gwyneth Paltrow. After three years of hard work, including what felt like countless hours of interviewing, writing, and fact-checking, Gwyneth: The Biography is less than two weeks off from publication! And People magazine has an exclusive first look.
At just 12 days old, Gwyneth Paltrow arrived on her first Hollywood set to visit her mom, actress Blythe Danner. So began the illustrious life of the daughter of Danner and TV producer Bruce Paltrow. She quickly captivated audiences herself as she grew up, performing with her mother at the renowned Williamstown Theatre Festival at 8, winning an Oscar at 26 as the willowy, magnetic star of Shakespeare in Love, and becoming a nineties “It Girl,” though she called that “a joke” to her closest friends.
In 2008, the mom of two stepped into a new kind of role with the launch of Goop, a showcase for her rarefied taste that started as an email newsletter and went on to become a media empire. Each detox cleanse, exorbitantly pricey gift guide and unsubstantiated health endorsement (such as inserting a jade egg vaginally to “balance hormones”) putting her in the spotlight once again.
At 52, she’s the subject of a juicy new biography, Gwyneth: The Biography by Amy Odell, excerpted exclusively in this week's PEOPLE. The book, based on over 220 interviews, digs deep into why the star continues to intrigue. Says Odell, "Love her or hate her, we haven't been able to look away."
Head to People to read the excerpt.
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